"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

TTT: My favorite books read each of the last twelve months

 TTT (Freebie week):
 My favorite book for each of the last twelve months.

July 2020
Close to Birds by Mats Ottosson 
This stunningly beautiful book provided me a few moments of respite from all my worries.

June 2020
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nishi Coates
A unique imagining of the underground railroad. 

May 2020
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi 
A timely and important read.

April 2020
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
An epic story of the old west. I'm guess this will also be the favorite book on this list. 

March 2020
The subtitle is correct. This a collection of letters deserving of a wider audience. Loved it.

February 2020
I was busy reading YA nonfiction in January and February for the Cybils Award. I really got into this one about the formation of the Food and Drug Association.

January 2020
Another Cybils finalist (it ended up the SH Nonfiction winner) about classical musicians accompanied by a Spotify playlist of a few of their pieces of music.

December 2019 
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
A brother and sister and their special relationship with each other and with the Dutch house.

November 2019
Virgil Wander by Leif Enger
A quirky book by a favorite author.

October 2019
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Thought by some to be the Nigerian Harry Potter 

September 2019 
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
A mystery surrounding the LA Public Library.

August 2019
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Interconnected stories all having something to do with trees. Brilliant.

Note: This was fun, going back in my records and determining a favorite from a list of five to ten books read that month. Some months I loved many books and other months were slim pickings. I am not surprised that half of my favorites were nonfiction. Also, it was strange doing this activity now. With the pandemic raging and the world stuck at home, it is odd looking back on what I read and when. Did I really only read that book last month? I would have thought I read it a few years ago. Two of my favorites were super long and took me ages to read, Lonesome Dove and The Overstory, yet the time was well spent. They were both so good. I encourage you to make your own year long favorites list and see what ends up the top of the heap.


-Anne
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24 comments:

  1. Lark July 28, 2020 at 9:59 AM

    Great list! Close to Birds looks amazing. And I really want to read The Dutch House, too. :)

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  2. Terra July 28, 2020 at 10:00 AM

    Now I want to make my own list, this is a good idea. and I like how you included the covers and a line about each book. I love Leif Enger and I think I have that book on my TBR shelves.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LydiaJuly 28, 2020 at 10:19 AM

    Letters of Note sounds amazing!

    My TTT .

    ReplyDelete
  4. GregJuly 28, 2020 at 10:59 AM

    Ooh I like how you did this. Going by month is a great idea! Looks like a nice mix of books. I've never read Lonesome Dove...

    ReplyDelete
  5. LeslieJuly 28, 2020 at 11:35 AM

    Quite a few of these are on my TBR! And now adding The Library Book which sounds amazing!!

    My TTT: https://mamaneedsabook.blogspot.com/2020/07/next-up-classics.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anne@HeadFullofBooksJuly 28, 2020 at 3:14 PM

      I couldn't believe the real life mystery about the library fire.

      Delete
  6. Lauren StoolfireJuly 28, 2020 at 11:38 AM

    Ankara Witch was outstanding. I'm hoping to read Stamped pretty soon.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Louise @ Foxes and Fairy TalesJuly 28, 2020 at 11:45 AM

    Nice choice of topic for this week! The only one I've read here is Akata Witch.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mrs CallowayJuly 28, 2020 at 11:52 AM

    a great list! and I want to read Close to Birds, The Dutch House, The Virgil Wander, The Library Book and The Overstory.
    thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anne@HeadFullofBooksJuly 28, 2020 at 3:13 PM

      My year doesn't look so bleak now that I am viewing it through the lens of books read.

      Delete
  9. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzJuly 28, 2020 at 12:00 PM

    I read and loved several of these---The Library Book, The Dutch House, The Overstory, Lonesome Dove, Letters of Note---and I'm waiting to read a couple of others---The Water Dancer, Stamped---and now I want to read the rest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anne@HeadFullofBooksJuly 28, 2020 at 3:12 PM

      You are the reason I read Lonesome Dove. I had to after reading all your gushing over it.

      Delete
  10. SusanJuly 28, 2020 at 1:25 PM

    Fun topic! I've read THE LIBRARY BOOK, which was actually a disappointing read for me. It was dull and not what I was expecting, I guess. I loved LONESOME DOVE when I read it. It's been awhile so I don't really remember the story; I just know I liked it a lot!

    Happy TTT!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anne@HeadFullofBooksJuly 28, 2020 at 3:12 PM

      I like reading nonfiction, especially if there is a story to be had. The Library Book wasn't very satisfying if one wants to know exactly who did it though.

      Delete
  11. Deanna @ A Novel GlimpseJuly 28, 2020 at 2:10 PM

    I like what you did here! I should do this toward the end of the year! That would be fun! You should recommend it to TTT as a topic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anne@HeadFullofBooksJuly 28, 2020 at 3:10 PM

      It was very interesting and revealing to do this activity now...before and during pandemic.

      Delete
  12. MargaretJuly 28, 2020 at 7:37 PM

    Virgil Wander would definitely be on there. Lonesome Dove too, although I read it several decades ago. The Water Dancer was excellent. I liked Dutch House, but it probably wouldn't make my list.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Alicia @ A Kernel of NonsenseJuly 28, 2020 at 9:35 PM

    I really want to check out The Water Dancer. Hope you pick up some amazing books in the second half of 2020.

    ReplyDelete
  14. TerrieJuly 29, 2020 at 9:44 AM

    What a great list. I've read many of them and can see why they made your faves list. I was most surprised by Overstory and Water Dancer but others are equally good. Thanks for sharing. My list of 'brain-candy' books is at https://www.bookshelfjourneys.com/post/top-10-brain-candy-books

    ReplyDelete
  15. Dedra @ A Book WandererJuly 29, 2020 at 10:10 AM

    What a great idea! And I adored Virgil Wander. I think it's one of those underrated books. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Helen's Book BlogJuly 29, 2020 at 10:20 AM

    Such a varied list of books. I agree that it's fun to look back on which books we liked at various times and see if we still agree or if the books have stuck with us.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Aj @ Read All The Things!July 30, 2020 at 4:19 PM

    This is an interesting way to make a favorites list. Now I’m wondering about my favorite book each month. Poison Eaters sounds like a book I’d love.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Annemieke | A Dance with BooksAugust 15, 2020 at 3:35 AM

    Great to see Akata Witch. I still need to read that one.

    ReplyDelete

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