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Access our Top 20
Books of 2024!
Kelly and Zach Weinersmith's A City on Mars discusses what a space colony on that planet might look like. Science fiction authors, though, have been imagining life on the Red Planet for well over a century (some coming closer to reality than others).
The concept of intelligent life on Mars was likely sparked in the late 19th century. Improved telescopes allowed scientists to notice long, straight lines on its surface (first described by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli in 1877). Some speculated that these channels or canals were engineered by some sort of native creature. Although this notion was debunked in the early 20th century, it triggered the idea that there could be intelligent life on Mars, which over the ensuing decades became a staple of science fiction.
Every year, we announce our annual Top 20 books, chosen by participating BookBrowse subscribers. But which are the cream of the crop, the favorites among favorites? From this year's list, we bring you the Award Winners for Top Fiction, Top Nonfiction, Top Debut and Top Young Adult, determined by the highest rated books in each category.
What better way to kick off the holiday season than by announcing our subscribers' best-loved books of 2023? The BookBrowse Top 20 are determined by a significant number of votes — maxing out at over 9,000 in recent years — and have become a treasured tradition through which we celebrate some of the most memorable books of one year before moving into the next. Scroll down to explore the finalists below.
We compile the Top 20 with the intention of reflecting authentic reader opinion, opening votes only to members and subscribers of our free newsletters to prevent vote-stuffing and promote balance between books with different degrees of marketing influence (see more). This gives us a true picture of the titles voters were most excited about. Thank you to everyone who participated this year!
Looking for some lively book banter? Whether you're hunting for possible book club picks or just curious about others' thoughts on a recent title, BookBrowse Book Club discussions are the perfect resource for tuning in to readers' opinions, feelings and observations.
Reading other people's opinions on a book is a fun way to decide whether you want to read it yourself. With BookBrowse's First Impressions program, you can dive into a variety of personal perspectives on new titles, enjoying honest reviews from multiple independent readers to form an idea of a book similar to what you might gather from a casual conversation with a group of friends.
We make sure our First Impressions reviews and ratings are free from any connections to an author or outside influences by exclusively featuring feedback from members who opt in to the program and receive books assigned by an algorithm months ahead of publication. So you can browse high-quality comments with confidence and feel excited about choosing your next read!
In 2023, our First Impressions program covered more than 50 books. We invite you to peruse these reviews as well as ones for hundreds of other titles in our archives.
For book clubs who read contemporary fiction, it can feel impossible to choose between the many acclaimed and anticipated works making an appearance every year. But not to worry, we have you covered with top-notch suggestions for your club in 2024! Our list of recommendations features new books from established favorites like Barbara Kingsolver, Lydia Millet and Lynda Rutledge, along with noteworthy debuts from emerging authors such as Costanza Casati, Alice Winn and Parini Shroff.
All of these books are recently or soon-to-be published in paperback, many are accompanied by reading guides, and all that are currently available have been recommended by either our professional reviewers or multiple readers in our First Impressions program, some of whose comments you can read below. Plus, we're hosting our own online discussions for the first three titles and would love for you to join us!
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