Best Books I Read in 2019

Hey, all. It’s January. Which, yes, happy New Year, hurrah, but now is also the time when I post the best books I read this year. So:

GODS, MONSTERS, AND VILLAINS

BEST SUPERHEROES:
Who’s Afraid of Amy Sinclair?, by Jenn Gott

BEST SUPERVILLAINS:
Vengeful, by V. E. Schwab

BEST DEMONS:
The Border Keeper, by Kerstin Hall

BEST GODS:
The Raven Tower, by Anne Leckie

BEST ROBOTS:
Copper City, by Justin Robinson

BEST FAIRIES:
A History of Glitter and Blood, by Hannah Moskowitz

BEST GHOSTS:
Dead Remnants, by Armarna Forbes

BEST PIRATES:
Escape to Pirate Island, by Niamh Murphy

BEST GANGSTERS:
Jade War, by Fonda Lee

BEST GIANT SPIDERS:
Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

GRAB BAG

BEST MYSTERY:
The Infinite Blacktop, by Sarah Gran

BEST LITERARY MYSTERY:
Possession, by A. S. Byatt

BEST HISTORICAL ROMANCE:
Tell it to the Bees, by Fiona Shaw

BEST HISTORICAL FICTION:
Transcription, by Kate Atkinson

BEST SHORT STORIES:
How Long ’til Black Future Month?, by N. K. Jemisin

BEST COOKBOOK:
Plant-Based on a Budget, by Toni Okamoto

BEST NONFICTION:
Rejected Princesses, by Jason Porath

BEST COVER ART:
We Are Okay, by Nina LaCour

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL:
On A Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden

LITERARY AND CONTEMPORARY

BEST CONTEMPORARY YA (tie):
How to Make a Wish, by Ashley Herring Blake
Girl Made of Stars, by Ashley Herring Blake

BEST LITERARY FICTION:
Spring, by Ali Smith

BEST CONTEMPORARY FICTION:
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman

BEST METAFICTION:
The 7th Function of Language, by Laurent  Binet

BEST WEIRDNESS:
Invisible Cities, by Italo Calvino

BEST CLASSIC:
The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter, by Henry Murger

BEST WORK IN TRANSLATION:
Homo Sapienne, by Niviaq Korneliussen

SCIENCE FICTION

BEST SCIENCE FICTION:
A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine

BEST CLASSIC SCIENCE FICTION:
A Woman of the Iron People, by Eleanor Arnason

BEST LITERARY SCIENCE FICTION:
The Rift, by Nina Allan

BEST CYBERPUNK:
Gnomon, by Nick Harkaway

BEST ALT-HISTORY:
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, by Michael Chabon

BEST EPISTOLARY SCIENCE FICTION:
This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

BEST SCIENCE FANTASY:
Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir

FANTASY

BEST FANTASY:
The Winged Histories, by Sofia Samatar

BEST CONCLUSION TO A FANTASY TRILOGY:
The Winter of the Witch, by Katherine Arden

BEST CONCLUSION TO A FANTASY SERIES:
Air Logic, by Laurie J. Marks

BEST CONTINUATION OF A FANTASY SERIES:
By Demons Possessed, by P. C. Hodgell

BEST FANTASY SERIES, ALL BOOKS READ IN 2019:
The Long Price Quartet, by Daniel Abraham

BEST GRIMDARK FANTASY:
A Little Hatred, by Joe Abercrombie

BEST MILITARY FANTASY:
The Dragon Republic, by R. F. Kuang

BEST YA FANTASY:
The Wicked King, by Holly Black

BEST CHILDREN’S FANTASY:
The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill

BEST HORROR FANTASY:
The Twisted Ones, by T. Kingfisher

BEST CHILDREN’S HORROR FANTASY:
Tunnel of Bones, by Victoria Schwab

BEST MAGICAL REALISM:
The Rust Maidens, by Gwendolyn Kiste

BEST FANTASY MYSTERY:
Magic for Liars, by Sarah Gailey

BEST RURITANIAN ROMANCE FANTASY:
Floodtide, by Heather Rose Jones

BEST FANTASY ROMANCE:
Swordheart, by T. Kingfisher

BEST 2019-PUBLISHED BOOK:
A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine