Focus on Reading - Week 42 - One book in 2022

[Booknblues]

What is the one book you have read this year which you wish you could influence others to read? Tell us about it.

[Amy]

Here’s a book from last year that I thought was beautiful. Have You Seen Luis Velez. The story is a simple one. It’s not overly complicated literary fiction. But it goes straight to the heart. I felt there was something quite beautiful about it. And universally accessible. So if I was thinking of a book that pretty much everyone would like, like a wide range… This would be the one.

[Holly R W]

Isn't this funny? I thought about posting a footnotes' question earlier today, asking everyone to talk about the best book they've read so far this year. We're on the same wave-length, Fran.

My top book so far is True Biz by Sara Novic. It's about a teenager who is deaf and has a cochlear implant that has never functioned well. Her parents have mainstreamed her in a regular school, where she has been miserable. Her world opens when she finally goes to a boarding school for deaf students and learns sign language.

Here is my review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jen K]

Holly R W wrote: "Isn't this funny? I thought about posting a footnotes' question earlier today, asking everyone to talk about the best book they've read so far this year. We're on the same wave-length, Fran.

My to..."

I just finished True Biz about an hour ago and completely agree!

[Holly R W]

Jen K wrote: "Holly R W wrote: "Isn't this funny? I thought about posting a footnotes' question earlier today, asking everyone to talk about the best book they've read so far this year. We're on the same wave-le..."

What is that expression about great minds thinking alike? ;0)

[Theresa]

I had to wait a bit to post here today because there have been a couple books so far in 2022 but I have already succeeded in getting others to read them! But there is one that no one has nibbled yet:

The Lydia Davis translation of Madame Bovary
by Gustave Flaubert. There are 2 covers for it. This one
And this one linked to last movie adaptation (skip that adaptation, an earlier series by BBC best) .

Even if you have read it in English before, read this because Davis really gives you the style and flavor of the original French. It is just such an amazing experience and a brilliant book.

Oh the books I have been successfully promoting this year:

[Booknblues]

Holly R W wrote: "Isn't this funny? I thought about posting a footnotes' question earlier today, asking everyone to talk about the best book they've read so far this year. We're on the same wave-length, Fran.

My to..."

Wow, Holly, I guess great minds do think alike. Maybe I was channeling you, as I was trying to figure out what I wanted to be the focus this week.

I'm going to go back through and look at my books to try to figure out my "one" book.

Also need to take a look at everyone's suggestions.

[Jen K]

Holly R W wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Holly R W wrote: "Isn't this funny? I thought about posting a footnotes' question earlier today, asking everyone to talk about the best book they've read so far this year. We're on th..."

It was so good!

[Ellen]

I would definitely recommend Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. The author writes so poignantly about her Korean heritage, the love she felt for her terminally ill mother and an appreciation for the food beloved by her culture. It was wonderful and earned 5 stars from me which is rare.

[Book Concierge]

I've only given 5-stars to two books so far this year. The one I'd recommend to the most people is The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris. A really stellar debut work.

[Joanne]

I think, as of right now, the book I would recommend is really a sleeper that no one knows about . Follow the Angels, Follow the Doves. The story of Bass Reeves who began life as a slave and then became a law enforcement officer in the West. It is historical fiction but based on a true story. I just picked up the second book in the trilogy Hell on the Border: The Bass Reeves Trilogy, Book Two

[Cora]

The one I have from the first half of this year is Pet by Akwaeke Emezi. Although it is a young adult book, it has many layers and gives the reader a lot to think about. It would also be a good choice for the LGBTQ tag for June.

[Booknblues]

Looking through my books read this year, I decided on Moon and the Mars. I liked the story set in NYC before the Civil War. It is well researched and describes changes in NY and how they relate to the people of the time.

It is rather long and the author wanted to include everything she learned.

[LibraryCin]

My highest rated this year (I think I might be rating tougher this year?) at 4.5 stars was:
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

[Tracy]

I haven’t had a lot of wow moments this year yet, but the read that I can’t forget is Elena Knows.

It’s about a woman with Parkinson disorder who is convinced her daughter’s death wasn’t an accident, and she is on a mission to find the woman who can prove it. Elena is unforgettable, and her trek to the other side of the city is a revelatory trip for her, and for the reader.

[Charlie]

Nick, the backstory of Nick Carraway. I thought it was imaginative and unique. I enjoyed it very much. Groundskeeping was a close second place.

[Robin P]

I am surprised to find the following as my 5 star books, they aren’t typical of me

Migrations - a novel with an ecological theme
Call Us What We Carry - I almost never read poetry
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants - even more ecological- I was sure I would find this book preachy or boring, but it’s beautifully written and engaging

[LibraryCin]

LibraryCin wrote: "My highest rated this year (I think I might be rating tougher this year?) at 4.5 stars..."

And I just finished another 4.5 star book, a beautiful coffee table book with information (and photos, of course) about wolves:
The Last Wild Wolves: Ghosts of the Rain Forest

[Joy D]

For fiction, I would recommend: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - My Review (the audio version - it's magnificent). I can't imagine I would have liked it quite as much in print but if you are an audio fan, definitely listen to this one!

For non-fiction, I recommend this one. I think pretty much anyone could enjoy it, even if you do not typically read non-fiction:
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard - My Review

Here are a few other of my personal favorites if anyone is interested.

Fiction:
- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell - My Review

- A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne - My Review

- The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman - My Review

- The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat - My Review

- The Master by Colm Tóibín - My Review

- The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman - My Review

- Sepharad: A Novel by Antonio Muñoz Molina - My Review

Non-fiction:
- Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow - My Review

- Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane - My Review

- The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princet on, 1775-1777 by Rick Atkinson - My Review

[Amy]

Charlie, have you picked up Beautiful Little Fools? Same theme. But through the eyes of three of the women!