Amazon book editors reveal the 100 best
books of the year, selecting titles in over a dozen
categories
(NASDAQ:AMZN)—Today, Amazon.com announced its selections for the
Best Books of 2018, naming Tara Westover’s Educated: A
Memoir the Best Book of the Year. Just in time for the
holidays, the annual list features the Top 100 books of the year
plus Top 20 lists across various categories ranging from biography,
literary fiction, and mystery to children’s and young adult. All
lists are hand-selected by Amazon’s team of editors—first by
choosing the best books of every month and then, finally, the best
books of the year. To see the full list of the Best Books of 2018
and buy the print, Kindle or Audible editions,
visit: https://amazon.com/bestbooks2018.
“This year we read many great books across many different
genres, but one story—a true story—stood out to us for its bravery,
insight, and that fact that it’s so very readable,” said Chris
Schluep, Amazon Senior Book Editor. “Tara Westover’s Educated is a
rare gem of a memoir—it surprises and inspires, and we want to tell
everyone: read this book!”
Educated joins Amazon Book Editors’ past Best Book of the Year
selections including Killers of the Flower Moon, Underground
Railroad, The Goldfinch and Everything I Never Told You.
“I couldn't be more pleased that Educated was chosen Best
of the Year,” said Tara Westover, author of Educated. “It's kind of
unbelievable, actually. But unbelievable in the very best way.”
Here are the Amazon Editorial Team’s Top 10 picks of 2018:
1. Educated: A Memoir by
Tara Westover: Tara Westover didn't see the inside of a
classroom until she was seventeen, and it was an experience that
dramatically changed the trajectory of her life. This extraordinary
memoir chronicles how she survived her survivalist upbringing,
eventually earning a PhD from Cambridge University. Rather than a
story about the making of a scholar, Educated is about the making
of a person.
2. Washington Black: A Novel by Esi
Edugyan: When an 11-year-old slave named Wash is picked to
serve his master’s brother, he is terrified to leave the Barbados
plantation where he lives. But what follows is adventure and
scientific exploration on a par with the novels of Jules Verne. Esi
Edugyan’s superb writing and inventive story telling drive this
thoughtful, entertaining page-turner.
3. Indianapolis: The True Story of the
Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight
to Exonerate an Innocent Man by Lynn Vincent and Sara
Vladic: While readers will be riveted by the four days the
Indianapolis crew spent adrift in the shark-infested Pacific, the
rest of the Indianapolis's story is equally as tense. Vincent and
Vladic include not only the expected tales of heroism under duress
but the just-as-human stories of willpower bending and sanity
breaking. This is history writing at its finest: shining a
spotlight on a wartime tragedy that still echoes within the
survivors and the Navy today.
4. Elevation: A Novel by Stephen
King: Here is a short, heart-lifting parable by a master
storyteller. When we first meet Scott Carey, he is aware that he is
losing weight every day, even if he does not look any different
than he did a year ago. Set in the iconic but fictional town of
Castle Rock, Maine, his slow disappearance may somehow be the thing
that brings the town together.
5. The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches
from the Border by Francisco Cantú: The son of a park
ranger, Cantú grew up in the southwest. When he joined the Border
Patrol, he witnessed the complex realities of illegal immigration,
and the obligations of his job weighed heavy against his sense of
humanity. With its direct, stoic prose, The Line Becomes a
River is a weighty and timely document on one of our most
divisive arguments.
6. The Woman in the Window: A Novel
by A.J. Finn: The Woman in the Window is a seductive and
unpredictable novel about an agoraphobic woman with a tricky past
who witnesses a murder. Or does she? With twists that will
have you gasping aloud, this Hitchcockian noir thriller is the book
to read if you’ve been waiting (too long) for the next Gone
Girl.
7. Once Upon a River: A Novel by
Diane Setterfield: When a man bursts into a riverside inn,
covered in blood and carrying an unconscious child, the patrons of
the Swan are beyond thrilled to find themselves in the middle of a
swiftly unfolding tale. As Setterfield juggles a colorful mob of
characters whose lives are upended by the mute and mysterious young
girl pulled from the Thames, the joy of storytelling permeates
every moment in this lively and wise historical novel.
8. Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of
Orisha) by Tomi Adeyemi: A fresh new take on young adult
fantasy that is just what readers have been waiting for. With West
African-inspired characters, magic, and setting, Children of Blood
and Bone is non-stop action, enriched with themes that resonate in
today’s social and political landscape: injustice, discrimination,
and a struggle for change. Author Tomi Adeyemi’s debut novel is the
start of what promises to be an epic, addictive new series.
9. Virgil Wander: A Novel by Leif
Enger: All is not quiet on the Midwestern front in Leif Enger’s
Virgil Wander, as the quirky inhabitants of a fictional community
near Lake Superior struggle with sundry dramas. Not everyone gets a
happy ending, but this endearing novel—full of everyday (and not so
ordinary) magic--reminds us that small acts of kindness aren’t
small at all—they have the power to turn a flagging town’s frown
upside down.
10. There There: A Novel by Tommy
Orange: What does it really mean to be an Indian/Native
American/American Indian/Native? Orange's vivid debut novel allows
a unique cast of characters—ranging from teenagers to elders living
in Oakland, California—to pull this question apart for themselves
as they live within an urban ecosystem.
The top pick in the children’s category is the middle grade
novel:
1. The Season of Styx Malone by
Kekla Magoon: A heartwarming story of friendship and
discovering life’s possibilities. Brothers Caleb and Bobby Gene
have led a comfortable if sheltered life in their small Indiana
town, until the summer Styx Malone moves in. Styx invites the
brothers to join his adventures and as their friendship continues
boundaries are tested and loyalties strained. Young readers will
quickly bond with Kekla Magoon’s characters and her
beautifully-crafted story of three boys who wind up teaching each
other about trust, forgiveness, and family.
Over the year, the Amazon Books editorial team reads hundreds of
thousands of pages and hundreds of books to help customers discover
their next great read. Here are some interesting facts about this
year’s Best Books of the Year list:
- This sentence was among the most
popular highlights on Kindle for Tara Westover’s Educated: “I had
come to believe that the ability to evaluate many ideas, many
histories, many points of view, was at the heart of what it means
to self-create.”
- 5 of the top 10 picks were written by
debut authors.
- 8 out of 20 Best of the Year titles
have appeared in the Amazon Charts Top 20 this year.
In addition to being available to purchase online and via Kindle
and Audible, a selection of the Top 20 Best of the Year books will
be available for purchase at all Amazon Books locations. Our top
pick, Educated, will also be available at Amazon 4-star
locations and through Prime Now. To find the location nearest you
visit: https://amazon.com/stores. To explore the top 100 Best Books
of the Year visit: https://amazon.com/bestbooks2018.
About Amazon
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visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.
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