BOOKS OF THE YEAR 📗📘📕

Nov 9, 2023

Waterstones has officially released their Book of the Year shortlist, and we’re here to tell you all about it! 👀📖

 

Emperor of Rome – Mary Beard

In her customary lively yet scholarly style, the eminent historian and author of SPQR presents an authoritative account of the role of Roman Emperor and the colourful personalities who occupied that position over the centuries.

 

Abroad in Japan – Chris Broad

From missile incidents to love hotels, Broad’s hilarious and insightful travelogue of Japan is based on his numerous misadventures in the decade since he arrived to teach English.

 

The Wager – David Grann

The author of the acclaimed Killers of the Flower Moon unspools the thrilling true story of the wreck of the eponymous eighteenth-century British vessel and the extraordinary claims made by two different groups of survivors that resulted in a nerve-jangling court martial.

 

Murdle – G.T Karber

Prepare to become utterly obsessed with these addictive logic puzzles with a murder mystery spin, as you join Deductive Logico for one hundred brain-bending whodunits.

 

How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? – Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen

The picture book dream team behind The Wolf, the Duck and the Mouse return with a delightfully deadpan festive inquiry into how Santa is able to enter a wide variety of residences.

 

Yellowface – R.F. Kuang

The bestselling author of Babel harnesses her satirical powers in this tantalising and deliciously humorous literary thriller that investigates ambition, greed and white privilege with deadly precision.

 

Tom Lake – Ann Patchett

From the acclaimed author of The Dutch House and Bel Canto comes a characteristically nuanced and emotionally intelligent novel of family, storytelling and the lives mothers lived before the births of their children.

 

A Whale of a Time – Lou Peacock, Matt Hunt

Boasting work from Brian Bilston, Maya Angelou, Spike Milligan and many more, this rib-tickling collection of funny poems for every day of the year is perfect for brightening up the dreariest of days.

 

The Creative Act – Rick Rubin

Famed for providing legendary artists with the space to rediscover their authentic selves, music producer Rick Rubin reflects on the creative process and its engagement with the wider world in this masterful, engrossing volume.

 

Impossible Creatures –  Katherine Rundell, Tomislav Tomic

The former Waterstones Children’s Book Prize winner and author of The Explorer and The Golden Mole delivers the first instalment of a thoroughly immersive epic fantasy series which finds an ordinary boy and a flying girl enmeshed in an adventure with a host of magical creatures.

 

The Fraud – Zadie Smith

Taking inspiration from a real-life nineteenth-century imposture trial, Smith’s immersive first historical novel weaves together the stories of a Scottish housekeeper with a novelist cousin, a formerly enslaved valet unexpectedly thrust into the limelight of a legal case and the missing heir to the Tichborne baronetcy.

 

Ultra-Processed People – Chris van Tulleken

Passionate and eye-opening, Van Tulleken’s authoritative account of the damage that ultra-processed food is doing to our bodies, our health and the planet makes for essential reading.

 

In Memoriam – Alice Winn

Tracing the love story between two WWI soldiers, In Memoriam is a luminous, heartbreaking meditation on the tragedies of war and the precious sanctuary that can be found in deep human connection.

 

Fourth Wing – Rebecca Yorras

A thrilling fantasy epic that has taken BookTok by storm, Fourth Wing centres on the bookish Violet’s attempts to become a dragon rider amidst the intrigue and deadly danger of the kingdom of Navarre.

 

All books are available to purchase in store now!