Backdrop community pay a lot of attention to UX issues. And it is priceless. As a result Backdrop is several steps ahead of Drupal (and many other CMS) in terms of UX.
I would like to propose new UI button group component for Backdrop. It is select component which act like radio buttons or checkboxes. You could see it many times before all over the internet. It is present in bootstrap css/js framework.

It is perfect solution when you have just few options to choose. Its main advantage that you can see all options immediately without additional clicking. Button group needs one click less than selectbox to provide action.
Here's how it might look on Manage content page. Both options are chosen. It is analog of "- Any -" option.

Here's one option chosen.

Manage user accounts page.

This component can be used widely. It is just a sketch. Styles needs to be discussed.
Recent comments
I don't think there is currently a way to set back references in bulk for existing books that already reference an author... I believe you can do this with CER through the UI...
Backlinks for Entity Reference?
If choosing the Views approach you can also use https://backdropcms.org/project/eva which allows you to place the list with more flexibility.
Backlinks for Entity Reference?
Thanks. It still took a lot of trial and error for all the settings within the settings, but I eventually got it to display based on these instructions.
Backlinks for Entity Reference?