I am so behind on my reading recaps, so am heading back to October and November for this post. I have been reading a ton -- both on paper and on audio. Henry and I are working our way through the twenty Bluebonnet books and are nearly done, and I've been reading for book club and working my way through the stacks on my nightstand.
This is a photo of the unread books on my nightstand recently -- a touch out of control, no?
Here are my very favorite books from October and November, divided this time by categories as the books I loved seem to be easily grouped together:
Books about race in modern America that all also happen to be excellent on audio:
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
This is a timely YA novel, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. It focuses on racism and police violence. The family at the center struggles with the decision to stay in their community to try to improve it or to leave and provide more opportunities for their families. A good nonfiction companion piece would be Ghettoside by Jill Leovy.
The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson
This is an excellent book on audio (Jackson reads her own work and she is phenomenal). In this novel, Leia Birch Briggs is a cartoonist who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant with a biracial baby in the American South, while at the same time she is dealing with her grandmother's dementia. Beautifully written, there is always more than meets the eye in a Joshilyn Jackson novel.
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
I highly recommend this one on audio as there are three narrators and they are all outstanding. I don't want to give away too much about this novel, because it's better to go in blind, but Picoult examines racism, white supremacism, and prejudice in an engaging, thoughtful and heart-wrenching manner. One of my favorite books this year.
Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper
This children's novel explores race in a way that is accessible for kids. It's 1932 in the Jim Crow South, and the KKK is burning crosses and prejudice and segregation are standard. Well-written and recommended.
Award Winners:
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
This collection of short stories won the 2000 Pulitzer Award. Beautifully written, Lahiri deals with the immigrant experience.
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
This 2003 winner of the Pulitzer was our November book club selection and I absolutely adored it. In this epic, multi-generational novel, young Calliope struggles to figure out why she is not like all the other girls. It was well liked by every member of my book club.
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
This winner of the 2017 Man Booker prize is definitely odd and not for everyone. Set in the cemetery the night after Abraham Lincoln's son is interred, this tale of grief is told by over 100 different characters, many of whom are ghosts. I listened to it on audio, and while it wasn't my favorite, I'm glad to have listened to it.
Children's Literature
Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart
Joseph Johnson is an orphan, and the last part of his family, his horse Sarah, has been sold by his drunk guardian. Joseph goes on a journey to find Sarah and a place for himself. This was a favorite of all the kids in the Name That Book club.
The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier
This graphic novel takes place after the zombie apocalypse and is funny and clever. It has Henry's vote for the best Bluebonnet book this year.
Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt
This is a novel about grief, but it is beautifully written and appropriate for kids. Henry found it too sad, but I adored it (through tears).
Other favorite children's books were Little Cat's Luck by Marion Dane Bauer, Soar by Joan Bauer, The Best Man by Richard Peck, and Framed! by James Ponti.
Other favorites:
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
This was the ideal October read -- spooky and chilling without any goriness. Shirley Jackson's prose is spare, which is perfect for this haunting novel. Six years before we meet the characters, four members of the Blackwood family die of arsenic poisoning. Constance, acquitted of the murders, returns home and lives in isolation with her younger sister, Merricat, and Uncle Julian, who survived the poisoning, until cousin Charles appears and upsets their "normal" lives.
Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence
Spence is a librarian who has written love letters (and break-up notes) to numerous books in her library's collection. Laugh-out-loud funny (with some salty language).
What have you been reading lately?
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