Are you interested in knowing what average readers like you and I deem to be the best books in 2012? The results of the Goodreads Choice Awards 2012 are in! The winners were voted on by the site users, making it a sort of People’s Choice of the book world. How many people voted? Over 1.1 million votes were cast this year and winners and runner-ups are listed below. There were a few close calls, and more than a few landslide victories. It’s fun to see if your favorites this year match the list below. Feel free to comment on which ones were the best of the best in your eyes!
Best Fiction
The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling 11,525 votes
Where We Belong by Emily Giffin 7,841 votes
Mystery and Thriller
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (woohoo!) 27,502 votes
Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb 6,364 votes
Best Historical Fiction
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman 6,918 votes
Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel 6,516 votes
Best Fantasy
The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King 8,226 votes
The Woman Who Died A Lot by Jasper Fforde 5,221 votes
Paranormal Fantasy
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness 12,660 votes
Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich 5,917 votes
Science Fiction
The Long Earth by Terry Prachett and Stephen Baxter 7,670 votes
Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey 5,624 votes
Romance
Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James 22,967 votes
Bared to You by Sylvia Day 8,306 votes
Best Horror
The Twelve by Justin Cronin 7,414 votes
Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz 6,549
Best Memoir & Autobiography
Wild by Cheryl Strayed 8,207
Paris in Love by Eloisa James 4,308
Best History & Biography
Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith 6,507 votes
Drift by Rachel Maddow 4,313 votes
Best Nonfiction
Quiet by Susan Cain 7,532 votes
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo 5,356 votes
Food and Cookbooks
The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond 7,977 votes
The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila 2,888 votes
Best Humor
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson 13,066 votes
I Am A Pole (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert 4,984 votes
Graphic Novel and Comics
The Walking Dead, Vol. 16: A Larger World by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard 8,614 votes
Avatar by Gene Luen Yang 6,937 votes
Best Poetry
A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver 5,520 votes
Alien Vs. Predator by Michael Robbins 1,333 votes
Best Goodreads Author
Insurgent by Veronica Roth 20,328 votes
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare 13,858 votes
Young Adult Fiction
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 37,438 votes
Easy by Tammara Webber 8,890 votes
Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction
Insurgent by Veronica Roth 23,827 votes
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare 14,814 votes
Middle Grade & Children’s
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan 16,681 votes
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney 7,912 votes
Picture Books
Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer 7,699 votes
The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems 6,971 votes