A bunch of librarians and book lovers posted their 10 favorite books published in 2024 on BlueSky, using the hashtag #LibFaves24. An amazing 464 votes total were cast, with 346 unique book titles mentioned in the chat!

Here are the top books with five votes or more, and a link to the spreadsheet of all the titles.

8 votes each: James by Percival Everett and The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley.

7 votes each: Funny Story by Emily Henry and Sandwich by Catherine Newman.

6 votes: The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

5 votes: Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe, The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich, The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst, and The Women by Kristin Hannah.

Our latest GalleyChat occurred on December 5, at our new home on BlueSky. Here are the links to the chat and the Edelweiss catalog where you can request and download DRCs.

To read the full chat, log in and search the platform by #ewgc.

— EarlyWord GalleyChat, December 2024— link to a spreadsheet of the titles on Google Docs. Includes the chatters or marketers who chatted up the books. As always, diversity titles are noted. LibraryReads deadlines and notes on DRCs are only available on NetGalley.

NOTE: If you have any trouble downloading the spreadsheet or have comments or issues, please let us know.

— Edelweiss catalog — includes covers, publisher marketing information, and links to Edelweiss DRCs.

Our next chat is scheduled for Thursday, January 2, 2025, from 4 to 5 p.m. EST on BlueSky (virtual cocktails at 3:30 p.m. EST).

The next LibraryReads deadline is January 1, for books publishing in February.

Please give special attention to our list of diversity titles for 2025.

Our latest GalleyChat occurred on November 7, on Twitter/X. Future GalleyChats will occur on BlueSky. Here are the links to the chat and the Edelweiss catalog where you can request and download DRCs. To read the full chat, log in and search the platform by #ewgc.

— EarlyWord GalleyChat, November 2024 — link to a spreadsheet of the titles on Google Docs. A “pinch hitter” compiled the chat from the tweets and searching by hashtag and keyword appears to be broken, so “Chatter(ers)” and “Popularity” columns are missing and will reappear in the future. As always, diversity titles are noted. LibraryReads deadlines and notes on DRCs are only available on NetGalley.

NOTE: If you have any trouble downloading the spreadsheet or have comments or issues, please let us know.

— Edelweiss catalog — includes covers, publisher marketing information, and links to Edelweiss DRCs.

Our next chat is scheduled for Thursday, December 5, from 4 to 5 p.m. EST (virtual cocktails at 3:30 p.m. EST).

The next LibraryReads deadline is November 1, for books publishing in December.

Please give special attention to our list of upcoming diversity titles.

Our latest GalleyChat occurred on October 3, on Twitter/X. Here are the links to the chat and the Edelweiss catalog where you can request and download DRCs. To read the full chat, log in and search the platform by #ewgc.

— EarlyWord GalleyChat, October 2024 — link to a spreadsheet of the titles on Google Docs. Includes the chatters or marketers who chatted up the books and a new 3-PEAT or 3-PEAT + popularity column indicating books with mentions by three or more unaffiliated chatters. As always, diversity titles are noted. LibraryReads deadlines and notes on DRCs are only available on NetGalley.

NOTE: If you have any trouble downloading the spreadsheet or have comments or issues, please let us know.

— Edelweiss catalog — includes covers, publisher marketing information, and links to Edelweiss DRCs.

Our next chat is scheduled for Thursday, November 7, from 4 to 5 p.m. EST (virtual cocktails at 3:30 p.m. EST).

The next LibraryReads deadline is November 1, for books publishing in December.

Please give special attention to our lists of diversity titles for 2024 and also for 2025.

Our latest GalleyChat occurred on September 5, on Twitter/X. Here are the links to the chat and the Edelweiss catalog where you can request and download DRCs. To read the full chat, log in and search the platform by #ewgc.

— EarlyWord GalleyChat, September 2024 — link to a spreadsheet of the titles on Google Docs. Includes the chatters or marketers who chatted up the books and a new 3-PEAT or 3-PEAT + popularity column indicating books with mentions by three or more unaffiliated chatters. As always, diversity titles are noted. LibraryReads deadlines and notes on DRCs are only available on NetGalley.

NOTE: If you have any trouble downloading the spreadsheet or have comments or issues, please let us know.

— Edelweiss catalog — includes covers, publisher marketing information, and links to Edelweiss DRCs.

Our next chat is scheduled for Thursday, October 3, from 4 to 5 p.m. EST (virtual cocktails at 3:30 p.m. EST).

The next LibraryReads deadline is October 1, for books publishing in November.

Please give special attention to our lists of diversity titles for 2024 and also for 2025.

Tom Lake

Yellowface

starling house

heaven

Northwoods

wager

Henry

Kind worth saving

December 21: Librarian Faves, The Top Ten Titles for 2023

Librarians are known for marching to the beat of different drummers in their favorite books, and 2023 was no exception. We received over 300 submissions with several surprise titles that have never graced other best-of-the-year lists. 

1. TOM LAKE by Ann Patchett (HarperCollins) and BOOKSHOPS AND BONEDUST by Travis Baldree (Macmillan) 

3. THE FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros (Macmillan)

4. ROMANTIC COMEDY by Curtis Sittenfeld and POVERTY, AMERICA by Matthew Desmond (both by Penguin Random House)

6. VERA WONG’S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Penguin Random House)

7. IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS by T. J. Klune (Macmillan), HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE by Grady Hendrix (Penguin Random House), THE MAKING OF ANOTHER MAJOR MOTION PICTURE MASTERPIECE by Tom Hanks (Penguin Random House), and ALL THE SINNERS BLEED by S. A. Cosby (Macmillan).

Click here to see the entire list of over 300 entries.

December 13 UPDATE: 

Please remember to vote for your top ten favorite books of the year. Enter your books on the spreadsheet (link below), and if you notice your title is on the list, please enter it anyway, as that is how we will determine the library staff’s top ten books of the year. 

So far, the top contenders are Matthew Desmond’s POVERTY, AMERICA; Grady Hendrix’s HOW TO SELL A HAUNTED HOUSE; T. J. Lune’s IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS, Travis Baldree’s BOOKSHOPS AND BONEDUST, and Ann Patchett’s TOM LAKE. 

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I’m sorry to say there is no #libfaves23 this year (titles submitted by library staff via X/Twitter), but we still wanted library staff to have a way to offer their favorite titles of the year. Rather than have submissions recorded and compiled by volunteers, this year’s event is a do-it-yourself affair.

Below is a link to a Google spreadsheet where you can submit your favorite adult books published in late 2022 and 2023. If you can restrain yourself (I know it’s not easy!), please limit your submissions to ten with the titles in all caps. Submissions start Monday, December 11, and continue through December 20. On the 21st, the titles will be sorted, and we’ll see which books receive the most votes.

Librarian Faves 2023