Goodreads Announces the Winners of the 2010 Goodreads Choice Awards

SANTA MONICA, CA, January 07, 2011 (Press-News.org) More than 157,000 votes were cast for 460 nominees and thousands of write-in candidates. Brought to you by Reader Digital Book by Sony http://www.sony.com/reader, the 2010 Choice Awards reflect what book lovers are really reading.

To view detailed results, please visit:
http://www.goodreads.com/award/choice/2010

Favorite Book of 2010: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
With a decisive 20% of the vote, the third installment of the popular Hunger Games series is our big winner this year (it also won Young Adult Fantasy, Favorite Hero, and Favorite Heroine). Mockingjay is the most-read book on Goodreads in 2010—earning more than 53,000 ratings in the four months since its publication. Thousands more have it on their to-read lists. Runners-up were The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson and Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead.

Fiction: Room by Emma Donoghue (Goodreads Author)
Donoghue may not have won the prestigious Man Booker Award (she was shortlisted), but her book about a mother and son in captivity is a reader favorite. Runners-up include Jodi Picoult's House Rules, Sarah Addison Allen's The Girl Who Chased the Moon, and W. Bruce Cameron's A Dog's Purpose. Critical darling Jonathan Franzen came in fifth with Freedom.

Mystery & Thriller: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
The Swedish thriller with a U.S. 2010 release garnered a whopping 37.8% of the vote, a huge lead over runners-up Still Missing by Chevy Stevens and Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich.

Fantasy: Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)
This category was decided by a whisper-thin margin of only 0.5% of the vote. Paul Hoffman's The Left Hand of God just missed the top spot, and China Mieville's Kraken came in third. Sanderson also provided his own competition: His other 2010 publication, The Way of Kings, came in fifth.

Paranormal Fantasy: Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
Vampires and wily heroines abound in this category. Harris's latest installment of the Sookie Stackhouse series took the top honor, followed by Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs and Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews.

Science Fiction: Feed by Mira Grant
Grant's near-future zombie thriller beat out Connie Willis's Blackout and Cherie Priest's Dreadnought.

Romance: Lover Mine by J.R. Ward
Reflecting their recent popularity, paranormal romances took both first and third place: Ward's latest Black Dagger Brotherhood book and Jeaniene Frost's First Drop of Crimson. Nicholas Sparks's contemporary romance, Safe Haven, placed second.

Historical Fiction: Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
Follet's World War I epic took first place, closely followed by Anne Fortier's Shakespeare-inspired Juliet. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O. McNees took third.

Graphic Novels & Comics: Twilight: The Graphic Novel by Stephenie Meyer & Young Kim
Although Meyer's adaptation came in first, the Cinderella story in this category is Felicia Day's The Guild. Her debut graphic novel came in seventh, the highest finish for any write-in candidate in the 2010 Goodreads Choice Awards. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Retreat placed second, and Maximum Ride: The Manga third.

Poetry: Come on All You Ghosts by Matthew Zapruder
American poet Zapruder takes the top honor, followed by If There Is Something to Desire (translated from the Russian) by Vera Pavlova and Newspaper Blackout by visual artist Austin Kleon.

Nonfiction: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Goodreads Author)
Skloot's book about the HeLa immortal cell line is one of the year's best-reviewed books on Goodreads with an average rating of 4.16. The Lost Dogs by Jim Gorant came in second, and Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain came in third.

History & Biography: The Tudors by G.J. Meyer
Voters favored Meyer's in-depth look at the English monarchy over Bill Bryson's At Home and Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken.

Memoir & Autobiography: Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi
The television actress's candid account of her struggle with anorexia beat out memoirs from comedienne Carol Burnett and former First Lady Laura Bush.

Humor: Bite Me by Christopher Moore
Moore's zany story of evil vampire cats in San Francisco took first place, followed by Sh*t My Dad Says by Twitter comic Justin Halpern and Earth (the book) by Daily Show host Jon Stewart.

Young Adult Fiction: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (Goodreads Author)
Only a few hundred votes separated Before I Fall from Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan.

Young Adult Fantasy: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Collins's dystopian juggernaut was followed by Richelle Mead's Last Sacrifice, the conclusion to her Vampire Academy series, and Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, the beginning of her new Infernal Devices series.

Middle Grade & Children's: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney
Kinney's popular middle-grade series won in a landslide, followed by Lord Sunday and The Viper's Nest.

Picture Books: It's a Book by Lane Smith
Smith's comedic picture book pits a book-loving monkey against his high-tech mouse and jackass friends. Mo Willem's Knuffle Bunny Free came in second, and Neil Gaiman's Instructions third.

Debut Author: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Nonfiction winner Skloot is followed by Humor runner-up Justin Halpern (Sh*t My Dad Says) and young adult fantasy writer Alexandra Bracken (Brightly Woven).

Goodreads Author: Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead (Goodreads Author)
This special category honors Goodreads Authors, published authors who have joined the site to connect with their fans. Runners-up were Cassandra Clare (Clockwork Angel) and Emma Donoghue (Room).

Favorite Heroine: Katniss Everdeen in Mockingjay
Gutsy teen gladiator Katniss earned 26.8% of the vote, more than vampire guardian Rose Hathaway (Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice) and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest).

Favorite Hero: Peeta Mellark in Mockingjay
Katniss, Peeta, and Gale Hawthorne form the love triangle at the heart of The Hunger Games series. However, Peeta dominated this category, beating third-place finisher Gale by 18.2%. Eric Northman, Sookie Stackhouse's vampire paramour in Dead in the Family, took second.

Cover Art: Torment by Lauren Kate (Goodreads Author)
Three young-adult titles won the top spots in this category: Kate's angel fantasy, followed by Brenna Yovanoff's The Replacement and Jackson Pearce's Sisters Red.

To view detailed results, please visit:
http://www.goodreads.com/award/choice/2010

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Goodreads is the largest social network for readers in the world with more than 7 million unique visitors each month.