September 18, 2024

Ep. 178: Behind the Scenes of Amazon's Best Books Lists with Al Woodworth, Senior Editor & Manager of Amazon Books Editorial + Book Recommendations

54 minutes

In Episode 178, Al Woodworth, Senior Editor and Manager at Amazon Books Editorial, goes behind the scenes of Amazon’s editorial division, including the start-to-finish process of building the “Best Books” lists, what “best” might mean, and what helps a book make the list. Plus, Al shares some of her book recommendations!

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CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog.

Highlights

How Al fits reading into her busy weekly schedule
The start to finish process of building the Amazon “Best of” lists
How Amazon balances genre diversity in their “Best of” lists
What “best” means to Amazon’s editorial team
Publication date criteria for the Best Books of the Month and Year lists
How the team discusses, votes, and makes decisions for the lists
Whether sales numbers influence the year-end list
How Amazon’s editorial team handles publisher influence
What 2024 looks like so far for Al and the editorial team

Al’s Book Recommendations [38:26]

Two OLD Books She Loves

Horse by Geraldine Brooks | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:39]
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe | Amazon | Bookshop.org [40:20]
Other Books Mentioned
- Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe [41:32]

Two NEW Books She Loves

James by Percival Everett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:05]
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:18]

One Book She DIDN’T Love

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:21]

One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About

The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami (Nov 19) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:54]
Other Books Mentioned:
- 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami [51:09]

Last 5-Star Book Al Read

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak | Amazon | Bookshop.org [52:05]
Other Books Mentioned:
- John Lewis: A Life by David Greenberg (Oct 8) [52:26]

Books From Our Discussion

All the Worst Humans by Phil Elwood [9:25]
The Wedding People by Alison Espach [14:54]
Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie [18:05]
All the Broken Places by John Boyne [18:11]
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker [19:38]
James by Percival Everett [21:40]
Educated by Tara Westover [22:07]
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver [24:09]
Spare by Prince Harry [25:25]
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood [31:13]
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood [31:25]
The 9/11 Commission Report by National Commission on Terrorist Attacks [31:34]

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.

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