By casmith76 for The Book Haven Blog
The Goodreads Choice Awards 2024 have officially wrapped, and—surprise, surprise—the internet is already on fire. Every year we get drama, discourse, celebrations, and at least three categories where everyone collectively screams, “HOW did THAT win?” And honestly? I love it. The Goodreads Awards are messy, chaotic, and extremely fun, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Here are my takes: the picks I cheered for, the ones that blindsided me, the snubs that still haunt me, and the new books I’m shoving onto my TBR immediately.
My Favorite Wins
Some wins this year genuinely made my little reader heart happy.
• Kristin Hannah taking Historical Fiction: Not shocked, not complaining. The woman has a chokehold on the genre.
• Rebecca Yarros dominating Fantasy with Fourth Wing + Iron Flame momentum still rolling strong. BookTok carried this like a torch.
• Emily Henry in Romance… again. At this point it’s tradition, like hanging stockings or ignoring TBR piles.
These were the rare categories where the popular choice actually aligned with quality—and my own votes.
The Snubs I Am STILL Not Over
Every year we lose a few great ones to the algorithm. 2024 was no different.
• The indie fantasy titles being overshadowed—especially a certain LitRPG/progression fantasy entry that deserved noise. (If you know, you know.)
• A couple horror titles that were genuinely genre‑elevating, but BookTok didn’t push them hard enough to crack the top.
• One particular nonfiction title that everyone I know raved about, yet Goodreads voters collectively pretended didn’t exist.
Goodreads remains a popularity contest. Great for vibes, terrible for nuanced recognition.
The Wins That Left Me Confused
Let’s be honest:
Some books won because they were popular, not because they were the best.
A few categories had me staring at my screen like:
“Huh. Interesting. A choice.”
You can practically feel the collective shrug of voters who didn’t read widely enough and just clicked the one name they recognized. It happens every year, and I love the chaos of it.
My TBR Additions (aka the real reason I follow the Awards)
No matter how chaotic the results are, the Goodreads Awards always give me excellent TBR material. Here are the titles I’m adding immediately:
• A thriller that somehow beat out two major BookTok darlings—if it pulled off that upset, I need to know why.
• A fantasy finalist I’d vaguely seen floating around Reddit but never picked up. The fanbase is loud, and I’m listening.
• The nonfiction runner‑ups. Always more interesting than the winner.
And if we’re being completely honest…
My TBR is now a hydra. I cut down three books, Goodreads adds nine more.
Final Thoughts
The Goodreads Awards will never be perfect. They’re messy, biased toward bestsellers, heavily influenced by BookTok, and wildly unpredictable.
But that’s exactly why I look forward to them every year.
They spark conversation.
They highlight crowd favorites.
And they always—ALWAYS—give me something new to read.
Tell me your takes:
Did your favorites win?
What’s your biggest snub of 2024?
And which category should we all be arguing about right now?
I’ll grab the popcorn.
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