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Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl invited us to share ten books too good to review properly this week (A topic suggested by Dedra at A Book Wanderer). That topic didn’t really speak to me, since it felt like I would just end up listing my favorite books again. I veered just a bit off topic and decided to list ten excellent books that I’ve never mentioned on my blog. I took a four-year break from 2016 to 2020 so there are plenty to choose from. I’ve covered some of those missing years on these posts: Ten Fiction Books I Never Reviewed and Ten Nonfiction Books I Never Reviewed. But here’s today’s batch!
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman, translated by Henning Koch–Really, can you go wrong with Backman?
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan–I tend to like picaresque(ish) novels, no matter how improbable they might be, and this fit the bill.
All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy #1) by Cormac McCarthy–I keep saying that I’m not really a fan of Westerns but I keep finding Westerns that I like. I guess I like the more literary branch of the genre. This is dark, befitting McCarthy’s reputation, but so good.
The Rook (The Checquy Files #1) by Daniel O’Malley, read by Susan Duerden–This fantasy novel is straight-up weird and the reader starts out even more lost than the main character. But it’s tons of fun to see everything come together and start to make sense.
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert, read by the author–If you need motivation to take on a creative project, Gilbert is here to cheer you on in your endeavors.
A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana (Zippy #1) by Haven Kimmel, read by the author–I laughed until I cried in this childhood memoir. There’s some dysfunction in this family, but probably no more than most. As a storyteller at heart, it was nice to just to listen and appreciate someone’s funny stories.
My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South by Rick Bragg–Speaking of storytellers…. I know there’s some controversy around Rick Bragg as a journalist, but I just have to love his books. I relate to them and love the way he represents Southerners with our warts, quirks, and good qualities.
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama XIV, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Abrams–How can you not want to hear this conversation? I loved the insight into the core beliefs of two such iconic men–and their playful banter.
Serafina and the Black Cloak (Serafina #1) by Robert Beatty, read by Cassandra Campbell–Heather mentioned the third book in this series last week and reminded me how much I enjoyed the first one. Serafina is a child growing up on the Biltmore Estate, where her dad works, in Asheville, NC. My permanent home is in Asheville and I’ve spent a lot of time visiting the Estate. I love reading books set in my area. This is a fun beginning to a series that I need to continue.
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos (Theodosia Throckmorton #1) by R.L. LaFevers–Theodosia is another smart, likeable heroine but her adventures have an Egyptian theme. In fact, I read this when my husband and I were getting ready to go on vacation in Egypt in 2018. I’ve read the first two books and plan to continue the series.
That’s my list! Have you read any of these? Which books did/would you choose? Link up every Tuesday at That Artsy Reader Girl!
24 Comments
I’m glad to see you enjoyed The Rook. It’s on my tbr.
The Rook is odd but fun. I liked the audiobook a lot. I liked the sequel too and just saw that a third one should be published later this year.
Backman made my list this week, too! I find it impossible to do his books justice in reviews. 🙂
It is hard! I love his characters and really all I can say is that you have to read the book to meet them yourself.
Yes! Well put.
I haven’t read any of these books! How have I missed them?!
They’re all so good! Washington Black is being made into a series for Hulu but I don’t see that there’s a set release date yet.
I listened to My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry and it took me a while to get interested, but I wound up loving it. I also loved All the Pretty Horses. I’m pretty sure I read A Girl Named Zippy, but I don’t remember a thing about it. I loved Rick Bragg’s All Over But the Shoutin’ and keep meaning to read My Southern Journey. That man sure can write!
I can never decide if I prefer Bragg’s books in print or audio. He narrates his books himself so they sound like home to my Southern ears. But I like lingering over his descriptions in print too.
I remember hearing about the Serafina books, but I never read them. I should add those to my watchlist for library rentals, though!
The first one, at least, was fun and appropriately dark, in a manner similar to Small Spaces. I think you would like it!
Oh cool! Good to know, thanks. The Small Spaces series has the perfect amount of dark for me right now.
There are several here that call to me. Thanks for the book list. I always appreciate seeing what others have read and enjoyed enough to mention in a post.
I recommend any of these!
Hi Jen! I really wanted to take part in TTT this week, but I just didn’t have time. I’ve read Brit-Marie was here and I know it’s a tie-in to My Grandmother asked me to tell you she’s sorry.
I hope you are having a good week!
Elza Reads
I liked Brit-Marie Was Here a lot too.
I have seen so many different Fredrik Backman novels listed today and I had no idea he had written so many! Happy Tuesday! https://cindysbookcorner.blogspot.com/2022/02/top-ten-tuesday-wow-books.html
I’m surprised by how many he’s written too! I find it hard to keep up with fairly prolific authors.
I haven’t read any of these, but my friend was just raving about THE BOOK OF JOY. She says it’s excellent. I’ll have to check it out one of these days.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Haha! The mythical “one of these days.” I think that’s when I’ll get to most of my TBR! 😀
Anne at My Head is Full of Books is going back and reviewing some of her favorite books that she failed to review. That’s motivated me to try to do the same.
That’s a great goal. I’m just trying to stay current with the books I read this year. If I can accomplish that, I might revisit older favorites.
I love that cover of Black! I tend to like stories like that also 🙂
They’re so much fun!