How goes Hugo?

I've been consuming the Hugo Nominees: the short stories, novellas, novelettes, novels and the John W. Campbell nominees: From the Ice Age to a billion years into the future; aliens and Victorian-era sleuths; stories of luck and tales of fate; gods and demons; genetic manipulation and hidden personalities; paranormal and supernatural; complex quantum time-spatial theories and inevitable linear events. Oh, and 'wow' to 'wtf?'.

I would like to know how they were nominated, what the process is. I also have to come up with a method to make my decisions. Do I go with what I like, or with how clever a story is; whether I'm intrigued with the story or admire the uniqueness? Do I vote for how easy a story is to read, or my understanding of the science and how it knits into the work? How about whether the words evoke an emotional response or whether I find myself thinking about the story for a while? Then there's the style, the grammar and intent of the work. Do I consider all of the above?

Voting ends on Saturday and I'm up to the big prize: the novels. Only a couple more to go. My decisions on the other categories is still pending while I work out how to make the final vote.

And now, back to the novels.