The British Book Industry Awards Announced

The British Book Industry Awards, which celebrate the greatness of the British book trade and the people behind it – the best books, the best writers, the best bookshops, the best publishers - just announced it's winners.  There are multiple industry categories, so be sure to look into it further on the Bookseller site.  In the meantime, here are the winners for books of the year.

BOOKS OF THE YEAR, in association with Books Are My Bag

Début Fiction Book of the Year - The Loney, Andrew Michael Hurley, John Murray
Fiction Book of the Year - A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara, Picador
Non-fiction Book of the Year - Norwegian Wood, Lars Mytting, translated by Robert Ferguson, MacLehose Press
Children's Book of the Year - My Brother is a Superhero, David Solomons, illustrated by Laura Ellen Anderson, Nosy Crow
Book of the Year - The Loney, Andrew Michael Hurley, John Murray

Publishers Weekly Picks for Best Books of 2015

So I have to admit to a small panic attack when I read Publishers Weekly list of their chosen top books of 2015.  I haven't read any of them! They range from non-fiction and widely touted, Ta-Nehisi Coates work Between the World and Me to short story collection, Crow Fair by Thomas McGuane and southern mystery Delicious Foods by James Hannaham.

My backlog of "to be read" books are stacked around my place, but at least of few of these will be added to the list. 2015 is almost over and they'll be a whole new wonderful crop in 2016. I better get busy.

What have been your favorites? Let us know!

America's Summer Reading; With and Without "Girl on a Train"

Quartz online magazine does a great job of mapping out the summer's most popular books in 15 cities across the country according to library statistics. The big winners? Girl on a Train and Go Set a Watchman.  Not surprised? Yes, those are the two with the most hype.

A second map Quartz has included are the most popular books that are not Girl on a Train or Go Set a Watchman.  Check it out. It's interesting to see what others are reading.

One of the books is Our Souls at Night, by Kent Haruf, which is reviewed here, as the review for Girl on a Train.  Come back for a visit to read a review of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman