Happy 2022!
In 2021, my goal was to read 52 books, or about 1 per week. I achieved my goal and ended up reading 53 books! Yay! I enjoy reading just about anything, but I do have my genres that are my favorites. I decided to do something a little different this year; I am going to pick my favorite books of the year based on my most-read/liked genres. I own none of these books (1 is Lucy’s) and acquire them through my local libraries (I have 4 library cards!) Most libraries can get just about anything through interlibrary loan which opens up a lot of options as well. All are physical books, I don’t do well with e-books; and e-books don’t smell nearly as good 😉 Here goes!
Favorite Memoir:
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. This is a memoir of a highly accomplished neurosurgeon who is diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer at age 36. He proceeds to practice medicine and perform surgery for quite a while, but struggles being a patient vs a doctor along with the physical issues of going through treatments. He works through ideas of the meaning of life, dying with dignity, patient-doctor relationships and a life well lived. The author died while writing the book, but his words and lessons live on.
Favorite Nonfiction:
The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
Jeremiah read this book after hearing about it on a podcast and he loved it. If he loves a book I almost always will too. This one fit the bill. This book talks about our current ways of life and societies and how ‘comfortable’ we all are. We are all constantly seeking ways to become more and more comfortable, whether that be physically, mentally, how we go through life, make decisions or as society as a whole. This author has many many valid points about how comfortability is causing us harm and how being uncomfortable a bit more often is good for us in so many ways. He is so right! We don’t constantly need to live in a land of easy decisions, plush seats, little effort and silver spoons. He chronicles his adventures where he pushes his body and spirit to the brink and how that changes him as a person. Over the last year my motto for life has been ‘Hard does not mean bad’. This book fits right along with that. It is a great read!
Favorite Historical Fiction:
The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Another book club choice that I knew nothing about, other than the obvious picture on the front. I couldn’t put this one down. It takes place during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. There are many parallels to the covid pandemic, with public orders to quarantine and people urged to social distance and wear masks in public. Many many people die, in very quick deaths, but also many people survived the flu. The main character is a girl of 11 who is taken to a terrible orphange after herself and her mother fall ill. Her baby twin brothers are left behind when she is taken and the rest of the story revolves around her undying quest to find them and the loyalty of sibling bonds. A heartbreaking and vivid story set in a seemingly forgotten time in history.
Favorite Middle Grades Fiction:
Fish in a Tree by Linda Mullaly Hunt
This book is straight from Lucy’s bookshelf. She read it and then passed it on to me because she liked it so much! It is about a girl’s journey through dyslexia and a life-changing teacher. A quote from the book: “Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.” There you have it. All middle graders should read this, and their parents, and/or anyone with a learning disability.
Favorite Fiction:
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
This is the story of a house set over 5 decades of time. I didn’t know anything about this book going in, but it was on the list for book club so I picked it up. The story literally revolves around a giant mansion that a husband bought for his wife that caused so much discord, but yet was handed down through 5 generations. I have never read a book that was basically about a house, until this one! It’s almost fairy-tale like in a modern way, with grand paintings of past inhabitatants, evil stepmothers and snarky stepsisters, a grand estate and squabbles over money. I highly enjoyed it.
Favorite Parenting book:
Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster Cline, MD and Jim Fay
YES. All parents should read this book. I used to read a lot of parenting books but I’m kind of over it. Once in awhile I will still read one that pertains to us and this one did. It’s all about making kids see that their decisions and actions affect others, including their parents. Parents have feelings, needs, and desires too, just as their kids do. There’s a lot to do with natural consequences and what the authors call ‘selfish parenting’ which is a funny term but makes alot of sense. If Johnny throws a fit at Target and does not obey and disrupts the rest of the family’s shopping trip, he may need to do all of the afternoon chores when they return home, because Mom is just so tired from dealing with Johnny’s poor behavior at Target that she couldn’t possibly do them herself. Just an example 😉 I use the author’s mindset alot and I have to say the results are quite effective. There is more reflection required on the part of the child and less of the adult doling out punishments.
Here’s the complete list of what I read this year:
House of Costellos 