Ten Books

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #14:

Reading

As a Goodreads user, you have the option to do a reading challenge each year. You can set a goal for how many books you want to read, and Goodreads will track your progress. I've never used the feature until this year. Frankly, I don't care how many books I read in a year, but I decided to set a goal of 75 books just for fun. I just finished my 75th book last week (Undivided by Neal Shusterman). 

In honor of my love for reading, here are ten books I've enjoyed this year. I tried to select books that are relatively clean (free of strong language and sex), but I can't remember all the content of every book, so forgive me if I err. I do tend to read books that deal with hard things, though, so if you're looking for stories of a Hallmark nature, you won't likely find them here. 

1. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson

This book is about a blue-skinned pack horse librarian named Cussy Mary and her joys and struggles as she pursues her passion for literacy and lives with the genetic mutation that colors her skin. 

While the story itself is fiction, there are a lot of intriguing historical tidbits, particularly that of the Kentucky Blue People and the pack horse librarian program during the Great Depression. This book has a lot of similarities to The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes (which was published the same year but after Book Woman). 

The book unfolds a bit slowly, which is something I sometimes struggle with, but I ended up enjoying it in the end. 

2. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

I actually read this 8 years ago, and it's my book club's selection for this month (I'm hosting!) so this was my second time reading it. This time I listened to the audiobook. 

Let me be honest. This book is long. And for my second time reading it, I kept thinking, "Good grief this thing goes on forever!" but by the time it actually ended, I was sad to part ways. 

I don't really even know how to summarize this book. If you're familiar with Kate Morton, then you know that her books commonly contain a jumping storyline that goes from past to present, a mystery regarding death and/or identity, a house, and fairy tale elements. 

There is a lot going on in this book, and it's easy to mix up the characters and their stories, so I recommend doodling yourself a little diagram as you go. I probably just scared you out of reading it. Don't worry! You'll be fine.

This book is like a grown-up version of The Secret Garden, but also shares similarities with The Thirteenth Tale and some would even say Jane Eyre. 

3. All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat

You may recall the story from 2018 - when 12 young soccer players and their coach got stuck in a cave in Thailand. The week after the rescue took place, I was in Lake Tahoe, and a documentary aired on the Discovery Channel about the event. I'd heard about the boys stuck in the cave, but I hadn't followed the story very closely, so I really didn't know much about it. I knew that they'd all been saved, and that was nice to hear, but I had no idea just how miraculous it was that every single one of them was able to come out safely, so I was captivated by the documentary. While the documentary was was mind-blowing, it barely tapped the surface the the story. 

This book goes into far more detail about the nature of the cave and what had to be done to save those boys. The story and the rescue efforts are just incredible. Even if you don't read this book word for word, it's worth checking out from the library just to skim a bit. As a bonus, it has pictures!

4. As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner

This book takes place in 1918 Philadelphia where a family relocates in order to help an uncle as an undertaker with the plan to eventually take over his business. They are soon met with the difficulties of the Great War and the Spanish Flu pandemic. They face some challenges including a few ethical dilemmas - one involving parental rights to a child orphaned by the pandemic and one involving a man whose wife suffers irreparable mental illness.

This is another slow-to-unfold story, but that seems to be the way of historical fiction. This book was particularly interesting due to the current pandemic and the similarities and differences between that time period and ours. History truly does repeat itself, just with a few variations. 

5. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

From this list you would think historical fiction is my thing. I've never thought so, but maybe I've been wrong all this time. 

This book takes place during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, and it's a bit of a kick in the pants. What a devastating era! We have so much to be grateful for, and we take so much for granted.  

But I digress.

The story is about a family in Texas who are ravaged by the effects of the Depression and the Dust Bowl. As they seek to survive, they have to make the choice to stay with their land or head west. I won't lie, this book has some real sad stuff.

6. Among the Lesser Gods by Margo Catts

I'll just be up front. I don't think most people will like this book. 

Why? Because it doesn't come packaged with everything wrapped up in a pretty bow at the end. There are questions unanswered. Not in a "horrible plot hole" kind of way, but in the way that the story is left quite open at the end. You don't get to know how everything turns out, and some people are not okay with that. I get it, I do. But at the same time, I respect how it worked in this book. I was okay not having a conclusion to everything. 

The book is about a young woman who finds herself pregnant and moves in with her grandma in a small town in Colorado. She takes on the responsibility to care for the children of a widower, and she ends up discovering a lot about herself and what she wants in life. 

I read this book for my book club, and the author joined our meeting via Skype. It was a really cool experience to get to talk to the writer of the book and ask her all sorts of questions. I came away from the meeting feeling all sorts of motivated to write a book, myself. It quickly waned, but it felt within my reach for a few moments.  

7. I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhorn

This book is based on Anna Anderson, who claimed to be the Romanov Duchess Anastasia for over 50 years. 

"Anna" is pulled from a canal in Germany two years after the Romanov family's execution. She is covered in horrible scars and remains silent about who she is and what happened to her. Eventually she claims she is Anastasia, and the rest of her life is spent fighting for that identity. Some people believe her. Some people don't. 

This is such an interesting story as Anna Anderson went to her death bed claiming to be Anastasia. Anna died in 1984, and in 2007, the body of Anastasia (along with that of her brother Alexei) was found. DNA testing has shown that Anna Anderson was likely a Polish factory worker names Franziska Schanzkowska who had a history of mental illness.

Part of me will always wonder, though. Because if I were the Russian government, I don't think I'd want to deal with the repercussions of having Anastasia Romanov proven alive. Even 100 years later.

8. Ground Zero by Alan Gratz

Alan Gratz writes historical fiction for a young audience. This is a middle grade book about September 11, 2001. The story alternates between Brandon, a young boy who is in the World Trade Center, where his dad works, on the day of the attacks and Reshima, who lives in present-day Afghanistan and has spent her entire life among war. 

This book takes an interesting look at how September 11 affected different parts of the world then and now. 

9. The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

You guessed it! This is historical fiction! This story alternates between 1942 Nazi-occupied Poland and modern-day. 

In modern-day, Alice is facing the end of her grandmother's (or babcia's) life, when her grandmother, with limited language, pleads with Alice to "find Tomasz." The problem is, Tomasz, Alice's grandfather, has passed away, and though Alice tries to explain that, Babcia is relentless in her plea for Alice to find Tomasz. Alice ends up taking a trip to Poland to discover her grandmother's past. 

This story is interesting because it deals with some of the realities of war in which records were destroyed and identities were changed. This is a unique part of family history in that sometimes, history is altered, and research has to sort out the truth. 

10. Anxious People by Fredrick Backman

I don't know if I dare make a statement so bold, but thus far, this is my favorite book I've read this year. It's a bit of a quirky novel and not suitable for everyone, but Backman's voice reached me, and I loved it. 

I mentioned above that I tried to keep this list to books that are relatively free of sex and language. This one is an exception. I'm pretty sure this one has some strong language, but I don't remember specifically. 

The book is about a failed bank robber who accidentally takes several people hostage during a real estate open house. Most of the people are incredibly unlikable, but as the story moves forward, and you begin to learn their backstories, you grow to understand them. This book forces you to think about things you would "never" do - like rob a bank - and makes you realize you can never say never. 

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I have to confess... I really don't like writing book summaries. And I just wrote ten. TEN. So I'm going to need to go find a cookie or something.