36. A book featured on an NPR Best Books of the Year list

[Writingdates]

Educated by Tara Westover

I love book lists and I think the NPR way to display the list on their website is very compelling

[Shelley]

- What are you reading this week? Spoonbenders
- Do you like using “best books” lists to help you choose books, and if so what are your favourite lists? I like reading through them, but I don't like being forced to choose from them like for this prompt, because it's not uncommon that I've already read everything that I've wanted to read from the list. That said, I actually really enjoyed this list and will need to look it up at the end of this year.
- Were there any other books on the list that you’d like to read? The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter, We are Never Meeting in Real Life, Akata Warrior, Sourdough, Lincoln in the Bardo, Strange the Dreamer.

[Ashley]

- What are you reading this week? Circe
- Do you like using “best books” lists to help you choose books, and if so what are your favourite lists? I don't typically use lists as everyone has different tastes in books and some of my favorites could be books others have not liked. I have also not enjoyed a lot of books that people have rated best books. It all depends on what you like.
- Were there any other books on the list that you’d like to read? There were a couple, but not many.

[SadieReadsAgain]

What are you reading this week? Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng
Do you like using “best books” lists to help you choose books, and if so what are your favourite lists? I don't know if I use them to choose my reads, at least not regularly. But I do like to look them over.
Were there any other books on the list that you’d like to read? Yeah, there's a few of my TBRs on that list - The Bone Clocks, How to Be Both, How to Build a Girl...I'm too scared to look further!


This book is quiet and subtle, but it hits you hard and explores so many issues. It really is beautiful, without being fussy or busy. For me it was how parents can try so hard, to think they're doing their best, but can be so blinkered that they don't even see who their child really is as a person. It's tough, as a parent, to not have that underlying desire to make sure your kids don't have your own faults, don't hit your own dead-ends, or to just simply want more, better, different for them. This is a story of what can happen when you become too focused in making sure they don't inherit your unhappiness, and end up causing them unhappiness anyway. This book shows the extremes of that. Of course I felt sad for Marilyn's thwarted dreams and James' lonely childhood as the victim of racism, but at times I could have climbed into the pages and slapped the pair of them. The real sadness in this book for me is how they are so blinded by their history that they don't appreciate their children - they smother Lydia, neglect Nath, and as for poor Hannah... I think these characters will stay with me for a long time, as this is such a strong character study without becoming too bogged down in minutiae. Beautiful.

[Johanna]

What are you reading this week?
Number One Chinese Restaurant

Do you like using “best books” lists to help you choose books, and if so what are your favourite lists?
I don't necessarily go to best book lists to find books, but I use them to help me narrow down my choices more.

Were there any other books on the list that you’d like to read?
Little Fires Everywhere & Pachinko - I have them on short lists to read for next year!

[Stacey]

What are you reading this week? The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner.

Do you like using “best books” lists to help you choose books, and if so what are your favourite lists? Sometimes I'll check out these lists and NPR certainly has a whole lot to choose from. Many are quite obscure and off beat, which I love. But too often best lists are filled with overhyped books that just don't deliver. "Best" means something different to everyone.

Were there any other books on the list that you’d like to read? Some I did read, but there's so many more. Off the top of my head, Circe, Your Duck Is My Duck, Educated, etc. Looking forward to this year's list, coming out soon.

[Sara]

- What are you reading this week?
Days Without End
- Do you like using “best books” lists to help you choose books, and if so what are your favourite lists?
I seldom use a list to choose a book. Exception might be award winners lists.
- Were there any other books on the list that you’d like to read?
There are, but they are books that I already have on the TBR.

[Brittany]

- What are you reading this week?
Between the World and Me
- Do you like using “best books” lists to help you choose books, and if so what are your favourite lists?
Not particularly. List prompts like this make me anxious honestly.
- Were there any other books on the list that you’d like to read?