Andrew Carnegie Medals and RUSA 2024 Best Lists

The RUSA Book & Media Awards Ceremony on January 20 announced the year’s best in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, audiobook narration, and reference materials and the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction.

ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDALS FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION AND NONFICTION. The winners are two non-genre works.

2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.

  • The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (Catapult)

2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction

  • We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death and Child Removal in America” by Roxanna Asgarian (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).

2024 NOTABLE BOOKS LIST. The Reference & User Services Book & Media Awards Ceremony announced the 2024 Notable Books List: Year’s Best in Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry. The complete list of twenty-six titles is at the link. The fiction of genre interest among the 2024 selections are:

Fiction

  • Biography of X by Catherine Lacey (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

An artist’s widow reckons with grief by seeking the truth about her late wife against the backdrop of a richly detailed alternate history.

  • Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Pantheon Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC)

Incisive allegory and brutal violence combine in a thought-provoking dystopia about the dehumanization of incarcerated people and the power of love.

  • North Woods by Daniel Mason (Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC)

A New England forest endures the animal and human lives that first inhabit and later haunt it.

  • Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed Park (Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC)

An audacious, experimental novel about the history of Korea, real and imagined.

  • The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.)

An imprisoned twelve-year old boy is haunted during the Jim Crow era while his older sister grapples with racist bureaucracy to secure his release.


2024 READING LIST. The 2024 Reading List: Year’s best in genre fiction for adult Readers is comprised of eight different fiction genres for adult readers. The eight genres currently included in the Council’s considerations are adrenaline, fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, relationship fiction, and science fiction. A shortlist of honor titles, up to 4 per genre was also announced. The complete list is at the link. The 2024 selections of sff/h genre interest are:

Fantasy

Winner

  • Gods of the Wyrdwood: The Forsaken Trilogy, Book One by R J Barker (Orbit, an imprint of Hachette Book Group)

Cahal once walked the path to becoming the Cowl-Rai—the Chosen One of Crua. However, another Cowl-Rai rose to power, forcing Cahal to spend the next twenty years living in secrecy. When a desperate situation forces Cahal to reveal himself, the consequences of his choice reach further than he could have anticipated.

Short List

  • The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi: A Novel” by Shannon Chakraborty (Harper Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
  • Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (A Tor Book, published by Tom Doherty Associates / Tor Publishing Group)
  • Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (A Tor Book, published by Tom Doherty Associates / Tor Publishing Group)
  • Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee (A Tordotcom Book, published by Tom Doherty Associates / Tor Publishing Group)

Horror

Winner

  • The September House by Carissa Orlando (Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC)

Margaret has long grown used to the difficulties that come with living in a haunted house, but after four years her husband has had enough and leaves. When he stops returning calls, their daughter Katherine comes to town to search for him even as the hauntings grow ever more intense.

Short List

  • Black River Orchard: A Novel by Chuck Wendig (Del Rey, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC)
  • How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix (Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC)
  • Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele (Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC)
  • The Reformatory: A Novel by Tananarive Due (Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.)

Science fiction

Winner

  • House of Gold by C. T. Rwizi (47North, an imprint of Amazon Publishing)

In this Afrofuturistic dystopia, two pairs of genetically enhanced warriors trained to rule become disillusioned with a status quo that keeps the rich aristocracy in power indefinitely. Now free from the lies that shaped their childhood, they plot to shape a better future.

Short List

  • Infinity Gate: Book One of the Pandominion by M. R. Carey (Orbit, an imprint of Hachette Book Group)
  • The Meister of Decimen City by Brenna Raney (CamCat Books, an imprint of CamCat Publishing, LLC)
  • The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown (A Nightfire Book, published by Tom Doherty Associates)
  • Where Peace is Lost: A Novel by Valerie Valdes (Harper Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)

2024 LISTEN LIST. The Listen List Council of the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has announced the 2024 selections of the Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration. The complete list is at the link: 2024 RUSA Listen List Revealed.

This award highlights extraordinary narrators and listening experiences that merit special attention by a general adult audience and the librarians who advise them.

Committee members matched the 12 titles on the list with three listen-alikes each which match the tone, theme, or style of the title on the list. None of these titles have appeared on any previous Listen Lists.

The 2024 selections of genre interest are:

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty. Narrated by Lameece Issaq and Amin El Gamal. HarperAudio.

The most feared pirate in the Indian Ocean, Amina al-Sirafi just wanted a quiet retirement with her daughter, but one final job pulls her back into the magical fray. Chakraborty’s picaresque novel should be experienced in audio as Amina, narrated by Lameece Issaq, relates her adventures to a scribe in a tavern, voiced by Amin El Gamal. Superb comic timing will make listeners feel like they are overhearing this epic tale from the next table.

Listen-Alikes:

  • A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall. Narrated by Angèle Masters. Hachette Audio.
  • The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Narrated by Nick Podehl. Brilliance Audio.
  • Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch. Narrated by Michael Page. Books on Tape.

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Narrated by Shayna Small, Aaron Goodson, Michael Crouch, and Lee Osorio. Books on Tape.

The violence is visceral in this cleverly structured novel set in the near future United States. Welcome to a world where convicts are tapped to participate in the newest craze, fights to the death televised for the public’s viewing pleasure. This multicast production brings each character to life, giving listeners a front-row seat, cheering for the winners and mourning the losers.

Listen-Alikes:

  • The Running Man by Stephen King. Narrated by Kevin Kenerly. Simon & Schuster Audio.
  • This Life by Quntos KunQuest and Zachary Lazar. Narrated by Sean Crisden. HighBridge.
  • Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road To Repair by Danielle Sered. Narrated by Emily Durante. Tantor Media.

Fractal Noise by Christopher Paolini. Narrated by Jennifer Hale. Macmillan Audio.

The crew of the spaceship Adamura are on a mission of exploration when they encounter a mysterious anomaly on Talos VII. As they undertake an arduous journey to reach the source through a harsh, desolate landscape, the crew faces internal struggles every bit as challenging as the physical trials they are enduring. Jennifer Hale expertly voices a diverse cast of characters while sound effects ominously punctuate the text, ratcheting up the tension.

Listen-Alikes:

  • Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. Narrated by Annabel Baldwin and Robyn Holdaway. Dreamscape Media.
  • Solaris by Stanislaw Lem, translated by Barbara Lem and Tomasz Lem. Narrated by Alessandro Juliani. Brilliance Audio.
  • The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud. Narrated by Sophie Amoss. Simon & Schuster Audio.

Infinity Gate by M. R. Carey. Narrated by Dami Olukoya. Hachette Audio.

When Lagos-based physicist Hadiz Tambuwal succeeds in stepping onto a pristine parallel Earth, she sees relief from resource deprivation for all. Infinite worlds hold infinite human variation, and an alliance of Earths already alert against trespassers. From Hadiz’s Lagosian lilt to the accents of alternate Nigerias and modulated tones of AI, Dami Olukoya creates irresistible character voices. As the Pandominion mobilizes for war, her narration masterfully personalizes their atrocities across the multiverse.

Listen-Alikes:

  • Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh.Narrated by Nneka Okoye. Simon & Schuster Audio.
  • Translation State by Ann LeckieNarrated by Adjoa Andoh. Hachette Audio.
  • Version Control by Dexter Palmer. Narrated by January LaVoy. Books on Tape.

[Based on a press release.]

Three RUSA 2021 Reading Lists Include Genre Works

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, announced several annual lists of recommended books on February 4 at the Book & Media Awards Virtual Ceremony including the 2021 Notable Books List, 2021 Reading List: Year’s best in genre fiction for adult readers, and the 2021 Outstanding Reference Sources List. The complete lists are at the links.

The following are the titles of genre interest. Could start an avalanche on your Mount TBR!

2021 READING LIST: YEAR’S BEST IN GENRE FICTION FOR ADULT READERS

The Reading List Council has announced the 2021 selections of the Reading List, an annual best-of list comprised of eight different fiction genres for adult readers. A shortlist of honor titles, up to 4 per genre was also announced.

The 2021 selections are:

Fantasy

Winner
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (A Tor Book Published by Tom Doherty Associates)

Linus Baker, diligent case worker at the Department of Magical Youth, travels to Arthur Parnassus’ orphanage to determine if any of the magical children in Arthur’s care might cause the end of the world. While getting to know Arthur and his charges, Linus discovers a found family worthy of rule-breaking.

Readalikes

  • Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
  • Joe Vs. the Volcano (movie)
  • Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
  • Short List
  • Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.)
  • The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit, an imprint of Hachette Book Group)
  • A Deadly Education: A Novel by Naomi Novik (Del Rey, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC)
  • Ring Shout: or, Hunting Ku Kluxes in the End Times by P. Djèlí Clark (A Tordotcom Book, Published by Tom Doherty Associates)

Horror

Winner
The Only Good Indians: A Novel by Stephen Graham Jones (Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.)

This slow-burn horror novel follows four members of the Blackfeet tribe as an illegal elk hunting trip catches up to them ten years later, and the spirit of the elk they wronged methodically tracks them down to exact her bloody revenge.

Readalikes

  • Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
  • The Ritual by Adam L.G. Nevill
  • Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
  • Short List
  • The Hollow Places: A Novel by T. Kingfisher (Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.)
  • The Return by Rachel Harrison (Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC)
  • Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC)
  • The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (Quirk Books)

Relationship

Winner
Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore (Flatiron Books)

On New Year’s Eve 1982, 18-year-old Oona Lockhart faces a personal crossroads. But when the clock strikes midnight, she faints and awakens decades in the future as her older self. Jumping to a new age each New Year’s, Oona grapples with constantly changing circumstances and discovers relationships that anchor her.

Readalikes

  • Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
  • In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
  • The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
  • Short List
  • Anxious People: A Novel by Fredrik Backman, translated by Neil Smith (Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.)
  • His Only Wife: A Novel by Peace Adzo Medie (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, a division of Workman Publishing)
  • The Love Story of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC)
  • This Won’t End Well by Camille Pagán (Lake Union Publishing)

Romance

Winner
The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan (Courtney Milan)

Chloe Fong is the capable, list-focused love of Jeremy Wentworth’s life, but she’s looking for someone serious. After three years of chasing seriousness, Jeremy returns for the annual fair determined to show Chloe that he may not be serious, but he’s serious about her. A flirty, sexy historical romance.

Readalikes

  • Breathless by Beverly Jenkins
  • Bridgerton (TV series, Netflix)
  • True Pretenses by Rose Lerner
  • Short List
  • Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn (Kensington Books)
  • Spoiler Alert: A Novel by Olivia Dade (Avon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
  • Take a Hint, Dani Brown: A Novel by Talia Hibbert (Avon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
  • You Had Me at Hola: A Novel by Alexis Daria (Avon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)

Science Fiction

Winner
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson (Del Rey, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC)

In a future where people can travel to parallel universes in which their counterparts are deceased, Cara’s worth is measured by how easily she dies. Earth after Earth, the poor die to benefit the wealthy, until Cara discovers a secret that could disrupt the whole corrupt system.

Readalikes

  • Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
  • The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
  • Recursion by Blake Crouch
  • Short List
  • Axiom’s End: A Novel by Lindsay Ellis (St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group)
  • The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Orbit, an imprint of Hachette Book Group)
  • Hench: A Novel by Natalie Zina Walschots (William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
  • A Pale Light in the Black: A NeoG Novel by K.B. Wagers (Harper Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)

The winners were selected by the Reading List Council whose members include eleven expert readers’ advisory and collection development librarians. The eight genres currently included in the Council’s considerations are adrenaline, fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, relationship fiction, romance, and science fiction. However, the Council is adaptable to new genres and changes in contemporary reading interest.

The Council consists of Andrea Gough, The Seattle Public Library, chair; Meagan Day, High Plains Library District; Halle Eisenman, NoveList; Matthew Galloway, Anythink Libraries; Stephanie Handy, Library of Congress; Marlene Harris, Reading Reality LLC; Sarah Jaffa, Kitsap Regional Library; Liz Kirchhoff, Barrington Area Library; Kara Krekeler, University City Public Library; Teresa May, Durham County Public Libraries (retired); Karin Suni, Free Library of Philadelphia.

READER’S ADVISORY EXPERTS ANNOUNCE 2021 NOTABLE BOOKS LIST

The Notable Books Council, first established in 1944, has announced the 2020 selections of the Notable Books List, an annual best-of list composed of twenty-five titles written for adult readers and published in the US including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The list was announced Thursday during the Reference & User Services Book & Media Awards Virtual Ceremony.

The 2021 selections are:

Fiction

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)

A family’s stay in a luxury vacation rental is interrupted when the homeowners arrive seeking shelter from a menacing but nebulous catastrophe.

 Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury Publishing)

The occupant of a labyrinthine house explores its infinite rooms and corridors until the world he knows begins to unravel.

Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell (Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House)

 In the near future, Kentuckis—small robots purchased by eager keepers but controlled by anonymous human dwellers—sweep the globe, with unnerving results.


The winners were selected by the Notable Books Council whose members include twelve expert readers’ advisory and collection development librarians. The Council considers titles based on stellar reviews published in standard library reviewing sources and other authoritative sources. Derived from this list is the longlist for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, ALA’s highest honor for books written for adults.

The Council includes Lynn Lobash, New York Public Library, chair; Hana Zittel, Denver Public Library, vice-chair; Kaitlin Conner, NoveList; Sara Duff, University of Central Florida; Allison Escoto, The Center for Fiction; Gwen Glazer, Croton Free Library; William Kelly, Cuyahoga County Public Library; Edward Kownslar, Stephen F. Austin State University; Rochelle Lundy, Seattle University; Eve Alison Nyren, Placer County Library (retired); Nonny Schlotzhauer, Penn State University

2021 OUTSTANDING REFERENCE SOURCES LIST

The most noteworthy reference titles published in 2020 have been named to the 2021 Outstanding References Sources List, an annual list selected by experts of the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of ALA. The list was announced Thursday at the Book & Media Awards Virtual Ceremony.

The winners include:

Horror Fiction in the 20th Century: Exploring literature’s most chilling genre

This reference splits the 20th century into three time periods to educate readers about the important points and players. In each section, chapters cover different elements of that era, thereby breaking the entire century into bite-sized horror chunks, including authors, countries, and subgenres, for the learner.  Author/Publisher: Jess Nevins / Praeger and imprint of ABC-CLIO

2021 Night Sky Guide: A Month-by-Month Guide to North America’s Skies from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada

One of the few safe activities still available during COVID is watching the night sky. This compact guide provides information on using a telescope or binoculars, observing the moon, the planets, eclipses, the Northern Lights, and more. The language here is accessible to teens as well as adults. Author/Publisher: Nicole Mortillaro / Firefly Books

[Based on a press release.]

2018 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting Awards and Honors

Today at the Reference and User Services Association’s Book and Media Awards event during the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Denver, these works of genre interest were among those recognized:

2018 Notable Books List: Year’s best in fiction, nonfiction and poetry

Fiction

  • American War by Omar El Akkad. Alfred A. Knopf.
    A second Civil War turns lives upside down in this devastating vision of a dystopian future.
  • Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. Random House, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
    Three characters stuck in an ambiguous limbo after their deaths narrate the story of the president’s visits to the graveyard following the tragic loss of his son.
  • Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward. Scribner, an imprint of Simon and Schuster.
    A lyrical and psychologically astute exploration of the gravity of history that still ripples through the lives of a Mississippi family.

Nonfiction

  • The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies by Jason Fagone. Dey Street Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.
    A biography of the forgotten heroine who founded American cryptography and cracked the Nazi Enigma machine.
  • Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay. Harper, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
    This candid account lays bare the author’s personal demons.
  • Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore. Sourcebooks.
    In early twentieth century watch factories, dial painters suffer the deterioration of their bodies and fight to pave the way for workplace safety standards.

2018 Reading List: Year’s best in genre fiction for adult readers

Fantasy

Winner

  • Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire. A Tor.com Book, published by Tom Doherty Associates.
    Twin sisters Jack and Jill discover a portal that leads them to the Moors, a dark and unsettling world that reveals their true selves. But will their conflicting desires tear them apart?

Horror

Winner

  • Kill Creek by Scott Thomas. Inkshares.
    An homage to horror and the authors who write it, “Kill Creek” features four prominent authors who are lured into spending the night in a famous haunted house as a publicity stunt. The aftermath is both unexpected and terrifying.

Science Fiction

Winner

  • The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi. Tor, a Tom Doherty Associates Book.
    In the Interdependency, each planet relies on its far-flung neighbors for survival. Now a galactic change is transforming the universal order, a new empress has been crowned, a rival is plotting a revolution, and a foul-mouthed captain is caught in the middle.

2018 Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration for Adult Listeners

  • “Lincoln in the Bardo: A Novel” by George Saunders. Narrated by Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, George Saunders, Carrie Brownstein, Miranda July, Lena Dunham, and a full cast. Books on Tape. Abraham Lincoln pays one last visit to son Willie, laid to rest in Oak Hill Cemetery amidst a host of spirits keeping watch as the boy makes his final passage. An unprecedented cast of 166 narrators combine in a spectral chorus, telling their stories in an astonishing gabble of voices that teems with pathos, tragicomedy, and the tenderest love.