3.22 The Community Library Reading Awards 2020
It’s the season finale! And in this episode, this year’s winners of The Community Library Reading Awards are announced! From most surprising book, to favourite translated fiction, to best pandemic read, I highlight seventeen of my favourite books this year.
Listen to the episode here
TL;DL? Here's a list of all the books I talked about in the episode:
1. BIGGEST SURPRISE
The Impossible Fairy Tale by Han Yujoo
Translated from Korean by Janet Hong
Published 2013
Adult / Fiction / Literary, Speculative
The gist: The first half of this novel follows two grade-school girls: pretty and lucky Mia, and unremarkable and nameless ‘Child’. The tension between these two girls escalates to a horrible act of violence. The second half follows the author of the story of Mia and Child. After waking from an intense dream, the author is confronted by one of the characters from her own story, and must answer for her creative decisions.
2. BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT
Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
Published 2020
YA / Fiction / Fantasy
The gist: Stephenie Meyer reimagines her bestselling YA novel Twilight through the eyes of teen vampire Edward Cullen. As Edward falls in love with the mysterious human Bella, he grapples with the hard truth that he is endangering her life.
3. MOST THOUGHT-PROVOKING
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Published 2010
Adult / Nonfiction / Science, Ethics
The gist: Rebecca Skloot investigates the untold story of Henrietta Lacks: the woman whose cells were the first human cells to grow in culture. The HeLa cells – as they are called – have become one of the most important tools in medicine, helping develop vaccines and gene mapping.
4. NEW FAVOURITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER
Baby from Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
Published 2020
YA / Fiction / Speculative
The gist: Running from her troubled past, eighteen-year-old Ines is offered a place at the elusive and prestigious college, Catherine House. We follow Ines over her three years at Catherine as she gets sucked into the world of experimental science and haunting rituals, and discovers dark secrets about Catherine’s elite.
5. FAVOURITE COVER
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow
Published 2020
YA / Fiction / Fantasy, Contemporary
The gist: Best friends Tavia and Effie are both keeping secrets. Tavia is a siren, a dangerous thing to be in a society that views sirens as manipulative and threatening, and Effie’s past is coming back to haunt her. Through the lens of mythology and fantasy, this contemporary novel explores how society treats women of colour.
Sex and Lies by Leïla Slimani
Translated from French by Sophie Lewis
Published 2017
Adult / Nonfiction / Essays, Social Issues
The gist: Slimani collates personal essays and interviews with Moroccan women about love, desire, and sexual identity.
6. FAVOURITE YA FICTION
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Published 2020
YA / Fiction / Contemporary
The gist: We follow half-sisters Camino, living in the Dominican Republic, and Yahaira, living in New York City. They don’t know of the other’s existence, until their father dies in a plane crash, and their family’s secrets are revealed.
7. FAVOURITE ADULT FICTION
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Published 2013
Adult / Fiction / Literary
The gist: Ifemelu and Obinze are young lovers who grow up together in Nigeria, but must part ways when Ifemelu moves to America for university. Confronted with a new country and a new culture, Ifemelu is forced to grapple with what it means to be black in America.
8. FAVOURITE TRANSLATED FICTION
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Translated from Spanish by Gregory Rabassa
Published 1967
Adult / Fiction / Magical Realism
The gist: An epic literary tale that chronicles the generations of the Buendía family, from the establishment of their town Macondo, to its destruction.
9. FAVOURITE AUSTRALIAN FICTION
Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko
Published 2018
Adult / Fiction / Contemporary
The gist: When wise-cracking twenty-something-year-old Kerry Salter returns to her hometown to say goodbye to her dying grandpa, she must reconnect with the dysfunctional family she has tried so hard to forget.
10. FAVOURITE CLASSIC
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Published 1937
Adult / Fiction / Classic
The gist: An American classic written in the 1930s, Hurston tells the story of independent and intelligent Janie Crawford as she struggles through three separate marriages.
11. FAVOURITE NONFICTION
Ayoade On Top by Richard Ayoade
Published 2019
Adult / Nonfiction / Comedy
The gist: In this bizarre and hilarious book, British comedian Richard Ayoade offers a critical analysis of the 2003 film View from the Top starring Gwyneth Paltrow.
12. FAVOURITE SHORT STORY COLLECTION, POETRY COLLECTION, OR PLAY
Throat by Ellen Van Neervan
Published 2020
Adult / Poetry / Social Issues
The gist: This dynamic poetry collection explores themes of love, language, and land. Van Neervan ‘shines a light on Australia’s unreconciled past and precarious present with humour and heart.’
13. FAVOURITE RE-READ
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Published 2008
YA / Fiction / Dystopian
The gist: In this post-apocalyptic YA novel, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen is forced to fight to the death in the annual live television event called The Hunger Games.
14. FAVOURITE 2020 RELEASE
Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown
Published 2020
YA / Narrative Nonfiction / Memoir, Fantasy
The gist: In this magical reimagining of the author’s adolescence, we follow Echo Brown: a wizard living on the East Side, where the apartments are small and parents suffer from addiction. When Echo transfers to a rich school on the West Side, she must reconcile her old life with her new one.
15. FAVOURITE PANDEMIC READ
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Published 1991
Adult / Fiction / Historical, Romance, Fantasy
The gist: In 1945, Claire Randall is in Scotland with her husband, until she walks through an ancient circle of stones and is suddenly transported back in time to Scotland in 1743.
16. FAVOURITE NEW AUTHOR
Rick Riordan
17. BOOK OF THE YEAR
Being Here: The Life of Paula Modersohn-Becker by Marie Darrieussecq
Translated from French by Penny Hueston
Published 2017
The gist: In this narrative non-fiction book, Darrieussecq tells the story of early 20th Century painter Paula Modersohn-Becker, the first female artist to paint herself not only naked, but also pregnant.