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2019 Reading in Review -- the Nonstandard Edition, Part 2: The Bookish Academy Awards

The Bookish Academy Awards / Book Oscars is a questionnaire I found a couple of years ago on the Blogger blog of Ashley / Read all the things and decided to steal it for my then-recent and all-time favorites.  Most of my "all-time" answers are still true; however, here's an edition specifically for my 2019 reading (wherein "nonfiction" will not be limited to the specific "Best Documentary" equivalent category -- so expect, for example, my favorite / most respected "real life" people to show up amongst the "best protagonist" listings).

 

(Note: For the more seriously-minded, my "best new(-to-me) books of 2019" post -- with links to my reviews / reading status updates, where in existence -- is HERE.)

 

 

Best Director(s)
(This Year's Favorite Writers):

The Memory of Love - Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Aminatta Forna Beloved - Toni Morrison Hag-Seed - Margaret Atwood, R. H. Thomson The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood The Testaments - Margaret Atwood, Mae Whitman, Ann Dowd, Bryce Dallas Howard, Tantoo Cardinal, Derek Jacobi

Three-way tie between Aminatta Forna, Toni Morrison, and Margaret Atwood.

 

 

Best Actress
(Best Female Protagonist):

The Raven Tower - Ann Leckie A Woman in Arabia: The Writings of the Queen of the Desert - Gertrude Bell, Georgina Howell, Sian Thomas, Adjoa Andoh Becoming - Michelle Obama Excellent Women - Barbara Pym, Gerry Halligan, Jonathan Keeble, Alexander McCall Smith The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective - Catherine Louisa Pirkis
Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett, Celia Imrie A Caribbean Mystery - Agatha Christie, Emilia Fox
Eternity Ring - Patricia Wentworth, Diana Bishop Anna, Where Are You? - Patricia Wentworth, Diana Bishop The Ivory Dagger - Diana Bishop, Patricia Wentworth

Favorite New Encounters:
The (unnamed) goddess / narrator of Ann Leckie's The Raven Tower
Gertrude Bell (Writings: A Woman in Arabia)
Michelle Obama (Becoming)
Mildred Lathbury (Barbary Pym: Excellent Women)
Loveday Brooke (Catherine Louisa Pirkis: The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective)

 

Favorite Repeat Encounters:
Granny Weatherwax (and Nanny Ogg & Magrat Garlick) (Terry Pratchett: Wyrd Sisters)
Miss Marple (Agatha Christie)
Miss Silver (Patricia Wentworth)

 

Honorary Mention:
Harriet Vane (Dorothy L. Sayers: Strong Poison / Have His Caracase / Gaudy Night / Busman's Honeymoon)
Can't officially include her because I didn't reread any of the Wimsey books featuring her in 2019, but hey, there is just no way she cannot be part of this list.

 

 

Best Actor
(Best Male Protagonist):

Interventions: A Life in War and Peace - Kofi Annan, Dominic Hoffman Tombland - C.J. Sansom, Steven Crossley
Hogfather: Discworld, Book 20 - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer
The Speckled Band - Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - Arthur Conan Doyle, Alan Cumming The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle, Derek Jacobi His Last Bow - Arthur Conan Doyle, Derek Jacobi Sherlock Holmes: Three Tales of Intrigue - Edward Hardwicke, Arthur Conan Doyle
Whose Body? - Dorothy L. Sayers, Mark Meadows The Five Red Herrings - Dorothy L. Sayers, Patrick Malahide The Nine Tailors - Dorothy L. Sayers, Elizabeth George
Murder on the Orient Express: Complete & Unabridged (Audiocd) - Agatha Christie Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot's Christmas - Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding - Agatha Christie, Charles Armstrong Mysterious Affair At Styles - Agatha Christie Hallowe'en Party - Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser
Death and the Dancing Footman - Ngaio Marsh, James Saxon Died In The Wool - James Saxon, Ngaio Marsh Vintage Murder - Ngaio Marsh, James Saxon Photo Finish - Ngaio Marsh, James Saxon The Nursing Home Murder - Philip Franks, Ngaio Marsh
Monk's Hood: The Third Chronicle of Brother Cadfael - Ellis Peters, Stephen R. Thorne The Leper of Saint Giles - Johanna Ward, Ellis Peters St. Peter's Fair - Johanna Ward, Ellis Peters The Virgin in the Ice: The Sixth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael - Ellis Peters, Vanessa Benjamin Dead Man's Ransom - Ellis Peters, Roe Kendall The Rose Rent - Ellis Peters, Nadia May The Hermit of Eyton Forest - Ellis Peters, Roe Kendall 

New Encounters with Long-Time Favorites:
Kofi Annan (Interventions: A Life in War and Peace)
Matthew Shardlake (C.J. Sansom: Tombland)

 

Favorite Repeat Encounters:
Hogfather (aka DEATH) (Terry Pratchett: Hogfather)
Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)
Lord Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers)
Hercule Poirot (Agatha Chistie)
Roderick Alleyn (Ngaio Marsh)
Brother Cadfael (Ellis Peters)

 

 

Best Supporting Actress
(Best Female Sidekick or Supporting Character):

Hallowe'en Party - Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser Crooked House - Agatha Christie Photo Finish - Ngaio Marsh, James Saxon

Three-way tie between Ariadne Oliver (Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot series), Josephine Leonides (the self-appointed kid sleuth in Agatha Christie's Crooked House) and the wife of Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Alleyn, painter Agatha Troy.  (All repeat encounters.)

 

 

Best Supporting Actor
(Best Male Sidekick or Supporting Character):

Pyramids - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer
The Speckled Band - Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - Arthur Conan Doyle, Alan Cumming The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle, Derek Jacobi His Last Bow - Arthur Conan Doyle, Derek Jacobi Sherlock Holmes: Three Tales of Intrigue - Edward Hardwicke, Arthur Conan Doyle 
Whose Body? - Dorothy L. Sayers, Mark Meadows The Five Red Herrings - Dorothy L. Sayers, Patrick Malahide The Nine Tailors - Dorothy L. Sayers, Elizabeth George
Mysterious Affair At Styles - Agatha Christie Tombland - C.J. Sansom, Steven Crossley
Hogfather: Discworld, Book 20 - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer

Favorite New Encounter:
You Bastard, the mathematical genius in camel clothes (Terry Pratchett: Pyramids)

 

Favorite Repeat Encounters:

Dr. John Watson (Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes series)
Captain Arthur Hastings (Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot series)
(=> The two original / quintessential sidekicks)
Mervyn Bunter (Dorothy L. Sayers: Lord Peter Wimsey series)
Jack Barak and Guy Malton (C.J. Sansom: Matthew Shardlake series)
From the Unseen University of Terry Pratchett's Discworld: Hex and the Librarian

 

 

Best Ensemble Cast:

Murder on the Orient Express: Complete & Unabridged (Audiocd) - Agatha Christie Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie Good Omens - Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Martin Jarvis

I know this isn't actually an Academy Awards category (only Golden Globes), but I've long felt it should be one -- and there are some books to which the same thought applies as well.

Three-way tie between Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, and Terry Pratchett / Neil Gaiman's Good Omens.

 

 

Best Original Screenplay
(Most Unique Plot or World Building):

The Raven Tower - Ann Leckie
Hogfather: Discworld, Book 20 - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett, Celia Imrie Pyramids - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer

Two-way tie between Ann Leckie's The Raven Tower -- far and away the most innovative world-building I've come across in a long time -- and, of course ... Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

 

 

Best Adapted Screenplay

In the original version of this questionnaire, "Best Adapted Screenplay" translates into "Best Book-to-Movie Adaptation".  However, I think in the book world (especially that of recent years) there is another translation which fits the purpose just as well; namely, "Best Pastiche / Series Continuation."  So I decided to go with both of them:

 

1 - Best Book-to-Movie Adaptation:

And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie, Dan Stevens Hercule Poirot's Christmas - Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding - Agatha Christie, Charles Armstrong The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - Arthur Conan Doyle, Alan Cumming The Nine Tailors - Dorothy L. Sayers, Elizabeth George A Christmas Carol (Audiocd) - Charles Dickens, Patrick Stewart Little Lord Fauntleroy - Frances Hodgson Burnett, Johanna Ward

(Note: To correspond with all the other categories, this only takes into account the cases where I read the book AND also revisited the movie in 2019.  Which, as it turns out, boils down to not a whole lot more than my yearly Christmas favorites ...)

 

Non-Christmas story:
Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None (2015 BBC adaptation)

 

Christmas stories:
Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1995, ITV David Suchet Poirot series)
Agatha Christie: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (aka The Theft of the Royal Ruby) (1994, ITV David Suchet Poirot series)
Arthur Conan Doyle: The Blue Carbuncle (1987, Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series)
Dorothy L. Sayers: The Nine Tailors (1974, BBC Ian Carmichael Lord Peter Wimsey series)
Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol (1999 TNT adaptation starring Patrick Stewart)
Frances Hodgson Burnett: Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980 adaptation starring Ricky Schroder and Alec Guinness) (note: no specific Christmas connotations in the book)

 
2 - Best Pastiche:

Jeeves and the King of Clubs - Ben Schott, James Lance

Ben Schott: Jeeves and the King of Clubs
Perfect pitch -- no contest.

 

 

Best Cinematography
(Best Plot Twist):

And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie, Dan Stevens Murder on the Orient Express: Complete & Unabridged (Audiocd) - Agatha Christie Crooked House - Agatha Christie

The Fourth Friend - Joy Ellis, Richard Armitage The Guilty Ones: A Jackman and Evans Thriller - Joy Ellis, Richard Armitage The Stolen Boys - Joy Ellis, Richard Armitage

Dame Agatha still taks the cake when it comes to original plot twists (even upon the umpteenth reread), but I think Joy Ellis has recently given her a fair run for her money -- even if the final twists in none of her books that I read in 2019 caught me quite as "from left field" as did my first ever Ellis book, Their Lost Daughters, which I read in late 2018.

 

 

Best Makeup
(Best Book Cover):

The Raven Tower - Ann Leckie Thomas Cromwell: A Life - Diarmaid MacCulloch, David Rintoul
Gods of Jade and Shadow - Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Yetta Gottesman Three Daughters of Eve - Elif Shafak Another Little Murder - Lorna Nicholl Morgan
Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett, Celia Imrie
The Christmas Egg - Mary Kelly, Martin Edwards Murder by Matchlight - E.C.R. Lorac Smallbone Deceased - Michael Gilbert The Division Bell Mystery - Ellen Wilkinson Scarweather - Anthony Rolls The Murder of My Aunt - Richard Hull The Belting Inheritance - Julian Symons The Secret of High Eldersham - Miles Burton

Book's Contents Lives up to the Cover's Promise:
Ann Leckie: The Raven Tower
Diarmaid MacCulloch: Thomas Cromwell: A Life

 

Cover Promises More Than the Contents Delivers:
Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Gods of Jade and Shadow
Elif Shafak: Three Daughters of Eve
Lorna Nicholl Morgan: Another Little Murder

 

Best Series Covers:

Discworld "black background" hardback and audiobook covers

Brltish Library Crime Classics series

 

 

Best Costume Design
(Best Historical or Contemporary Setting):

Raven Black - Ann Cleeves, Kenny Blyth White Nights - Ann Cleeves, Kenny Blyth The Lewis Man - Peter May, Peter Forbes In a House of Lies - Ian Rankin, James McPherson The Good Women of China - Xinran
Beloved - Toni Morrison Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens, Cassandra Campbell Thomas Cromwell: A Life - Diarmaid MacCulloch, David Rintoul The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo - Tom Reiss, Paul Michael Tombland - C.J. Sansom, Steven Crossley
Monk's Hood: The Third Chronicle of Brother Cadfael - Ellis Peters, Stephen R. Thorne The Leper of Saint Giles - Johanna Ward, Ellis Peters St. Peter's Fair - Johanna Ward, Ellis Peters The Virgin in the Ice: The Sixth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael - Ellis Peters, Vanessa Benjamin Dead Man's Ransom - Ellis Peters, Roe Kendall The Rose Rent - Ellis Peters, Nadia May The Hermit of Eyton Forest - Ellis Peters, Roe Kendall

Contemporary:
Ann Cleeves: Raven Black and White Nights (Shetland series)
Peter May: The Lewis Man
Ian Rankin: In a House of Lies
(What can I say ... I just love Scotland -- and books set there!)

Xinran: The Good Women of China

 

Historical:
Toni Morrison: Beloved
Delia Owens: Where the Crawdads Sing
Diarmaid MacCulloch: Thomas Cromwell
Tom Reiss: The Black Count
C.j. Sansom: Tombland
Ellis Peters. Brother Cadfael series

 

 

Best Animated Feature
(A book that would work well in animated format):

Ladyhawke - Joan D. Vinge 
Hogfather: Discworld, Book 20 - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett, Celia Imrie Pyramids - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer

Two-way tie between Ladyhawke (Joan D. Vinge's novelization of the movie starring Rutger Hauer, Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfeiffer) and, you guessed it ... Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

 

 

Best Visual Effects
(Best Action in a Book):

The Girl with Seven Names - Hyeonseo Lee, Josie Dunn, John David Mann

Hyeongseo Lee: The Girl With the Seven Names
Seriously, with a real life story like this, who even needs thrillers anymore?

 

 

Best Original Score

Originally, "Best Original Score" translated only into "Best Book-to-Movie Adaptation".  But I think this is another case where an Oscar category is capable of two equally valid different interpretations in the book world, and again I decided to go with both of them:


1 - Best Book / Series Incorporating Music as an Important Element:

An Accidental Death: A DC Smith Investigation Series, Book 1 - Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson

Peter Grainger: An Accidental Death

 

2 - Best Audio Version:

The Memory of Love - Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Aminatta Forna

Aminatta Forna: The Memory of Love
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's narration: Major goosebumps material.

 

 

Best Short Film
(Best Novella or Short Story):

Danger! - Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle: Danger!

 

 

Best Documentary
(Best Non-Fiction):

Thomas Cromwell: A Life - Diarmaid MacCulloch, David Rintoul The Good Women of China - Xinran The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo - Tom Reiss, Paul Michael Becoming - Michelle Obama

Four-way tie between Diarmaid MacCulloch's Thomas Cromwell, Xinran's The Good Women of China, Tom Reiss's The Black Count, and Michelle Obama's Becoming.  Four outstanding books that are as engaging as they are informative.

 

 

Honorary / Lifetime Achievement Award
(Overall Favorite Body of Work):

My Lady Ludlow - Elizabeth Gaskell, Susannah York The Casual Vacancy - Tom Hollander, J.K. Rowling In a House of Lies - Ian Rankin, James McPherson Tombland - C.J. Sansom, Steven Crossley
 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen, Juliet Stevenson The Daughter of Time - Josephine Tey, Derek Jacobi
The Speckled Band - Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle - Arthur Conan Doyle, Alan Cumming The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle, Derek Jacobi His Last Bow - Arthur Conan Doyle, Derek Jacobi Sherlock Holmes: Three Tales of Intrigue - Edward Hardwicke, Arthur Conan Doyle Danger! - Arthur Conan Doyle
Whose Body? - Dorothy L. Sayers, Mark Meadows The Five Red Herrings - Dorothy L. Sayers, Patrick Malahide The Nine Tailors - Dorothy L. Sayers, Elizabeth George
Murder on the Orient Express: Complete & Unabridged (Audiocd) - Agatha Christie Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot's Christmas - Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding - Agatha Christie, Charles Armstrong Mysterious Affair At Styles - Agatha Christie Hallowe'en Party - Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser
And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie, Dan Stevens Crooked House - Agatha Christie The Secret Adversary - Agatha Christie Why Didn't They Ask Evans? - Emilia Fox, Agatha Christie The Mysterious MR Quin - Hugh Fraser, Agatha Christie
The Witness for the Prosecution: Agatha Christie's Short Story Read by Her Grandson - Mathew Prichard, Agatha Christie Three Blind Mice and Other Stories - Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser, Joan Hickson, David Suchet, Simon Vance The Golden Ball and Other Stories - Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser, Christopher Lee The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories - Agatha Christie, Hugh Fraser, Joan Hickson, David Suchet, Isla Blair, Simon Vance The Lost Plays: Butter in a Lordly Dish / Murder in the Mews / Personal Call - Agatha Christie, Ivan S. Brandt, Richard Williams, Full Cast
Death and the Dancing Footman - Ngaio Marsh, James Saxon Died In The Wool - James Saxon, Ngaio Marsh Vintage Murder - Ngaio Marsh, James Saxon Photo Finish - Ngaio Marsh, James Saxon The Nursing Home Murder - Philip Franks, Ngaio Marsh 
Eternity Ring - Patricia Wentworth, Diana Bishop Anna, Where Are You? - Patricia Wentworth, Diana Bishop The Ivory Dagger - Diana Bishop, Patricia Wentworth
Monk's Hood: The Third Chronicle of Brother Cadfael - Ellis Peters, Stephen R. Thorne The Leper of Saint Giles - Johanna Ward, Ellis Peters St. Peter's Fair - Johanna Ward, Ellis Peters The Virgin in the Ice: The Sixth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael - Ellis Peters, Vanessa Benjamin Dead Man's Ransom - Ellis Peters, Roe Kendall The Rose Rent - Ellis Peters, Nadia May The Hermit of Eyton Forest - Ellis Peters, Roe Kendall
Hogfather: Discworld, Book 20 - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer Wyrd Sisters - Terry Pratchett, Celia Imrie Pyramids - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs Guards! Guards! - Terry Pratchett, Nigel Planer

New Encounters with Long-Time Favorites:
Elizabeth Gaskell: My Lady Ludlow
J.K. Rowling: The Casual Vacancy
Ian Rankin: In a House of Lies
C.J. Sansom: Tombland

 

Favorite Repeat Encounters:
Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility
Josephine Tey: The Daughter of Time
Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes series, stand-alone story Danger!
Dorothy L. Sayers: Whose Body?, Five Red Herrings, The Nine Tailors
Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Tommy & Tuppence, and Quin & Satterthwaite series, And Then There Were None, Crooked House, Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, and various short stories
Ngaio Marsh: Roderick Alleyn series
Patricia Wentworth: Miss Silver series
Ellis Peters: Brother Cadfael series
Terry Pratchett: Discworld series and Good Omens (co-written with Neil Gaiman)