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- Every year, tens of thousands of Book of the Month members - particularly voracious readers - vote on one Best Book of the Year.
- There were 20 great nominees in 2018, but "Circe" by Madeline Miller beat out them all. It was also nominated as one of our personal favorite books of 2018.
- Get your first BOTM book for $5 when you sign up with code "NICE2MEETU" on December 26.
- Need more inspiration? Shop Amazon's picks for Best Books of 2018 here.
You can only read so many books in your lifetime, and since you'd probably like to enjoy the time you spend reading, you don't want to waste time on a bad book.
That's why letting tens of thousands of voracious readers do the heavy lifting for you sounds so ideal. They read the thousands of pages, dissect the characters and plots, and then rank each title to determine which is most unforgettable. Then, they tell you. You buy it, and chances are, you love it.
Every year, that's basically what you'll find in Book of the Month's "Best of the Year" lists. Tens of thousands of avid readers choose from 20 spectacular titles - an already pared down list from those curated by experts and celebrity judges throughout the year - to crown one Best of the Year. It's the crowd favorite amongst bookworms, and its excellence wins it a $10,000 prize.
In 2018, that most unmissable book is "Circe" by Madeline Miller. If you're even tangentially interested in new splashes in the literary community, this won't surprise you. "Circe" is a fleshed-out, contemporary reimagination of a Greek myth, as told through one of the most infamous female figures in the "Odyssey". It's fast-moving, deceptively complex, and crafted with the masterful storytelling for which Miller is making a name. It was also selected by two team members, including myself, as one of the best books the Insider Picks team read in 2018.
Book of the Month is a book club that's best-known for putting American literary classics like "Gone with the Wind" and "Catcher in the Rye" on the map. BOTM announces five book selections each month chosen by experts and celebrity guest judges passionate about books, and subscribers can choose which book they'd like to receive in hardcover that month. It's been around since 1926, and it has a particularly celebrated eye for cherry-picking promising debuts from the pack. "Circe" is not an exception.
Plus, BOTM members get each monthly book for just $14.99 - and they can choose additional titles that month for just $9.99 each. Those prices are often lower than what you'd find in the bookstore or on Amazon.
Below are the 20 nominees considered for Best Book of the Year:
- "The Air You Breathe" by Frances de Pontes Peebles
- "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones
- "The Astonishing Color of After" by Emily X.R. Pan
- "The Broken Girls" by Simone St. James
- "Circe" by Madeline Miller
- "The City of Brass" by S.A. Chakraborty
- "The Clockmaker's Daughter" by Kate Morton
- "Ghosted" by Rosie Walsh
- "The Girl Who Smiled Beads" by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil
- "The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah
- "How to Walk Away" by Katherine Center
- "The Kiss Quotient" by Helen Hoang
- "The Last Time I Lied" by Riley Sager
- "The Mars Room" by Rachel Kushner
- "Nine Perfect Strangers" by Liane Moriarty
- "Small Country" by Gaël Faye
- "Spinning Silver" by Naomi Novik
- "Then She Was Gone" by Lisa Jewell
- "Unsheltered" by Barbara Kingsolver
- "The Woman in the Window" by A.J. Finn
Find more information on each of the nominees here, and sign up for your first month of Book of the Month to select your January books here.
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Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Insider Picks team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.