And the Book Madness winner is…
We went from 16 titles to 1 clear winner, and former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Becoming takes the prize!
Thanks to everyone who voted online these last two weeks; more than 450 votes were cast. Percentage breakdowns by rounds and individual pairings are available below. Funny to see how some contests were real nail biters, and others, well clearly not!
Now, the question is… should we do it again with new titles? New genres? Let us know »

The results
Want to know which title won by how much? See the breakdown of voting in each round below.
Championship Round
Title matchups | Percentage of votes | Winner |
1. Becoming by Michelle Obama | 72.2% | ✅ |
2. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng | 27.8% | ❌ |
Round 3: Final 4
Title matchups | Percentage of votes | Winner |
1. Becoming by Michelle Obama | 66.7% | ✅ |
1. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah | 33.3% | ❌ |
2. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates | 32% | ❌ |
2. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng | 68% | ✅ |
Round 2: Elite 8
Title matchups | Percentage of votes | Winner |
1. Becoming by Michelle Obama | 87.4% | ✅ |
1. Normal People by Sally Rooney | 12.6% | ❌ |
2. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah | 54.7% | ✅ |
2. Educated by Tara Westover | 45.3% | ❌ |
3. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates | 63.2% | ✅ |
3. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty | 36.8% | ❌ |
4. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng | 63.2% | ✅ |
4. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead | 36.8% | ❌ |
Round 1: Sweet 16
Title matchups | Percentage of votes | Winner |
1. Becoming by Michelle Obama | 79.4% | ✅ |
1. The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo | 20.6% | ❌ |
2. Normal People by Sally Rooney | 57.1% | ✅ |
2. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides | 49.2% | ❌ |
3. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah | 73.1% | ✅ |
3. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah | 26.9% | ❌ |
4. Educated by Tara Westover | 50.9% | ✅ |
4. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles | 49.1% | ❌ |
5. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates | 56% | ✅ |
5. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett | 44% | ❌ |
6. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty | 62.9% | ✅ |
6. Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny | 37.1% | ❌ |
7. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng | 53.1% | ✅ |
7. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens | 46.9% | ❌ |
8. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead | 77.1% | ✅ |
8. Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Aner | 22.9% | ❌ |