Contributed by Info Guru Jennifer Andrews

Reading is a favorite pastime of many people around the world as books have the ability to take us into another world.

While we tend to get wrapped up in a storyline or the lives of characters, it is seldom we may actually consider how much time, effort and creativity the book’s author put into the writing it over the course of months or years. Book awards provide an opportunity to acknowledge those books that are the cream of the crop or best of the best. In addition to recognizing the author’s work, book awards have the potential to increase notoriety and recognition of a book leading to further critical and marketing acclaim.

Consider the following top ten book awards and see if any of your favorite tales have been awarded.

10. Blue Peter

The Blue Peter Book Awards are specifically geared towards children’s literature. The aim of the awards is to encourage children to read, write and engage in literature that is of utmost quality and sincerity. Previous winners include Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and Gareth P. Jones “The Considine Curse” for Book of the Decade and Book of the Year in 2012 respectively.

9. Frank O’Connor

Short stories are acknowledged with the Frank O’Connor Short Story Award on an annual basis. Winners such as 2012’s Nathan Englander for his work “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank” also take home a cash money prize.

8. Carnegie Medal

The Carnegie Medal is one of the top honors to be given to the authors of children’s books. The British literary honor has been around since 1937 and winners are selected by librarians.

7. Commonwealth

The Commonwealth Book Prize was recently re-started by the Commonwealth Foundation Commonwealth Writers’ Programme with the goal of bringing new talented authors to the forefront.

6. Brandford Boase

The winner of the Brandford Boase book award takes homes a cash prize of 1000 pounds in addition to critical recognition. The award is in honor of the late founding authors Henrietta Branford and Wendy Boase.

5. Queen of Teen

Teen books are increasingly popular nowadays thanks to the phenomenon created by books such as Twilight and The Hunger Games. However, not all teen books deal with fantasy and writers who write about real-life teen issues are recognized with book awards such as the Queen of Teen. Previous recipients include Maureen Johnson and Cathy Cassidy.

4. Desmond Elliott

The late publisher and literary agent Desmond Elliott was recognized by his peers who set up the book award in his honor. Winners include compelling and insightful novels such as 2012’s “The Land of Declaration” by Grace McCleen.

3. Guardian Children’s Fiction

The Guardian Children’s Fiction prize recognizes books beyond vampires, fantasy and pop-culture. The prize is awarded in November of each year.

2. Goodreads

Goodreads is most well-known as the popular website where users can set up their own profiles and interact with like-minded readers. The site honors top books of the year in categories such as favorite book, best fantasy, best fiction, best humor, best cooking and best travel and outdoors.

1. Time Magazine

Time Magazine is an internationally recognized magazine known for its articles about recent news, trends, pop-culture, politics and business. The mag also has its own book list set up to honor the best books of the year ranging from fiction, non-fiction and children’s books.