As a writer, the popular “Most Anticipated” and “Best of” literary listicles can be both exciting and a little stressful. On one hand, it’s fun to see friends’ books pop up on these lists, catch cover reveals, and, as a reader, learn about great books I might have missed. It’s extra fun when I get to see my own book next to a friend’s on one of those lists. I’ve been lucky to see True Biz in some great company these past couple months, like here, here and here.

But also, like any kind of career-related performance rankings or assessments, these things can be nerve-wracking for writers. What does it mean that my book didn’t show up on X list?? (Mostly nothing.) Or, did the book hit enough lists to generate buzz and/or convince my marketing team to continue to put money toward it? (Who knows? And would knowing make you feel better or worse anyway?)

Personal neuroses aside, the thing is, I actually like consuming these lists. Whether they’re retrospectives of a year, or most anticipated picks for the future, how better to measure a life than in books?