In spite of a record-breaking blizzard that shut down most of Chicago on Sunday, February 1, RUSA’s Book and Media Awards Ceremony went on as scheduled at the Hilton Chicago, where the Reading List Council announced the 2015 selections of the Reading List, an annual best-of list comprised of eight different fiction genres for adult readers. Also named were the short list finalists and the read-alike suggestions for the winners.

Ccheck out Library Journal’s full reviews of the winning titles in BookVerdict.

ADRENALINE
Winner
Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes (Mulholland: Little, Brown) 
VERDICT Detroit could easily be called the city of broken dreams, but in this highly atmospheric novel, Beukes sketches a metropolis full of hope and vigor, in spite of a monster roaming its streets. A powerful look at our fascination with social media and the transformative power of art and imagination round out this genre-defying chiller’s captivating and terrifying narrative  (LJ 9/15/14)

FANTASY
Winner
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (Tor)
VERDICT Court intrigue and politics are popular fodder for fantasy novels, but rarely have they been done better than in this fantastic new novel from Sarah Monette (writing as Addison). The writing is lovely, with characters who live and breathe. [Half-goblin] Maia, especially, will tug on the heartstrings of even the most hardened reader as he struggles to find kindness and allies in the imperial court. (LJ 3/15/14)