Best Audiobooks Read in 2024

I love listening to audiobooks and actually prefer doing so over reading the print versions usually. This year there were some real standout audiobooks and then a whole batch of very wonderful ones. I've ranked the standouts but the others I just listed as they came to mind, so the numbering system falls apart at that point.

Standout #1: James by Percival Everett; read by Dominic Hoffman

Random House Audio, 2024. 7 hours and 49 minutes.

James is the retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn story from the point of view of Twain's Jim, the enslaved man who escapes with Huck. In a lot of ways this is a perfect audiobook since so much of the book is about the language or dialect we use. "A white character notices James’s standard English cadence with shock and asks: “Why are you talking like that?” With impressive comedic timing and vocal agility, Hoffman skips nimbly between James’s natural eloquence and the “slave filter” he uses to hide it from white people, deepening a project that hinges on vernacular as both signifier and tool of liberation" (NYT). James is also my favorite book read in 2024.

Standout #2: Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench with Brendan O'Hea; read by Barbara Flynn, Judi Dench and Brendan O'Hea

Penguin Audio, 2023. 12 hours and 5 minutes.

In her 60+ years of acting, Judi Dench has acted in 20 Shakespeare plays and in a variety of roles within those plays. This project, a series of conversations with Brendan O'Hea about the Bard and her career, was meant to for the Globe Theater Archives, but was reworked under the direction of O'Hea with the help of Barbara Flynn (who sounds an awful lot like Dench) into this fabulous audio experience.  "Sheer heaven for fans of Dench, Shakespeare, or the craft" (Cathy, Blue Willow Book Shop). 

Standout #3: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese, read by the author

Recorded Books, 2024. 31 hours and 16 minutes.

I loved The Covenant of Water narrated by Verghese himself. This was a rare treat because I got to listen to his beautiful Indian accent but also learned how to pronounce previously unknown words and locations to me. The 30+ hours of listening made me feel like I had practically moved to India and more specifically to Parambil, the family estate, built as far away from the nearby river as it could be for fear of the water. The audiobook experience was so immersive it felt like I was living and breathing the same air as the characters.

4. Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, read by Stephen Hoye

Random House Audio, 1974, 2004. 13 hours and 44 minutes.

Killer Angels is a novel about the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. My husband and I listened to the audiobook together. Stephen Hoye did an exceptional job reading the story, building up the tension preceding the battles to a perfect pitch. His accents for the both the Southern Generals and for the Maine men were spot-on and led to an even more personalized experience with the text. Even though I knew who won the battle historically, every time we stopped listening, I wanted to get back to it as soon as possible to find out how things worked out. As I listened I knew the book would end up on this list as best audiobooks of the year.

5. Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan, read by Nirmala Rajasingam

Random House Audio, 2023. 13 hours and 28 minutes.

A Women's Prize judge said Brotherless Night is "a powerful book that has the intimacy of a memoir, the range and ambition of an epic, and tells a truly unforgettable story of the Sri Lankan civil war." The story was intense but I couldn't stop listening to the audiobook. To stop would mean I didn't care. And I did care, very much, because of this story. About the audiobook, the narrator Nirmala Rajasingam did a brilliant job. Audible says this book is meant to be heard. I agree.

6. North Woods by Daniel Mason, read by a cast of ten voice actors.

Random House Audio, 2023. 11 hours and 5 minutes.

In North Woods all the stories revolve around a small cabin in Western Massachusetts over several centuries. North Woods has a series of linked stories told chronologically centering the action on or near the cabin. Four centuries of stories, families, characters, and schemes. And all these stories are not told in the same formats -- some are told in prose, others in lyrics and poetry, newspaper articles, medical case file entries, real estate advertisements, a true-crime detective story, a page entry from an almanac, and even a historical society speech. The audiobook was excellent and used a variety of voice actors, ten in all. That seems about right considering the story took place over so many centuries.

7. Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice from Dear Sugar (10th anniversary edition) by Cheryl Strayed, read by the author.

Random House Audio, 2012, reissued 2022. 10 hours and 41 minutes.

For more than a decade, thousands of people have sought advice from Dear Sugar—the pseudonym of bestselling author Cheryl Strayed—first through her online column at The Rumpus, later through her hit podcast, Dear Sugars, and now through her popular Substack newsletter. Tiny Beautiful Things collects the best of Dear Sugar in one volume, bringing her wisdom to many more readers. I listened to the audiobook of Tiny Beautiful Things which was narrated by Cheryl Strayed. It was a perfect decision to have the author, Sugar herself, read out the advice she had given her readers. Everything about the experience was so authentic. I'm sorry I missed the book when it was first published in 2012, but I am so glad I found it after its 2022 reissue, which has a few updates and additions from the original.

8. The Song for Achilles by Madeline Miller, read by Frazer Douglas

HarperAudio, 2012. 11 hours and 15 minutes.

The Song of Achilles is the retelling of the Iliad story from Patroclus' point of view. The story was new and fresh to me. My husband and I listened to the audiobook, read by Frazer Douglas, and enjoyed it immensely. The pronunciation of names and places were all handled expertly. What we lacked was a complex list of the many characters, gods and heroes alike, to help us keep everyone straight in our heads. Not until I dug around the house and found the print copy loaned to me by my daughter, did I find what I needed to fill out the story: a character glossary and a gods and heroes illustrated closeup. I recommend listening to the audiobook but getting a copy of the print version to refer to as you listen.

9. The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea, read by the author

Hachette Audio, 2018. 9 hours and 46 minutes.

"This audiobook begins with a frantic revelation--"Big Angel was late to his own mother's funeral"--and the pace never slows down after that. The author narrates his novel with a verve and engagement that few performers could emulate, blending Spanish and English, dialogue and narrative with the balance of a dancer. Listeners get to know Big Angel and his family through an almost stream-of-consciousness rhythm that can seem frenetic at some times, poetic at others" (Audiofile). I found this book really enjoyable and helpful in my thinking about what it is like to be a member of a Mexican American family living in California but whose hearts are very much still across the border. This is a fantastic story and Urrea is a fantastic storyteller.

10. The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich, read by Peter Francis James and Kathleen McInerney

HarperAudio, 2008. 11 hours and 3 minutes.

The first book in Erdrich's Justice Trilogy, The Plague of Doves details the interconnected lives of several generations of whiles and Indigenous people living in a town in North Dakota where an unsolved murder in 1911 still haunts the community. "Erdrich is a master storyteller known for her compelling novels, and her lyrical, recursive narrative style is enriched by the narrators' ability to fully portray her characters. This ideal match of writer and readers creates a memorable and moving experience" (Audiofile).

-Anne

Review: KNIFE: Meditations After an Attempted Murder

Title: Knife: Meditations After An Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie

Summary: 

From internationally renowned writer and Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie, a searing, deeply personal account of enduring—and surviving—an attempt on his life thirty years after the fatwa that was ordered against him

On the morning of August 12, 2022, Salman Rushdie was standing onstage at the Chautauqua Institution, preparing to give a lecture on the importance of keeping writers safe from harm, when a man in black—black clothes, black mask—rushed down the aisle toward him, wielding a knife. His first thought: So it’s you. Here you are.

What followed was a horrific act of violence that shook the literary world and beyond. Now, for the first time, and in unforgettable detail, Rushdie relives the traumatic events of that day and its aftermath, as well as his journey toward physical recovery and the healing that was made possible by the love and support of his wife, Eliza, his family, his army of doctors and physical therapists, and his community of readers worldwide. (Publisher)

The book is profound and very literate. I was touched by so many of his meditations/essays and wanted to capture them by sharing a few excerpts.I will let these excerpts speak for themselves instead of relying on just my own thoughts on the book.

Rushie expands on his thoughts on 'knife' as an idea:

• A knife is used to make the first cut on a wedding cake; 
• A kitchen knife is essential for the creative act of cooking;
• A  Swiss Army knife is a helper, able to perform small but necessary tasks; 
• Knives can be conceptual like cutting through bullshit;
• "Language, too, was a knife. It could cut open the world and reveal its meaning, its inner workings, its secrets, its truths...Language was my knife" (85).

Referring to the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and how literature spoke to him during his recovery:

 "I didn't want to repair any motorcycles, I learned that through literature, I could repair myself" (90).

On reflecting on the past with regret, he says:

"To reject what your life has been is true folly, I told myself, because the person doing the regretting has been shaped by the life he suhe subsequently regrets" (94).

With his own mortality on his mind he offers thoughts on grief after the death of a friend: 

"It is the trivia of the past that one mourns as much as greater matters (such as literary talent) when one is saying goodbye to a friend" (127).

Rushdie imagined a conversation with his would-be assassin (I've quoted this reflection several times when I've noticed how some people seem to have no sense of humor about anything):

"There's a thing I used to say back in the day, when catastrophe rained down upon The Satanic Verse and its author: that one of understanding the argument over the book was that is a quarrel between those with a sense of humor and those without one. I see you now, my failed murderer, hypocrite assassin, mon semblable, mon frere. You could try to kill because you didn't know how to laugh" (168).

I enjoyed how Rushdie referred to the works of other writers or poets to explain his thoughts. Here Rushdie reflects on the Raymond Carver's poem "Gravy" and the concept of second chances. Carver lived ten years after a fatal diagnosis. Carver described that time as gravy. 

"That was a good way to think of it. Every day of life, was gravy" (171).

On making a new life going forward and the importance of his relationships:

"Everywhere I looked, as I contemplated my next steps back into the world, I felt the reassuring arms of friends around my shoulders" (172).

Rushdie emphasized several time how writers have an important role in responding to the ugliness of the world (and these quotes help me, too, as I digest all the misinformation [lies] that got Trump re-elected):

"How should we respond? It has been said, I have said it myself, that the powerful may own the present, but writers own the future, for it is through our work, or the best of it at least, the work which endures into that future, that the present misdeed of the powerful will be judged...Even after Orpheus was torn to pieces, his severed head, floating down the river Hebrus, went on singing, reminding us that the song is stronger than death" (180).

"Above all, we must understand that stories are at the heart of what's happening, and the dishonest narratives of oppressors have proved attractive to many. So we must work to overturn the false narratives of tyrants, populists, and fools by telling better stories than they do, stories within which people want to live" (181).

On closure:

"I remembered a Doonesbury comic strip which one character tells another: "You know, I really miss September 10th." That sentence, speaking so tenderly as it did of lost innocence, even a lost world, had stayed with me...I wanted very badly to be, once again, that carefree fellow...a writer with a new novel soon to be published, and a man in love." There may not be closure but there could be a reconstructed happiness...a wounded happiness and there was and perhaps would always be, a shadow in the corner of it. But it was a strong happiness nevertheless, and as we embraced, I knew it was enough" (203, 207)

The book wasn't an easy read. The topic is very distressing and so were the details, but I did enjoy the way Rushdie made so many literary references and talked about his life as an artist and the power he and other writers have in righting the record. For some reason that gave me a bit of hope for our future.

My rating: 4 stars.

-Anne

Looking toward 2025

Happy Holidays/ Merry Christmas everyone. Just one day to go!

I'm looking toward 2025 as I wait for the family to descend any minute.

Here's what I am thinking about:

1. 

I am participating in Sheila's First Book of the Year! I can't believe it's the 12th year that she has hosted and this is the first time I will be joining in. The idea is to choose your first book of 2025 and fill in Sheila's form (linked on her site). She then posts all the photos of us with our first books. It's really fun to see what everyone chooses. Here is the photo I just posted to her site a few minutes ago. I am committed to completing The Backyard Bird Chronicles as my first book of 2025.

Bingley likes to watch birds, too, but because he thinks he can actually catch up to them in a chase.

Starting in 2020 I have committed to read ONE big book-- A book I've long wanted to read but felt it was too challenging for me. I give myself the whole year to read it. It is a confidence builder to complete these books. This year I am committed to reading The Brothers Karamazov at the urging of my husband. Not sure why he wants me to read it so much, probably because he guesses he will be in the car while I listen to the audiobook.😉 He is a huge admirer of Russian authors like Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, and Turgenev. Who knows? Maybe I will become a big fan, too, after reading this tome published in 1880 and weighing in at 796 pages. Gulp!

What other books have I read for my One Big Book Challenge?

2020 - Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

2021-  Dune by Frank Herbert

2022- Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

2023- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 

2024 - Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

This time I am committed to reading The Brothers Karamazov before Dec. 31, 2025!

-Anne

TTT: Top Nonfiction books read in 2024

Top Ten Tuesday: My favorite nonfiction books read in 2024

I apologize to my Sunday Salon readers. This list is the same one I posted yesterday. I am too busy, tired, stressed right now to create a new list and I don't often crave books purchased for me since I love using the library, so today's prompt did n't work for me.

My favorite nonfiction reads of 2024: Instead of writing lengthy descriptions of each, I've linked the titles to my reviews. Please visit those reviews to learn more. The nice thing about nonfiction titles is the subtitles usually give a big hint about the topic.

1. Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow -- America right before WWII was enamored by fascism. I wish more people read this before the election.
2. Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench, with Brendan O'Hea -- The famous British actress has a series of interviews with Brendan O'Hea about all the roles she played in Shakespeare's plays.
3. Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed -- Advice from Dear Sugar, a online help site. Sugar, Cheryl Strayed, became well known after this for her book Wild.
4. Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer -- This YA version of Kimmerer's excellent source about indigenous practices was illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt and adapted by Monique Gray Smith. It was a book club favorite.
5. Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia to Zion Journey Through Every National Park by Conor Knighton -- The author visited all 63 of the National Parks and talked about his experiences in each according to themes. I was reading this while we visited the five National Parks in Utah.
6. The Twenty-One: The True Story of the Youth Who Sued the Federal Government Over Climate Change by Elizabeth Rusch -- Twenty-one students, with the help of activist lawyers, have sued the government but eight years after they brought the case, it has not gone to trial yet. Discouraging yet importantly encouraging at the same time. YA.
7. House Lessons: Renovating a Life by Erica Bauermeister -- A woman buys a run-down house in Port Townsend and spends time renovating it. She learns about herself in the process. A popular book club choice.
8. The Mona Lisa Vanishes: a Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day -- A terrific middle grade book about a well-known artist and his most famous work. MG.
9. Subpar Parks: America's Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors by Amber Share Based on the wildly popular Instagram account, Subpar Parks clelebrate the incredible beauty and variety of America's Nation Parks juxatoposed with the clueless and hilarious one-star reviews posted by visitors. I laughed my way through this one and enjoyed all the illustrations, too.
10. Knife: Meditations After An Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie -- Twenty years after a fatwa was declared over this author, he was attacked and nearly killed by a knife-wielding terrorist. This book brings the focus back onto literature. 
11. Honorable Mention: The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos -- A hospice nurse shares what she has learned about life and death.

EEK I left a favorite nonfiction book off my list inadvertently. It is one of my favorites of the year, too. I'm adding it here and you can squeeze into your brain between the Dench and Strayed books.

• 2b. Somehow: Thoughts on Love by Anne Lamott -- Advice or examples on how to be more loving. I think this quote sums the book up nicely: "If the younger ones in our lives can remember only this one idea, that they are here, briefly, a little space to love and to have been loved, they they will have all they need, because love is all they need, rain or shine...good old love, elusive and steadfast, fragile, and unbreakable, and always there for the asking: always, somehow" (191).

-Anne

Sunday Salon -- Favorite nonfiction reads of 2024!

Weather: Rain. Perfect baking weather!

Three days until Christmas: Almost all the shopping is done. Most of the gifts are wrapped. I took the turkey out of the freezer so it would be thawed by Wednesday. I've made my yearly batch of  peppernuts or pfeffernüsse cookies, mixed up a batch of candied pecans, and made peanut blossoms with Hershey kisses. Today I hope to make chocolate crinkles and peanut butter balls and then I'll call it good.  Just in time to share my sweet treats with my neighbors. What about you? How are your holiday preparations going?

Favorite books of the year: Every year I put together several lists of favorite books: This past week I published my favorite book club selections. This week I hope to pull together a list of favorite audiobooks. And today I am publishing my 2024 favorite nonfiction books.

My favorite nonfiction reads of 2024: Instead of writing lengthy descriptions of each, I've linked the titles to my reviews. Please visit those reviews to learn more. The nice thing about nonfiction titles is the subtitles usually give a big hint about the topic.

1. Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow -- America right before WWII was enamored by fascism. I wish more people read this before the election.
2. Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench, with Brendan O'Hea -- The famous British actress has a series of interviews with Brendan O'Hea about all the roles she played in Shakespeare's plays.
3. Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed -- Advice from Dear Sugar, a on-line help site. Sugar, Cheryl Strayed, became well known after this for her book Wild.
4. Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer -- This YA version of Kimmerer's excellent source about indigenous practices was illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt and adapted by Monique Gray Smith. It was a book club favorite.
5. Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia to Zion Journey Through Every National Park by Conor Knighton -- The author visited all 63 of the National Parks and talked about his experiences in each according to themes. I was reading this while we visited the five National Parks in Utah.
6. The Twenty-One: The True Story of the Youth Who Sued the Federal Government Over Climate Change by Elizabeth Rusch -- Twenty-one students, with the help of activist lawyers, have sued the government but eight years after they brought the case, it has not gone to trial yet. Discouraging yet importantly encouraging at the same time.
7. House Lessons: Renovating a Life by Erica Bauermeister -- A woman buys a run-down house in Port Townsend and spends time renovating it. She learns about herself in the process. A popular book club choice.
8. The Mona Lisa Vanishes: a Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day -- A terrific middle grade book about a well-known artist and his most famous work.
9. Subpar Parks: America's Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors by Amber Share -- Based on the wildly popular Instagram account, Subpar Parks celebrates the incredible beauty and variety of America's national parks juxtaposed with the clueless and hilarious one-star reviews posted by visitors. I laughed my way through this one and enjoyed the illustrations, too.
10. Knife: Meditations After An Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie -- Twenty years after a fatwa was declared over this author, he was attacked and nearly killed by a knife-wielding terrorist. This book brings the focus back onto literature. [No review yet.]
11. Honorable Mention: The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments by Hadley Vlahos -- A hospice nurse shares what she has learned about life and death.  

Oops. I left off the list one of my favorites:

2a. Somehow: Thoughts on Love by Anne Lamott -- Advice or examples on how to be more loving. I think this quote sums the book up nicely: "If the younger ones in our lives can remember only this one idea, that they are here, briefly, a little space to love and to have been loved, they they will have all they need, because love is all they need, rain or shine...good old love, elusive and steadfast, fragile, and unbreakable, and always there for the asking: always, somehow" (191).

    

Singing!

Music: Today was the annual cantata at church. Both of my daughters and my husband sang in it. Hubby is in the back row with the beard. Daughter #1 is right in front of him, and daughter #2 is in the front row right in front of the violinist. I loved watching them sing and felt such joy at the music. Carly had a solo in a number called "Turn Your Heart to Christmas." I thought it was such a poignant message. It is not referring to the materialistic Christmas but the holy, spiritual, peace-loving message of Christmas. // Earlier in the week my daughters sang "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the grandkids. Both girls were in jazz choir in high school and sang the Fred Waring version of the song every year. Enjoy the 1955 production of the song.

May you receive a blessing this season and find both hope and peace.

-Anne

Favorite Book Club Selections of 2024

Favorite Books Club Selections of 2024

I am in two book clubs. This year I read 21 unique books and two rereads. These are my favorite book club selections based on themes and discussions. As in years past, I asked for input from other club members.

1. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese - The Covenant of Water has everything I like in a book: a detailed plot -- in this case one which covers three generations of a family and many/many side characters; characters who are fully fleshed out, not one-dimensional beings; a theme which is very evident throughout the whole text; literary quotes and thoughts interspersed throughout; an author who treats his readers as intelligent and knowledgeable -- in this case about medical and genetic issues; AND, this may not surprise you, one which clearly has a very spiritual, often scriptural, message. This was the #1 favorite book of the RHS Ladies book club. (Fiction)

2. Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See - Lady Tan's Circle of Women is tremendously interesting and scrupulously researched. This is the third book I've read by Lisa See and I felt the same way about the other two books. I learned so much and had my eyes opened about aspects of history I knew nothing about.  The existence of women in the 15th century in China (and all around the world) was so bleak. They had few rights and were never thought of as equals with men. Yet, here is Lady Tan, an amazing woman and physician that defies all expectations and lives an important life, one that matters even today. This was another favorite book for the RHS Ladies book club and maybe one of the best discussion books I've ever encountered. (Fiction based on the life of an actual person)

3. The Huntress by Kate Quinn - The Huntress was SOTH Gals February's  book club selection. There was a bit of anxiety among members because the the book is over 540 pages long. But once women started reading it, the page length anxiety evaporated. To a person everyone spoke about how much they liked the plot and the pages just flew by. Mid-month I talked to one club member who was upset because she didn't have any time that day to read. This has NEVER happened before and our club has been around for almost thirty years. (Yes, you read that right. 30 years.) Our discussion reflected the enthusiasm for the book. It shouldn't surprise you, therefore, this was the club's favorite book of the year. (Fiction)

4. House Lessons: Renovating a Life by Erica Bauermeister - House Lessons was an unlikely book club 'best book.' We all had so much fun with our discussion over this half memoir, part house restoration, part history/information book! All of the ladies in the book commented on the writing and the organization. For example, in the chapter 'Architects and Builders' readers not only meet the professionals the Bauermeisters hired for their house restoration project but we learn information about famous architects like Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe and some of their famous projects. We also learned about why there are so many lovely, aging Victorian houses in Port Townsend, a small, artsy town on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. For a book none of us had ever heard of before we were all pleasantly surprised by this little gem and I think to a woman we would recommend it to you. It was tied as the 3rd favorite book of the SOTH Gals club. (Memoir, nonfiction)

5. The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende - Three people: Irina Bazili, Alma Belasco, and Ichimei Fukuda are all victims of war and politics. They live in a world blinded to their predicaments, too. The story has many plot lines and moves forwards and backwards in time but eventually everyone's story comes out and the reader is left with a sense of the lingering sadness in all three characters lives. Allende does a masterful job drawing all the lives together into a touching story. It was rated as the SOTH Gals second favorite read of the year. (Fiction)

6. Plainsong by Kent Haruf - Kent Haruf reveals a whole community as he interweaves the stories of a pregnant high school girl, a lonely teacher, a pair of boys abandoned by their mother, and a couple of crusty bachelor farmers. It's as if Haruf has conjured up a whole community in the fictional town of Holt in eastern Colorado and then immersed the reader in its dramas. Every women in the SOTH book club really loved this book. No one could really put their finger on it but all loved it. And we had a fantastic discussion more about our lives when we were growing up than the book. I recommend it as a club selection if you are looking around for a good book. Bonus: it is short also. (Fiction)

7. West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge - All the gals in the RHS book club loved the book, and picked as their third favorite of the year, saying that it struck the exactly right tone. It told two stories really. The first and obvious story was the trip of the giraffes who started their journey very precariously by being trapped aboard a ship when a hurricane hit off the East Coast of the USA. The second story was the story of the dust bowl and the Great Depression. Woody Nickel was a dust bowl orphan who was just trying to get to California, when he was tapped to drive the giraffes across the country with a zookeeper. Stories about people's lives during such desperate times emerged as they made their way from state to state aiming for San Diego. Headlines taken from newspapers served as chapter dividers so that readers could get a feel for how much energy and excitement these two, rare beast caused in the lowdown lives of people along the way. (Fiction based on actual events.)

8. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer - Back in 2015 a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer, published Braiding Sweetgrass. In 2023 she published a young adult version of the book, which is what I read. As a botanist Kimmerer was trained to observe nature through science. As a member of the Potawatomi Nation she knew that plants and animals are some of our oldest and best teachers. In her book she brings together these two types of knowledge to share the ancient wisdom in a way that it even makes sense with science. This book tied for third place with the SOTH Gals club. They read the adult version and liked it but when I told them about the YA version with its illustrations, they wished they had read it instead. (Nonfiction)

9. The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty - The Rabbit Hutch weaves together the daily dramas of tenants in a run-down apartment complex in a run-down fictitious town named Vacca Vale, Indiana. They are all living down-and-out lives in their down-and-out apartments in the #1 Dying City in America. "Set over one sweltering week in July and culminating in a bizarre act of violence that finally changes everything, The Rabbit Hutch is a savagely beautiful and bitingly funny snapshot of contemporary America, a gorgeous and provocative tale of loneliness and longing, entrapment and, ultimately, freedom" (Publisher). When I told the club this was my third favorite selection of the year everyone at the meeting moaned.  To be clear, two members loved the book, two hated the book, and the rest fell somewhere in the middle. Afterwards all admitted that we had a fantastic discussion, even those who didn't like the book. So don't be afraid to pick this book for your future club meetings. You might want to start by reading my review, linked above, and make copies of the discussion questions we used since the publisher provided none. (Fiction)

10. The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck - The Women in the Castle was November's SOTH book club selection. Every gal who braved the windy forecast for a 'bomb cyclone' said they really enjoyed the book. So did I. Oddly and to a person, we all noticed the similarities between the politics of Germany in the 1930s and 40s under the Nazis and what we are experiencing today in American politics. Most WWII books stop at war's end. This book is mainly set after the war's end when Marianne sets out to find and protect the other resister's widows. She finds two and brings them and their children to live with her in the old family castle that is a cold and leaky place. The stories of these three women, and to a smaller degree their children, populate the book. War has all kinds of victims. Some die in the fighting, others can't seem to make sense of their lives after it is over. This book addresses those grey zones of life in the shadows and aftermath of war. It was another third place favorite of the SOTH Gals, tied with Plainsong and House Lessons. (Fiction)

It was another strange year for me concerning book club selections. In my RHS group we picked five or six books ahead of schedule and I read them out of order, whenever they arrived from the library. Sometimes it was months before that book was discussed at a meeting and I found I'd lost a lot of the details in my brain by then. The last book we discussed, Sipsworth by Van Booy, I'd almost completely forgotten all the details. Now maybe that says more about me than the books but I do want to give a shout out to two additional books that probably would have fared better on this list if I read them in a timely manner: The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters and Go As a River by Shelley Red.

Interested in all the books we read this year? Here is a link to all my book club book reviews.

Looking for even more suggestions?

Click links to check my past book club favorites by year:

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

-Anne

Review: THE JAPANESE LOVER

Title: The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

Book Beginnings quote: 

When Irina Bazili began working at Lark House in 2010, she was twenty-three years old but already had few illusions about life.

Friday56 quote: 

With apocalyptic hurricane force, war had descended on Europe.

Summary: Three people: Irina Bazili, Alma Belasco, and Ichimei Fukuda are all victims of war and politics. They live in a world blinded to their predicaments, too. This is their story, as they all come together later in life at a place called Lark House.

Review: Isabel Allende has got to be one of the best writers living today. Her stories always touch on the impact of politics or war, racism or poverty have on people's lives. In this story, which centers on the life of Alma Belasco, touches on the lives of Jewish children separated from their families because of the Nazi's detemination to exterminate all Jews during WWII. Alma reaches America and lives with her aunt and uncle in San Francisco, seemingly untouched, but profounded changed by the circumstances of her life. While living with her relatives she meets and befriends the Japanese gardener's son, Ichimei. After the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese, Ichimei and his family are sent to an internment camp (called a concentration camp in the book). The two friends lose contact until many years later when they meet up by chance and renew their bond. Separated by race and financial status the two cannot/do not marry, though there is deep love between them.  Fast forward fifty years and we meet Alma again, this time living in Lark House where Irina works. The two women form a bond and we learn details of their back stories as they get to know each other.

The story has many plot lines and moves forwards and backwards in time but eventually everyone's story comes out and the reader is left with a sense of the lingering sadness in all three characters lives. Allende does a masterful job drawing all the lives together into a touching story. This was a book club selection and it was rated as the groups second favorite read of the year.

My rating: 4 stars.

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-Anne