Sister's Choice Quilts

My interests are quilting, reading, cooking, family, decorating, and matters of style. I post regular quilting tutorials and book reviews of current fiction.

Best Books of January

I have been fortunate to have kicked off my 2020 reading year with a slew of really good books.  It is March 2 as I write this and I have read 19 books, most of them very enjoyable.  Here is a list of the best of them for the month of January.

The most fun we ever had

The first book I read in 2020 was The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo.  I gave it 4 stars and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It is a family saga with the most quirky characters.  The parents, Marilyn and David, have an incredibly strong and loving relationship, but their four adult daughters are all struggling with their life's choices and decisions.  You will feel as if you know and care for these folks, warts and all.  I just heard that it has been long-listed for the UK Women's Prize for Fiction.  It's a long one (over 500 pages) but so worth it.

The stationary shop

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamai is a very touching story of lovers thwarted by circumstances and the manipulation of others.  Set in Tehran in the 50's, I learned so much about the turmoil that Iran went through at that time.  The description of foods, traditions, and manners was fascinating and beautifully described. The story of Bahman and Roya was heartbreaking.  This novel was many-layered and I highly recommend it. Very thought-provoking.  I listened to the audiobook and the narration was excellent. Four stars.

The-dearly-beloved-

The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall was a big surprise for me.  I wasn't sure it would be for me, and was I ever wrong.  This is the powerful story of four individuals who are struggling with their faith amidst gripping personal situations and the social changes of the 60s. Charles and James become co-pastors of a Presbyterian church in Greenwich Village in NYC.  They each have wives who, to put it mildly, do not care for one another.  This is a story of friendship, relationships, cooperation, faith in one another and Faith in God.  Each person's point of view is described so eloquently, and even if you don't agree with them, you will finish the book feeling empathy and understanding.  Give this one a try, please. Four and half stars.

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A lot of you will love The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey.  Set during two timelines-the 1920s and the 1930s, the book has a Downton Abbey vibe.  In the later time period, nine-year-old Alice has been left with her wealthy grandmother while her parents are away in India.  Grandmother does not seem to particularly care for Alice and her needs are taken care of by servants, in particular an affectionate and loving maid named Polly.  Her mother, Selena, has left her a treasure box full of clues to her past, hence the flashbacks to the previous decade.  Family secrets, romance, tragedy–it's all here in this book, along with wonderful descriptions of the mansion and gardens in which the story takes place.  You will cry at the end, I promise.  I will say the book does drag at the beginning, which brought it down a bit for me.  Almost 4 stars.

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I hardly know where to begin with this book, Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano.  Twelve-year-old Edward is the only survivor of a plane crash that kills all the other 182 passengers on board, including his parents and beloved older brother.  He goes to live with his aunt and uncle and the novel is about his "recovery" (if one can ever get over such an event).  His story captures the attention of the nation and his remaining family makes every effort to protect him from the media and to give him as normal a life as possible.  The book centers on how after such trauma, how can anyone keep going, find meaning in life, or find happiness again.  This book was very heavy going for me, and at one point I wasn't sure I could finish it.  If you can stand strong emotion and hard topics you may find reading this book rewarding.  Rewarding, not enjoyable.  Very sad. It certainly celebrates the resilience of the human spirit. I am not sure I can even give it a rating, but I think I am glad I read it now that I can look back at the experience.

Other books this month were The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (important subject, well-written and ultimately devastating), The Wives by Tarryn Fisher (domestic thriller which I finished but found extremely annoying and predictable), Victory Garden by Rys Bowen (really enjoyed this one, set in the last days of WWI-the main character is a "land girl") and The Hourglass by Tracey Rees (set in Wales, two timelines, great characters and involves romance between two older adults).

By the way, I have taken down yesterday's post.  Thanks to my regular readers who made supportive and interesting comments. Evidently however, the topic was too controversial for some people and a lot of wackos who never read my blog but must have Googled the subject matter started commenting.  Quite unpleasant.  C'est la vie.

 

36 responses to “Best Books of January”

  1. Thanks for the books recommendaitons. I purchased a couple with audible credits I was building up and needing to use. I love to listen to books while I quilt.

  2. Thanks for the books recommendaitons. I purchased a couple with audible credits I was building up and needing to use. I love to listen to books while I quilt.

  3. Thanks for the books recommendaitons. I purchased a couple with audible credits I was building up and needing to use. I love to listen to books while I quilt.

  4. Hilarious! I must of READ yesterday’s post because I read you everyday on my first coffee break…but for the life of me I must be soooo clueless I didn’t find anything to comment about! hahaha Thanks for today’s laugh 😉

  5. Hilarious! I must of READ yesterday’s post because I read you everyday on my first coffee break…but for the life of me I must be soooo clueless I didn’t find anything to comment about! hahaha Thanks for today’s laugh 😉

  6. Hilarious! I must of READ yesterday’s post because I read you everyday on my first coffee break…but for the life of me I must be soooo clueless I didn’t find anything to comment about! hahaha Thanks for today’s laugh 😉

  10. Are you serious?!?! As a longtime reader of your blog I found nothing controversial & identified with your topic! I actually thought of you when the airline sent me a survey regarding my experience on Sunday. I responded honestly about the sad condition of their gate area in a major airport. Isn’t that the purpose of surveys—to improve service for customers in the future?

  11. Are you serious?!?! As a longtime reader of your blog I found nothing controversial & identified with your topic! I actually thought of you when the airline sent me a survey regarding my experience on Sunday. I responded honestly about the sad condition of their gate area in a major airport. Isn’t that the purpose of surveys—to improve service for customers in the future?

  12. Are you serious?!?! As a longtime reader of your blog I found nothing controversial & identified with your topic! I actually thought of you when the airline sent me a survey regarding my experience on Sunday. I responded honestly about the sad condition of their gate area in a major airport. Isn’t that the purpose of surveys—to improve service for customers in the future?

  13. Guess some of your readers have too much spare time on their hands. Good solution on your part!
    Take care
    Mary

  14. Guess some of your readers have too much spare time on their hands. Good solution on your part!
    Take care
    Mary

  15. Guess some of your readers have too much spare time on their hands. Good solution on your part!
    Take care
    Mary

  16. I love your book reviews and I’m surprised to say I have not read any of those books, I usually have read at least one, we seem to have similar taste. And I’m sorry about the reaction to the post yesterday, I thought your point about the misery and uncomfortable experience made even more so by the unfriendly and unprofessional worker to be simply the story of your experience, not anything controversial. I’m sorry I missed the comments, that’s the story of my life, I always miss the excitement!

  17. I love your book reviews and I’m surprised to say I have not read any of those books, I usually have read at least one, we seem to have similar taste. And I’m sorry about the reaction to the post yesterday, I thought your point about the misery and uncomfortable experience made even more so by the unfriendly and unprofessional worker to be simply the story of your experience, not anything controversial. I’m sorry I missed the comments, that’s the story of my life, I always miss the excitement!

  18. I love your book reviews and I’m surprised to say I have not read any of those books, I usually have read at least one, we seem to have similar taste. And I’m sorry about the reaction to the post yesterday, I thought your point about the misery and uncomfortable experience made even more so by the unfriendly and unprofessional worker to be simply the story of your experience, not anything controversial. I’m sorry I missed the comments, that’s the story of my life, I always miss the excitement!

  19. wait.what? MRI experience is now controversial? damn. some people have a lot of time to waste. ;po

  20. wait.what? MRI experience is now controversial? damn. some people have a lot of time to waste. ;po

  21. wait.what? MRI experience is now controversial? damn. some people have a lot of time to waste. ;po

  22. I thought I must have missed your post, because I could not recall anything controversial or any posts that could have stirred the pot. I was ready to reread for some entertainment, but gone. Good call on your part! I did read the MRI post, but surely that could not have been it. Lol!
    Thanks for the book reviews, I hope no drama with those.

  23. I thought I must have missed your post, because I could not recall anything controversial or any posts that could have stirred the pot. I was ready to reread for some entertainment, but gone. Good call on your part! I did read the MRI post, but surely that could not have been it. Lol!
    Thanks for the book reviews, I hope no drama with those.

  24. I thought I must have missed your post, because I could not recall anything controversial or any posts that could have stirred the pot. I was ready to reread for some entertainment, but gone. Good call on your part! I did read the MRI post, but surely that could not have been it. Lol!
    Thanks for the book reviews, I hope no drama with those.

  25. Another wonderful list of books…thank you! I now want to take off the rest of March and just read! So sorry about yesterday’s comments. I felt so bad about your experience … I sure don’t know what was so controversial though…geeze! I hope you don’t give those comments a second thought. Hugs.

  26. Another wonderful list of books…thank you! I now want to take off the rest of March and just read! So sorry about yesterday’s comments. I felt so bad about your experience … I sure don’t know what was so controversial though…geeze! I hope you don’t give those comments a second thought. Hugs.

  27. Another wonderful list of books…thank you! I now want to take off the rest of March and just read! So sorry about yesterday’s comments. I felt so bad about your experience … I sure don’t know what was so controversial though…geeze! I hope you don’t give those comments a second thought. Hugs.

  31. Thank you so much for your book reviews. As an avid reader I am sometimes disappointed in the books I bring home from the library. I so appreciate your opinion and jot down names for future choices!

  32. Thank you so much for your book reviews. As an avid reader I am sometimes disappointed in the books I bring home from the library. I so appreciate your opinion and jot down names for future choices!

  33. Thank you so much for your book reviews. As an avid reader I am sometimes disappointed in the books I bring home from the library. I so appreciate your opinion and jot down names for future choices!

  34. My sisters and I are avid readers and I always pass your book recommendations post on to them.

  35. My sisters and I are avid readers and I always pass your book recommendations post on to them.

  36. My sisters and I are avid readers and I always pass your book recommendations post on to them.