Today’s a good day for reflecting and giving thanks. As per tradition, the Floyd County Library Blog Team would like to share with you the books we’re most thankful for this year. Feel free to share a book you’re thankful for in the comments!
The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michelle Richardson (2022, 334 pages). Also available on e-book and downloadable audiobook in the Indiana Digital Library.
Heather says: The Book Woman’s Daughter is a stand alone sequel to the Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Both books follow the journey of young female heroines working for the Pack Horse Library during the 1930s and the 1950s. The Book Woman’s Daughter appealed to me for several reasons that make it an easy book to recommend to fellow historical fiction lovers. Here are 2 of the main reasons why I loved it! First, the main character is a “Blue Person” which has been an intriguing topic for me ever since my high school science teacher brought it up. Both of the main characters in this series have a genetic condition that turns their skin blue. In conservative Eastern Kentucky, this sets both heroines apart as people of color, and they are restricted by the law of the land. As you can imagine, they faced discrimination and were ostricized unfairly on several occasions. Besides their unique skin color, both women face struggles as women in a patriarchal society, and this leads to even more hardships for both protagonists. While both books focus on the position of women in a male-centric society, The Book Woman’s Daughter plays even more with the idea that women are starting to take up positions of power socially and in their careers. The second book in the series features a woman fire tower lookout, a prominent nurse, female coal miners, and several women characters in town who find their voice in the book. This is the second, but not the last, reason I recommend this book to readers!
The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993, 246). Also available on e-book and downloadable audiobook in the Indiana Digital Library.
Veronica says: When asked what books we’re thankful for, The Giver immediately came to mind for me. I read it back when I was in middle school, and the message, storytelling, and imagery have stuck with me throughout the years. I believe that this book was one of the first instances where I truly learned to love reading and appreciate the deeper meaning of literature. The Give by Lois Lowry is an example of how young people can question, shape, and find depth in a society that does not require them to look past things at face value. Lowry’s use of imagery and world creation is accessible for youth, but still enjoyable for older readers. Perhaps the most memorable thing for me though was the somewhat ambiguous ending, the first I had really encountered at that point in my life, and the first that allowed me to come up with my own interpretation and meaning of the text. I think this is a great book for all ages to enjoy, and one that I am thankful to have been exposed to early in my life.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (2021, 409 pages). Also available on e-book and downloadable audiobook in the Indiana Digital Library.
Teresa says: I’m thankful for this book for telling the compelling, intersectional stories (in this case of a queer Chinese-American girl in the 1970s) that don’t always get told.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (2020; 288 pages). Also available on e-book and downloadable audiobook in the Indiana Digital Library.
Miriam says: When I read this fable, earlier in the year, it had a tremendous impact on me emotionally and mentally. A year ago, I lost my father and husband in a house fire, and found myself seeking tales where characters were dealing with death and sorrow in various ways. This profound story dives deeply into loneliness, feelings of inadequacy, and intense sorrow. In this tome, the main character, Nora Seed, tries to take her own life and finds herself hovering in an in-between dimension of life and death. It is the Midnight Library, where every book (infinite books) is a different version of her life, where she has made small, but different choices, leading her to different places, experiences, and people. She grows through each and every tale, discovering that she is irreplaceable, she matters, she does make a difference, and that she is loved and needed. The ultimate takeaway is that I should not live in the what-if universe, imagining other lives and moments, but choose love and joy in my current existence, as well as to choose happiness in any and every situation that I find myself in. We are incredible and unique creatures, and I marvel at our ability to survive. I remind myself that the only thing that I truly need to change is my outlook. Nora learned that, too.
Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry (2021, 292 pages). Also available on e-book and downloadable audiobook in the Indiana Digital Library.
Ashley says: A book I am thankful to have read this year is Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan. It brought me back to my days in elementary school when my teacher Mrs. Seagle read the Narnia series to us at the end of the school day. She passed away in 2020 of ALS, so when I read this book, it brought back all of the good memories I had with one of my favorite teachers. In this book, Meg is a 17 year old math student at Oxford. She has a little brother named George who is diagnosed with a heart condition and isn’t expected to live very long. While he is bedridden, he discovers the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. George asks his sister if she can speak with Mr. Lewis, who teaches at Oxford, where Narnia came from. Meg manages to meet Mr. Lewis who shares the story of his life with her, which Meg doesn’t realize is the answer to the questions she has been asking about Narnia. She is expecting him to be straightforward, but that is not how C.S. Lewis works. Even though Meg is a math student, she learns the power of storytelling to navigate a season of grief as she tells George what Mr. Lewis thinks Narnia is. This was my favorite read of 2022, and if you’re looking for a hug in a book, this is the next book you need to pick up!
Sirens & Muses by Antonia Angress (2022, 354 pages). Also available on e-book and downloadable audiobook in the Indiana Digital Library.
Melinda says: I was in a bit of a reading slump this summer and I found myself slogging through several books in a row that didn’t inspire me. Just when I couldn’t bear another disappointment, I got a wonderful surprise in the form of this book. I was so interested in the characters and whether they’d succeed in their artistic and personal goals that I didn’t put it down until I finished. It was the perfect thing for a rainy July weekend and reminded me why I love to read.
They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers (2019, 296 pages). Also available on e-book and downloadable audiobook in the Indiana Digital Library.
Teresa says: I couldn’t decide on just one book I was most thankful for this year! I’m thankful for this book because it brings to light the complicity of white women in the history of racism in this country (and during slavery specifically), which offered me a chance to reflect, grow, and do better.
True Biz by Sara Novic (2022, 386 pages). Also available on e-book and downloadable audiobook in the Indiana Digital Library.
Abby says: I’ve been brushing up on my American Sign Language this year and it’s been a delight to find more books by Deaf authors being published as I’ve tried to immerse myself more in Deaf culture. True Biz is the story of a residential school for the deaf in Ohio told from the points of view of the headmistress, a teen student who is new to the school and newly learning ASL, and several others. It’s a stunning, character-driven story that examines Deaf oppression and language deprivation through striking characters. I’m especially thankful for this book because it turned me on to the illustration and graphic design work of Deaf artist Brittany Castle.
