There were many factors that made 2020 a big reading year for me and I found myself delving into many various genres, which I loved. Since I share each book that I am reading on social media - I have been asked many times to talk about my favorite reads — so here we go!
Strong Storyline, Character & Plot:
The Chief Inspector Gamache Series - Louise Penny
After a strong recommendation by my smart sister, Carol, I began with the first book in the Gamache series - Still Life - in July of 2019 and very quickly put them into a reading priority, finishing the first 15 books by March of 2020. The character development in Louise Penny’s books is the strongest that I have experienced in a series since I fell in love with the Harry Potters years ago. Most of the now 16 books are primarily set in a small Canadian village in Quebec’s Eastern Townships called Three Pines and the overriding hero of all of the books is the Chief Inspector of Homicide for the Sûreté du Quebec, Armand Gamache. Among the many appealing characters that Louise Penny has created for this series, Gamache is the cream of the crop. He is someone so kind and dependable, so loving and respectable — that you find yourself reading each book - in some ways - just to know him better. But there is so much more to these books. They have a sense of place that is very pleasing (you seriously want to live in Three Pines and eat at the Bistro!) with well-written & interesting storylines that make you want to sink deeply into your armchair with a big cup of tea and no plans for the evening…. or the month.
The Giver Of Stars - Jojo Moyes
As a longtime book lover - there was so much about this novel that appealed to me. The writing is wonderfully crafted and draws you into the lives of several women living in Kentucky during the American Depression who devoted themselves to delivering library books to people in the remote, poverty-stricken hills surrounding their small town. Based on a true story, it has the threads of friendship, strength of purpose and love of literature running all the way through it. And the women are delivering books on horseback — what’s not to like about that?
Once Upon A River - Diane Setterfield
I very much enjoyed the atmospheric quality of this book. The writing was lyrical, highly creative and a pleasingly effective vehicle to carry the story. I find that when I read a book, my enjoyment is often carried by whether or not I like any of the characters. In this novel there were some wonderfully-drawn people that you looked forward to the story touching as their stories and the overall tale wove on. This novel was like the winding and building of a river and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey.
Deeply Crafted & With A Memorable Writing Voice
Ava’s Man - Rick Bragg
I read this book years ago, but reread it in 2020 as part of a book club choice. It reads like a novel but in truth is a colorful portrait of Rick Bragg’s hard-living, largely uneducated moonshiner grandfather, Charlie Bundrum, who supported his wife and eight children during the Great Depression by working as roofer, bootlegger, carpenter, general laborer & skilled fisherman who could catch catfish (and even squirrels) with his hand. Ava’s Man is a book that will make you hungry for cornbread and pinto beans; for catfish and hush puppies and darkly sweet iced tea. You will begin to remember hot, dusty summers and the shock of cold creek water as it closed over your head. If you are a Southerner , it is easy to find yourself in the well-crafted writing of any of Rick’s works, but Ava’s Man is especially fertile and ripe for remembering your own family history - wherever your origin. If you subscribe to the popular magazine Southern Living, then most likely you - like me - have yanked the latest issue straight from the mailbox and opened up to the last page to read Rick Bragg’s column, Southern Journal. Anyone born anywhere due south of Maryland will understand Rick’s flavorful, sometimes sobering and always humorous references to life in the South — and if you weren’t born in the South, you will definitely garner a new understanding of the people of the region.
My Reading Life - Pat Conroy
One of my favorite things to do is read — so I especially love to link arms with another avid reader and hear their thoughts, suggestions and particular loves when it comes to books. As a matter of fact - if I see anyone at a coffeeshop or on a park bench with a book — it’s all that I can do not to stop and ask them what they are reading… But there are two books that I have read that make me realize that I am a dismal lightweight in the Bookworm Hall of Fame. One of these books is 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (I especially cherish the audio version and have it on my iPhone) and the other is My Reading Life by Pat Conroy. This must-read gives Pat’s thoughts on his most-beloved books, cites references to his well-developed reading habits and scatters his incredible anecdotes along the way. There is something in Pat Conroy’s writing that sounds a deep common chord in me — language that is nearly tactile & vividly sensory. It has the ability to both bring me to tears in one minute and then have me laughing out loud in the next. Every visit that I made to Charleston while Pat Conroy was alive, found me peering about in restaurants or while browsing in Charleston bookstores - hoping to see him. I wanted so desperately to meet him…. and in this book, I feel a bit as though I have.
Themes That Beckon Us To Be Better People
We Were The Lucky Ones - Georgia Hunter
This novel was inspired by the true story of the author’s Jewish grandfather and of his family’s experiences during World War II. Opening before Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939, this work does an excellent job of putting us within a place, culture and time and then taking us on a breathless journey with this extended family. Through them we gain a better understanding of what Jewish people encountered and suffered during the Holocaust - whether it involved enforced labor in Nazi factories, hiding in people’s homes, hunger, hardship or exile. And because it is such a well-written book, our emotions and sympathies are drawn in as we follow the expertly-drawn characters. While reading this book, I didn’t realize that it was based on a true story - so was amazed to find that out at the end of the story. I think that made it even more important a read to me.
Before We Were Yours - Lisa Wingate
Another eye-opening work based on real life events, Lisa Wingate’s novel delves into the lives of children who were separated from their birth parents and placed out for adoption for profit. The author relays the story through the experiences of two primary characters - one living in the late 1930s in Memphis and the other in present day South Carolina. The story is based on the infamous director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, Georgia Tann, who kidnapped and sold children from poverty to wealthy families around the country. There were moments in the books when I literally held my breath.
Some of these books I purchased and some I picked up curbside at our local library - but I want to use this moment to encourage you to buy from your small local bookstore — it will help them and you will enjoy your reading (and reader supply) purchases!
Here in Nashville we have Parnassus Books- https://www.parnassusbooks.net. They have been very proactive in helping us to shop and remain safe during the pandemic. But I also love to support Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble. It’s so important to have brick & mortar stores that we can always walk into to hold the books in our hands and ask for recommendations.
Happy Reading in 2021!!!
