It can be difficult to choose what your next book will be—after all, no one wants to waste their time or money on a book they don't end up enjoying. But while there's never a guarantee that you'll love a book, you can certainly increase the odds by picking an award winner!
Whether you prefer to read about history, love a lauded literary tale, or are looking for the perfect gift, we've rounded up award winning novels for every kind of reader. Keep scrolling to find your next favorite book!
Blood Like Mine
A New York Times Best Horror Fiction of the Year selection, this “gruesome, action-packed monster novel about a mother and daughter with a terrible secret, on the run from an obsessed and crumbling detective” is "terrific” (The New York Times Book Review).
Maisie Dobbs
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year and Agatha Award Winner for Best First Novel, Maisie Dobbs is “one of the best and most influential crime novels of the young century” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine).
A bright woman whose future was derailed by World War I, Maisie eventually sets out on her own as a private investigator, one who has learned that coincidences are meaningful, and truth elusive. Her very first case involves suspected infidelity but reveals something very different.
Tequila Mockingbird
A Goodreads Choice Award Winner, Tequila Mockingbird has been a favorite book to gift for the past decade—after all, who can resist that punny title and charming cover? Any bibliophile who also loves a good cocktail will appreciate the anniversary edition of this book.
How Green Was My Valley
In this National Book Award winner, Huw Morgan remembers how his town was before the mines arrived. It was a beautiful, prosperous place. The youngest son of a mining family, Huw is the only one who remains in the valley, and his story is one of a South Wales town both defined and destroyed by the mines.
A Good Neighborhood
A New York Times bestseller and one of NPR's Best Books of 2020, A Good Neighborhood tells the stories of two very different families in a tight-knit North Carolina town, where professor Valerie Alston-Holt is raising her bright, biracial son, Xavier.
When the Whitmans buy the property next door, they raze the current lands and build a showplace. The two families have little in common, but an argument over a historic oak tree on Valerie's property—and a growing romance between Xavier and the Whitmans' teenage daughter—will force them to learn how to coexist.
Mistletoe and Mr. Right
An Amazon Editors' Pick for Best Romance, this contemporary love story follows two lovebirds on a zany quest. Lana Montgomery is a rich socialite who is determined to fit in in the quirky town of Moose Springs, Alaska—a feat she'll pull off by tracking the Santa Moose, an antlered Grinch who seems determined to destroy all holiday decorations it comes across.
Enter Rick Harding, who has always been in love with Lana and now has a second chance since she's back in town. Maybe helping her catch this moose will be the start of their love story.
The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History (The Henry Roe Cloud Series on American Indians and Modernity)
A 2023 National Book Award Winner, this book of Native American history is essential to understanding modern day America.
“Even as the telling of American history has become more complex and nuanced, Native Americans tend to be absent. Blackhawk, a professor at Yale, confronts that absence in this sweeping account of how Native Americans shaped the country legally, politically, and culturally.” —Washington Post, “50 Notable Works of Nonfiction” (2023)
Why We Can't Sleep
An Amazon Editors' Pick, this nonfiction book from Ada Calhoun is aimed at Gen Z women who feel that the world is crumbling around them—and no amount of chore charts or “me time” is going to make a meaningful difference.
After speaking with women across America nad finiding that many were exhausted, underemployed, and overwhelmed, Calhoun wrote this self-help guide to show women how to pull themselves out of the abyss.
Children of Anguish and Anarchy (Legacy of Orisha Book 3)
The award-winning Children of Blood and Bones series finally comes to a close with this third installment.
"Brutal and unrelenting in its battle scenes, Anguish and Anarchy isn’t for the faint of heart, but with a closer look at the story behind every weapon, ritual and type of magic wielded, readers will find there is more than meets the eye when it comes to how and with what tools we choose to fight our battles . . . Overall, a marvel of a final installment, Children of Anguish and Anarchy begs readers to start again―just to cherish all that Orïsha has accomplished." ―Booklist, starred review
The Most Boring Book Ever
An instant New York Times bestseller, this charming kids book is sure to be a hit for any youngster who loves dragons—and if their parents are already a fan of Brandon Sanderson's fantasy novels, all the better.
"Acclaimed best-seller Brandon Sanderson has great fun with The Most Boring Book Ever, which—spoiler alert—is a lot more dangerous and exciting than it pretends to be." —Parade Magazine
