view from Abby Grind hike
2020 was not a great reading year for me. It wasn't terrible, but it was worse than the past number of years. I had focus issues, read a lot of books I didn't care for, and abandoned more books in this past year than I have in nearly my entire year combined. It was fairly frustrating, since all we had was time with the pandemic keeping us home and without many of our normal activities to look forward to.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - I started 2020 with finishing this absolute symphony of a book. I still think about this book regularly, and am making plans to read everything he has ever written (which isn't much, to be honest, because he takes his time). This WWII story is clever, tragic, intriguing, and descriptive in the most beautiful way-I still think of the wall of snails he wrote about and it *still* can take my breath away. I could have ended this post with just this book. Stay the course-the first 150 pages can be quite slow.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - I read this book with my kids' co-op "senior" group book club we made up when things shut down and we were all online. We read a few books together, and this group loves dystopian. I have always wanted to read this book and suggested it and I think it's the book they (might) say they liked the most, as well. The thing I liked the most about this book was seeing the similarities between our current culture and the futuristic society described 80 years ago in Bradbury's imaginative city that censors the written word.
The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby - This was also a top favorite of mine because of how much I learned about history through this book. It goes through every 'age' of the Christian church in the US, and how racism was there at every turn. So much of what I read in this academic book I did not know nor had ever heard about. This should be required reading for every white Christian in America.
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr - This was a novel I read aloud during our school year when we were studying Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It was one of my favorites as it was laugh-out-loud funny but also very interesting. It's the true story of a little girl who travels from one country to another trying to find safety as they're on the run from Nazi Germany due to her father being a journalist who consistently decries the crimes of Hitler's regime. There are 2 others in the series that I will likely read myself; though my kids did enjoy this one, as well.
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt - Hands-down the best read-aloud I did with my kids this year. Only Anikka was interested in it, but I know Lukka would have loved it if he'd listened to it from the beginning. It mixes a rag-tag animal family with Indigenous myth, and a villain and his arch nemesis. The writing is superb. I found this on the shelf of a thrift store in perfect condition and will now be rescuing any other copies I see anywhere I go, as a thrift store shelf is no place for this amazing book. 5 stars and a plus behind it.
Between Heaven and Hell by Peter Kreeft - This book was a different read but that's partly it's appeal. It's a Socratic dialogue between history and literary giants Aldous Huxley, C.S. Lewis, and John F. Kennedy on the afterlife, and their opposing viewpoints they lived out. Definitely a book to chew on and take your time with. I want to read every other book by Kreeft if they're in this format.
Confessions of a Sociopath by M.E. Thomas - This book was one of my most anticipated reads and it did not disappoint. I've been interested in finding out more about sociopaths when I read Columbine by Dave Cullen, who makes a case that Eric Harris was a sociopath. This book was written anonymously but by a female sociopath. This book is CRAZY. The things she does (and thinks nothing of) are also CRAZY. You just have to read it-but not if you're squeamish.
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes - This is the only book club pick that made it on this list, and it was a beach read that I just enjoyed reading and that's why it's here. It's about an English girl who gets married quickly and heads back to her husband's home in Kentucky. She becomes friends with an bunch of female librarians who ride on horseback (or mule) to deliver books to their isolated patrons. Library? Horses? Dangerous women? Here for it.
I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown - This book was another I read during the Black Lies Matter protests and it was very worthwhile. It is another book about how white Christians have participated in racism over time, and the conversations and actions necessary to take place to amend our country's past. If you're wondering what the BLM movement is about (not the organization), this is a great place to start as it's a fairly short book and an accessible read.
Enough by Shauna M. Ahern - This was a book of essays by Ahern, known online as "Gluten Free Girl", and it's much more personal, vulnerable, and so beautifully written. The catalyst behind this book was a stroke the author suffered and she realized the internal stress and patterns she had carried over a lifetime were physically manifesting. This compilation of essays each individually resound as "enough pretending".
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