We gather lists of the most read books from October of the previous year to the end of September of the current year. The most-read books in each genre are placed in lists for you to choose the best titles of the year in each list.
Readers’ Choice Awards
Kawartha Lakes Readers' Choice Awards
These awards are given to the best books as chosen by the people of Kawartha Lakes. The Library compiles a list of the most read books for the year to offer shortlists in a variety of categories.
The winning books are announced in March of the following year.
Vote For Your Favourite Books!
Think you know the best books of 2026? Vote in the Kawartha Lakes Readers’ Choice Awards! Voting opens December 1.
Categories
There are three broad categories of Adult, Teens and Kids and each has sub-categories. You can pick up a voting booklet at any public library during the voting period, download the voting booklet below and print it yourself or you can vote online.
- The voting period runs from December 1 to February 28.
- You can have one voting booklet for each category (Adult, Teens and Kids) and you can only vote once per category.
- You can only vote once in each sub-category (Fiction - General, Fiction - Mystery/Thriller, etc.)
- You do not have to vote in every sub-category if you do not wish to do so. Just pick your favourite book from the lists you know or borrow one of the ones you don't know to help you choose.
- You can vote in the library or online, but we ask that you only vote once. If you want to use the paper booklet to keep track of your votes before you submit them online, you are welcome to do so.
- Paper booklets can be returned to any Kawartha Lakes Public Library during open hours or even through the outside dropbox.
- If you vote both online and in the library, you will only receive one ballot for the draw at the end of the voting period. If you voted in multiple categories (Adult, Teen and Kids), you will receive one ballot per category you voted in.
- All votes must be submitted by February 28. No new voting booklets will be printed after this date and the online voting form will be closed. You have until March 7 to return your completed paper voting booklet to any Kawartha Lakes Public Library.
Adult Non-Fiction Categories
Teen Categories
Kids Categories
2025 Winners
The book with the most votes over all is The Women by Kristin Hannah.
Adult Categories
Category |
Title |
Author |
|---|---|---|
|
Fiction |
Alison Espach |
|
| Mystery / Thriller |
Louise Penny |
|
| Historical |
Kristin Hannah |
|
| Fantasy |
Matt Haig |
|
| Romance |
Carley Fortune |
|
| Fantasy/Science Fiction |
Matt Haig |
|
| Debut Novel |
Bonnie Garmus |
|
| Non-Fiction |
Mel Robbins |
|
| Autobiography / Memoir |
Robin Wall Kimmerer |
|
| History / Biography |
Tanya Talaga |
|
| Science and Technology |
Drew Monkman |
|
| Food and Cookbooks |
Tieghan Gerard |
Teen Categories
Category |
Title |
Author |
|---|---|---|
| Fiction | One of Us Is Lying | Karen M. McManus |
| Fantasy | Sunrise on the Reaping | Suzanne Collins |
| Graphic Novel/Manga/Comics | Heartstopper. Volume 1 | Alice Oseman |
Kids Categories
Category |
Title |
Author |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter Books | The Wild Robot | Peter Brown |
| Picture Books | The Very Hungry Caterpillar | Eric Carle |