Bonus Episode: Behind the Scenes of Amazon’s Best Books of 2024 List with Al Woodworth, Senior Editor & Manager of Amazon Books Editorial
Release Date: 12/04/2024
Ep. 197: Summer 2025 Book Preview with Catherine (@GilmoreGuide)
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
Welcome to the Summer 2025 Book Preview with Catherine of ! Today, Catherine and Sarah share 12 of their most anticipated books releasing from June through mid-August. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Announcement One of the many benefits to supporting the podcast through either our or our (both for just $7/mo) is that you get access to several bonus podcast episode series, including Book Preview Extras! In these episodes, Catherine and I share at least 4 bonus books we...
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Ep. 196: Spring 2025 Circle Back with Catherine (@GilmoreGuide)
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
In Episode 196, Sarah and Catherine of catch up on the 12 new releases they shared in the , now that they’ve read them. They share their reading stats, chat about what worked — and hash out which books didn’t work and why. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Our Printable Cheatsheet for the is available to anyone who signs up for either a 7-Day FREE TRIAL of our Patreon Community (sign up ) OR a 30-day FREE TRIAL of our paid Substack Community (sign up ). We...
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Ep. 195: 2025 Summer Reading Special with Susie (@NovelVisits)
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
In Ep. 195, Susie () and Sarah are back to share their favorite books that missed last year’s Summer Reading Guide and our #1 picks for each category featured in my . Plus, they begin by sharing how their summer reading habits have evolved over the years. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Once again, we are happy to offer a Printable Cheatsheet for this year’s Guide: Summer Reading The Evolution of Our Summer Reading Journeys Books Mentioned by Susie by Edward Rutherfurd (1997) by Stieg...
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Ep. 194: Bookish Time Capsule (2017) with Catherine (@GilmoreGuide)
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
In Ep. 194, Catherine () and Sarah head back to the year 2017 in the book world with this second annual special retrospective episode! They share big bookish highlights for that year, including book news, award winners, and what was going on in the world outside of reading. They also talk about how their own 2017 reading shook out, including their favorite 2017 releases. Plus, a quick run-down of listener-submitted favorites! This episode is overflowing with great backlist titles to add to your TBR! This post contains affiliate links through which I make a...
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Ep. 193: Clare Leslie Hall (Author of Broken Country) + Book Recommendations
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
In Episode 193, author Clare Leslie Hall talks with Sarah about her US debut, — a breakout hit and a . A genre mash-up that is part love story and part murder trial, Clare talks about marketing Broken Country, how this came to be her first U.S. release, and the ways the novel evolved over time. Plus, Clare shares her book recommendations. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Highlights Books by Clare Leslie Hall: , (previously published as Mine),...
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Ep. 192: Spring 2025 Book Preview with Catherine (@GilmoreGuide)
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
Welcome to the Spring 2025 Book Preview with Catherine of ! Today, Catherine and Sarah share 12 of their most anticipated books releasing in April and May. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Announcement Sarah’s Bookshelves has joined Substack! Please note, we’re not MOVING to Substack, we’re simply adding Substack to the places we already put out content. On our FREE Substack feed, Sarah’s Bookshelves is offering all the content you already find on the blog, my...
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Ep. 191: Winter 2025 Circle Back with Catherine (@GIlmoreGuide)
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
In Episode 191, Sarah and Catherine of catch up on the 16 new releases they shared in the . They share their reading stats, chat about what they liked, and what didn’t work out. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Highlights For the first time ever, Sarah’s Preview selections resulted in a 100% success rate! Catherine’s reading was also successful at 75%, with 2 DNFs. A total of three 5-star books from the Winter Preview! Sarah successfully revived her reading from...
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Ep. 190: Behind the Scenes of a Book-to-Screen Adaptation with Georgia Hunter (Author of One Good Thing) + Book Recommendations
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
In Episode 190, author Georgia Hunter returns to the podcast to chat with Sarah about her sophomore novel, , and go behind-the-scenes of her experience adapting her first novel, , for Hulu. Georgia talks about her role as executive producer, the difference in writing a novel that wasn’t based on family history, and how the screenwriting process influenced her own writing. Plus, Georgia shares her book recommendations. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Highlights Books by...
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Ep. 189: Karen Thompson Walker (Author of The Strange Case of Jane O.) + Book Recommendations
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
In Episode 189, author Karen Thompson Walker talks with Sarah about her career to date and her newest novel, Karen discusses her writing journey, including each book’s inspiration and research process. She also touches on the challenges of promoting her latest book without giving away too much and her current work in progress. Plus, Karen shares her book recommendations. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Highlights Books by Karen Thompson...
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Ep. 188: Best of Fantasy with Chrissie (@ChrissieWhitley)
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
In Ep. 188, we are kicking off our new “Best of…” series with Sarah’s Bookshelves Live team member, Chrissie, for the Best of Fantasy. Today, Chrissie brings you her all-time top ten favorite fantasy novels. Also, as a long-time reader and evangelizer of the genre, Chrissie talks about how she started reading fantasy, the wide scope of the genre, and ways those new to fantasy might jump in! This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Highlights How Chrissie got started reading fantasy. What draws her to...
info_outlineIn this Bonus Podcast Episode, Al Woodworth, Senior Editor and Manager at Amazon Books Editorial, returns to the show to take listeners behind the scenes of Amazon’s Best Books of 2024, as chosen by the Amazon Editors! A fascinating glimpse into how the 2024 list was curated, how the rankings were determined, and what criteria guided the selections.
This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog.
Announcements
- My 2025 Reading Tracker is out! Plus, this year we’ve added another option — a LITE Tracker. Once again, the Tracker is ONLY available to Superstars patrons (i.e., no longer available as a separate purchase for $14.99 here on my website). Also, to avoid Apple’s 30% fee, be sure to join directly from Patreon’s site, mobile or desktop. Become a Superstars Patron here!
Highlights
- The impact Amazon’s #1 book of 2024 had on the editorial team
- The role of capturing “the present moment” in selecting the best books of the year
- How Amazon Editorial chose the top 5 books of 2024
- Whether the mid-year top book or other outlets’ year-end lists influenced Amazon’s decisions
- Behind the scenes: 2024’s “reading week” retreat and “war room” discussions
- The importance of selecting books that appeal across genres and to a broad swath of readers
- The group dynamic of ranking each book on the list
- Al highlights some lesser-known titles from the list
- How 2024 stacks up for Al and Amazon’s editorial team
Books From Our Discussion
- The Boys of Riverside by Thomas Fuller | Amazon | Bookshop.org [3:03]
- The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown | Amazon | Bookshop.org [4:25]
- Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger | Amazon | Bookshop.org [4:27]
- Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand | Amazon | Bookshop.org [4:28]
- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride | Amazon | Bookshop.org [9:54]
- The God of the Woods by Liz Moore | Amazon | Bookshop.org [11:37]
- James by Percival Everett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [11:43]
- The Women by Kristin Hannah | Amazon | Bookshop.org [11:51]
- The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon | Amazon | Bookshop.org [11:54]
- Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar | Amazon | Bookshop.org [11:59]
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain | Amazon
| Bookshop.org [13:18]
- Educated by Tara Westover | Amazon | Bookshop.org [17:09]
- The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:26]
- We Solve Murders by Richard Osman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:30]
- The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:34]
- The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak | Amazon | Bookshop.org [21:06]
- Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten | Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:23]
- The Wedding People by Alison Espach | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:27]
- All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:35]
- We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:47]
- Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:21]
- When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:23]
- The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:15]
- There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak | Amazon
- John Lewis by David Greenberg | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:44]
- I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger | Amazon | Bookshop.org [39:00]
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:14]
- The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:06]
Other Links
About Al Woodworth
More about Amazon Book Review
Website | Instagram | X | Facebook
Al Woodworth is a Senior Editor on the Amazon Books Editorial team and has spent more than ten years in the book industry, championing authors and their work. She’s never without a book or four in her bag and is happiest reading memoirs and literary fiction, especially sprawling stories that cross generations and countries. She lives in Brooklyn.