Worth reading

Every year, WORLD writers and editors sift through the thousands of books published during the previous 12 months to select a few that deserve special recognition. This year, we selected one Book of the Year for adults and one for children, with honorable mentions in both categories. WORLD’s annual awards are coveted, and not just by authors and publishers. Readers look forward to the awards because they know any book that gains WORLD’s stamp of approval will be worth reading.

My daughter and I have enjoyed many of the kids’ book selections and eagerly await the announcement of each year’s winner so we can add it to our TBR (to be read) list. After Culture Editor Collin Garbarino put the finishing touches on this year’s reviews, I asked him to take us behind the scenes of the award process.

What goes into picking the Book of the Year finalists? The planning begins in late summer, so it probably takes much longer to select a Book of the Year than most folks expect. I and a small group of WORLD staffers scour bestseller lists. Then we ask our reviewers and other bookish people we know to nominate titles. We also reach out to publishers, asking which of their own books they’re most proud of. We then take this multitude of suggestions and whittle it down to a more manageable list of nominees. Next we have more than 20 panelists from a variety of areas give feedback on those nominees.

What criteria are you looking for in a Book of the Year? We assess potential titles in three broad categories. First, the book must be excellent in its execution, so we judge each book on its readability and artistic merit. Second, we consider a book’s worldview and moral value. A book doesn’t necessarily have to be written from an explicitly Christian perspective, but it can’t be antagonistic to a Biblical worldview. Third, we ask ourselves whether this is the kind of book WORLD readers would be interested in.

Was this year’s winner the clear favorite, or did the committee have a spirited debate over which title should get the award? After the readers’ reports came back in, our team arrived at a fairly quick consensus. This year’s Book of the Year had the highest marks across the board, and we were impressed with how it managed to win over some of the doubters.

WORLD has chosen Books of the Year for as long as I remember. Why is this such an important part of our mission? Christianity has always been a bookish religion. Not only do the words of Scripture shape our faith and practice, but also early Christians pioneered the codex and created their own literary culture. Now our society has increasingly moved in a postliterate direction, with people who know how to read but, as a rule, don’t. I’m thankful WORLD subscribers tend to be an exception to this trend. Highlighting these books is worthwhile because it reminds us that good books are still being written, and it helps push against the cultural forces that have caused reading to dwindle.