A Book That Deserves More Attention: Book Blogger Appreciation Week

Today’s blog topic for Book Blogger Appreciation Week is:

Thursday—Forgotten Treasure
Sure we’ve all read about Freedom and Mockingjay but we likely have a book we wish would get more attention by book bloggers, whether it’s a forgotten classic or under marketed contemporary fiction.  This is your chance to tell the community why they should consider reading this book!

This was a tough one.  It’s so hard to choose!  I ultimately chose Ahab’s Wife:  Or, The Star-Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund.

My last re-read of this took place before I started reviewing, so I don’t have anything formal and fresh to point you toward.  All I can tell you is that I loved this book.

It is about that Captain Ahab’s wife.  But don’t be fooled into thinking that Una is just some insignificant literary figure whose one claim to fame is her husband.  Oh, no.  You would not believe the adventures this woman had before she even met Ahab.  She is all over the place.  It starts when she runs away to be a sailor.  It definitely doesn’t end after Ahab meets his fate.  She is too strong a woman to let that weigh her down.

Sometimes books that pack so very much into a relatively short amount of time start to seem scattered and don’t flow well.  Everything fits perfectly with what we learn of Una along the way.  She isn’t perfect, but she knows her own mind and isn’t afraid to act on her decisions and her convictions.  How often can we say that, either about characters or real people?

I love reading about strong female characters, so that was the biggest draw of the book for me.  But it’s also a fascinating glimpse into life in those times (Early 1800s?  I can’t remember for sure, but I’m close).  There was a lot of important history being made, and Una is a captivating character to show it to us.

The clincher?  My aunt Pat recommended it to me.  Don’t ever doubt Pat’s recommendations.  Just don’t.

What’s a forgotten treasure you’d like the world to know about?  Write up a post, or at least go check out what other bloggers had to say on the Book Blogger Appreciation Week site!