You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

This month we are resurrecting a challenge from 4 years ago.

At the end of each year, we ask you all what your Best and Worst Reads of the Year are. But then they just sit there, gathering dust, in the vault that is the You'll Love This One archives.
This month, we're going to blow off the cobwebs from the 2021 list, gussy it up, and take it out for a spin.

Head over to this link:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/menti...
Do NOT head to the actual thread as yet.

Here we have a list of approx 160 books we mentioned in our Best and Worst list of 2021 (there are always a couple of duplicates). Your job for July is to choose a book off this list (there are two pages) and read it.

Once you have read it, you can head to the original thread (I'll post a link in the reporting thread) and see what the person who listed it thought. I don't want you to be influenced by the list when you are choosing, so please don't go there before you read. Honour system people.

General Rules:
1. The book may be in any format - paperback, ebook, audiobook.
2. The book must be read between July 1 and July 31, 2022 (based on your local time zone).
3. The challenge is for one book. You may read more books if you chose but you may only report one.
4. The book must be 175 pages or more determined by the issue you read.
5. Graphic novels over 350 pages are allowed.

Reporting:
- Wall of Fame name
- What you read
- Who put it on the 2021 list? Was it their best or worst?
- A couple of sentences (or more) on what you thought of the book and whether you agree or disagree with the person who listed it in December.

Katrisa
I chose The Island of Missing Trees
This was on Lilisa's best of list. And I completely agree! This book was beautiful. The history was new to me and I love that. The writing was beautiful. This might be my favorite Shafak book so far. The fig tree as a character was so well done and the end made me cry.

Wof Anna M

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Peggy's The Worst List

One of the best books I read last year was Purple Hibiscus so I was very eager to read Americanah. I liked Americanah (4*)but it wasn't just as good as Purple Hibiscus, and I'm glad that Americanah wasn't the first book I read by this author. Anyway Adichie is great story teller though sometimes Americanah seemed to suffer from "too much telling and not enough showing".

WoF Jayme

To Dance With the White Dog by Terry Kay
Roz's Best of List

One of the best books I have read in years - yes years. It was tender and funny and had me weeping on the plane this morning (luckily I was wearing a mask and it caught my tears). I'm not sure if it was the subject matter that made me so emotional (an elderly man loses his wife of 57 years and his family is dealing with him being alone and getting older much to his chagrin) or the depth of the writing that has so moved me.

I'm heading home today because my brothers and I are concerned with several issues with the aging of my mom, and I am so glad I read this book prior to seeing her. The awareness and dignity that Sam the elderly gentleman addresses was just what I needed to read before seeing my mom and discussing with her some tough topics. Sometimes perspective is everything. Everyone should read this book.

Roz is now my go to reading guru 😍

WoF Almeta

I read Long Man, a book about the Tennessee Valley Authority and the circumstances of creating Kentucky Lake.

It was on Roz's "My worst this year" list. My enjoyment of the book is likely influenced by my personal experience.

As a teen I lived in Tennessee near the city of Danville, which by then was completely under water. The old Danville Transfer Elevator still stands eerily underwater. A GREAT fishing spot.

WoFSharonBiscuit

I read To Dance with the White Dog. This book was on Ron’s Best Five Books list.

I loved this book. It was a poignant telling of a widower, Sam, who just lost his wife. His children, all six of them, love and care for him while he still tries to maintain his independence. Then, appears the white dog. Is it the spirit of his wife? What a beautiful story and character study if a difficult time in life. I am on the other side of caring for parents and am looking at things with new perspectives. I found the book humbling, intuitive and comforting.

I have had this book on my TBR list since April 2016. I have always put it aside and was glad for a chance to pick it up and read it. I wish I had done it sooner. Great challenge!

WoF - Silver

I choose The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Viki's Best List

I have to say I really enjoyed this book. I have lately been craving some fantasy (and I have wanted to read this book for a while) so I jumped at the chance when I saw this book listed and it did not disappoint.

It was a perfect blend of magic, political intrigue, and adventure. It had good solid world building, interesting and complex characters. Lyra I thought was great. I loved seeing her grown and evolve through the book. She was a perfect example of a strong, independent heroine.

It was a well written compelling story which kept my attention and was thoroughly entertaining.

Needless to say I agree with Viki's assessment of adding the book to the best list.

WoF - Jenn
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
Janice listed it as one of her best.
I gave it a solid 4, and I think that it really only stayed out of 5 because I got lost a couple of times later in the story regarding PoV? It is an amazing story of true events, and not the first that I have actually read on these events. It is about an ill-fated couple of days on Everest. The other that I read was The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest by Anatoli Boukreev who was one of the guides on the other main climbing group on May 10, 1996 that left 5 dead and several more shortly after, and a total of 12 over that single climbing season. It was interesting getting a different perspective as The Climb was more about Boukreev's history and about both the climb and the prep that came before for the Mountain Madness team. Whereas Into Thin Air was from a client perspective, and from the Adventure Consultants team. There was a fair bit of overlap in the events being told, but even then the perspective changes were very interesting.

WoF name - Amanda(Lily)

The Witch's Heart
Christina's best list

I've been wanting to read this book for a while, so I picked it easily when I saw it on the list. I really loved it. I don't give out a lot of 5 star ratings, but this book got one. The story, the characters, the setting - everything was wonderful. I loved Angrboda and it was so easy to empathize with her. I cried at the end.

Jenn wrote: "WoF - Jenn
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
Janice listed it as one of her best.
I gave it a solid 4, and I think that it really only stayed out of 5 beca..."

Jon Krakauer took a lot of criticism over this book. I don't know if it was warranted or not, but he was not a guide and didn't have responsibility for other climbers, yet some of the criticism seems directed towards him as if he did have that responsibility. I guess all the climbers do to some extent. It was a fascinating story regardless.

Wof - Janice

I read A Long Petal of the Sea. This was one of Peggy's choices for least favourite. I was dismayed at the time I saw her best/worst choices because I owned that book and it seemed to fit several tasks - last year's museum challenge, this year's road trip challenge as well as the monthly challenge this morning.

I agree with Peggy's assessment. Allende does tell a good story, but it tended to drag on. There was quite a bit of political discussion that I found boring and alarming at the same time in light of current world affairs. All I can say for certain, is that it's finished, and I don't have to anticipate it any more.

Janice wrote: "Jenn wrote: "WoF - Jenn
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
Janice wrote: "Jon Krakauer took a lot of criticism over this book. ..."

And, for the Outside Magazine piece as well. And, so did Anatoli Boukreev for his actions on the mountain. There were some things that were already going sideways before they even stepped foot on the mountain, and more during the push. It appears that there were some questionable actions taken by both teams leaders and the possibility of competition making them both abandon the absolute turn around time, but neither of them survived to clarify or defend. Just a huge tragedy all around, five deaths that day between the two teams, four more very shortly after, and a total of twelve over that one climbing season. And, there is reference to Boukreev's bus accident, but I believe that he died just a couple of years after in an avalanche.

WoF Cherie
For some reason, I never got around to reporting on my best and worst reads for 2021 but I did manage to pick two titles off of Ayacchi's best five list. I did not realize that both of them were from her list until I looked them up just now.

I listened to Things You Save in a Fire and after rolling my eyes at the beginning, the story grew on me. By the end, I realized how much I enjoyed listening to the story and how much good advice was brought up in the Epilogue. I had no expectations going into the story. I never even looked up the story summary to see what it was supposed to be about. The story was about a solitary woman fire fighter and her drive to be the best fireman she could be. She moved to the east coast to be near her estranged mother and found out life was not exactly all that she had allowed herself to see it could be. The narrator, Therese Plummer, was a huge part of making the the audiobook story so enjoyable. I agree with Aya, it was good.

Since two of the three book titles that I picked off of the list were available from my library, I decided to listen to the first and since it was not even the middle of the month, I decided to read The Silent Companions also. It was on my " maybe-to-read" TBR list. Annnnd - it was amazing!

It really is not my favorite kind of story (horror), nor genre (gothic), but I do like historical fiction. I started and I stopped several times. Once, I was going to stop reading it altogether, but I got up the next day and came back. The author's ability to set up the story, cross dual time lines and dual locations was phenomenal. Things were happening that I did not want to know about. Things were spooky and creepy and I could not figure out if I wanted to feel sorry for the main character in the story, or if she was lying. If she was not lying, who was capable of doing the terrible things in the story? Wow! I am still reeling at the ending.

Thanks, Ayacchi for putting the books on your list and thank you, Rusalka for the challenge and the chance for me to read them.

Cherie wrote: "WoF Cherie
For some reason, I never got around to reporting on my best and worst reads for 2021 but I did manage to pick two titles off of Ayacchi's best five list. I did not realize that both of t..."

Glad you like them, Cherie! I also like the lesson I've got from Things You Save in a Fire. Coincidentally, I'm planning on reading books by both authors for badge 3. I hope I'll get to read them!

Thanks, Aya. I would give both of the authors another go, but I do not have any marked specifically to read at this time.

WoF margo

I read We Begin at the End chosen by Kristie as one of her Best of 2021.

I liked this one very much. It was a story that centred on what has to be one of the worlds must dysfunctional families yet every member was so well drawn that the reader fell in love with them - except when they wanted to shake them! It dealt with some difficult themes such as poverty, drug addiction and prostitution but it managed not to get mired in misery.

It was a 4 star read for me. I wasn't blown away by the narration - my mind tended to wander which with me is a sign that that the narrator isn't doing their job - but I try to separate the narrator from my rating. There was a secondary plot going on which involved someone with a disease that sounded very like Parkinson's. The author put a very negative spin on it which I felt would have worried those suffering from similar conditions. This sub-plot added nothing to the story, if it needed to be there at all it should have been more sensitively handled.

Kristie has always been someone who's taste in reading I've admired and this time was no different - except I didn't know it was her recommendation till I'd finished :-)

I'm loving reading all your thoughts and reactions, particularly to each other's opinions!

Jayme wrote: "WoF Jayme

To Dance With the White Dog by Terry Kay
Roz's Best of List

One of the best books I have read in years - yes..."

I'm glad you found a book, Jayme, that you needed right at this moment. I hope you and your brothers had a productive and supportive weekend, and I am sorry to hear about your mum and all of you had to have some hard conversations. I really hope it went as well as it could have *hugs*

WoF Kira's Treasures

I read If Cats Disappeared from the World which I am now finding out is one of Ayacchi's worst books of 2021!

I did quite enjoy this but still felt like there was something missing in the book.

The protagonist finding out he is dying and then the devil appearing sucked me into the book quickly and I was anticipating what’s going to happen next but then the chapter about how god created the world and the whole explanation of the deal was a bit meh for me (Religious readers would enjoy it for sure though!)

Further along, every chapter helped me put things in perspective and how just like the protagonist, we all take things a bit too for granted and the huge impact anything disappearing would have on our lives. It forced me to think about the objects we don’t even pay particular attention to but how difficult our life would be if they were taken away.

Although I guess I was just expecting a bit more about the cats and less about the man itself and was surprised to find the whole focus on HIS life and relationships. It did put me off a little if I am being honest, I just wanted to read about Cabbage – I love that name lol.

Wof- Christina

I read Mistress of the Art of Death . It was on Rusalka's best of the year list.

I enjoyed the book which I listened to the audio. I didn't enjoy the narrator much which probably hurt my opinion some.

(view spoiler)[ The ending was so good and I loved the fact that the nun turned out to be a bad guy.... I didn't see it coming. The true villain was really terrifying and I could smell his stench through the description. < /Spoiler> I gave the book 4 stars. (hide spoiler)]

Christina wrote: "Wof- Christina

I read Mistress of the Art of Death . It was on Rusalka's best of the year list.

I enjoyed the book which I listened to the audio. I didn't enjoy the narrator much whi..."

I gave it 5 stars way back when. I read the paperback edition. Sometimes a narrator can make or break a story.

WoF Aya

I read The Song of Achilles from Vicky's best book of 2021.

Unfortunately it didn't work for me. While I like Madeline Miller's other book, Circe, I found that this book is kinda boring. I thought that maybe it's because I'm not really into mythology, but then it occurred to me that this book is more like a young adult book rather than a myth/historical fiction for me. Although there were a few good parts in it, it couldn't make the book better. And most of the significant characters are annoying. Thus, I gave it my first 2 stars in this year.

WoF Name - Lanelle

I read The Ghosts of Notchey Creek. It is on Sharon's 2021 'Wish I Hadn't' list.

I have read the first book in the series (The Mist Rises Over Notchey Creek) a couple of times now. I love the book. It is a wonderful blend of poetic imagery and backwoods hominess. I think the reason I love the book so much is because of the juxtaposition of the beautiful lyric language and the hick girl from Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee who wears overalls and her hair in two braids.

The Ghosts of Notchey Creek wasn't quite as good as book 1 in the series, but I'd still give a solid 4 stars.

WoF:Ashley
I read The Song of Achilles from Vicki’s best list. I totally agree and gave the book 5 stars. I had no idea it was going to be a love story. I’m not usually into romance but even though it was a love story I wouldn’t classify it as a romance novel. I have also read Circe and I liked it but I loved this book way more. This is one of my favourite reads of the year so far.

Rusalka wrote: "Jayme wrote: "WoF Jayme

[..."

Thanks Rusalka - Everything went better than expected. Mom was put at ease and my brothers and I have a game plan and now know who is responsible for what - it is a start and a learning curve.

WoF Pragya

I read A Good Girl's Guide to Murder from Ayacchi and Kristie's best book list.

The best thing about the book was it was a page turner and an easy read which is exactly what I wanted right now. But unfortunately, for me, it was too coincidental and too 'easy' for the characters to make progress despite their decisions being dumb. Although it's YA so we are probably talking teens. lol. It would not be on my worst list but no chance of making it to the best either.

WoF Vicki

I read Mexican Gothic which was on Sandra's Worst list.

This book seems to have had a lot of hype, at least I saw it everywhere so I was looking forward to it. For me it was neither very good nor very bad; I'm giving it 3.5 stars. It did surprise me multiple times and the time period it was set in was quite well thought out as I was constantly frustrated by how little power women had in the setting and it wouldn't have worked otherwise.
I also liked how the author toyed with the characters, I wasn't sure which way some things would go. It is only 300 pages but I found it repetitive and long on audio.

WoF Stacy SP

I chose The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

This had been on my TBR for a while. It has been mentioned on a few lists. I was very confused when I started reading this book. There were lots of things to get to grips with before I could honestly say that I understood what was going on. However, once you understand the terminology, the story just keeps getting better. Very intricate storyline. I'll be reading the next one.

- WoF: Lynn

- Book: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
- Who's List: Saar The Book Owl, 5 Star Read
- This is actually a re-read for me, because I've been wanting to re-read before I read the second book, and it really didn't disappoint. 5 Stars first time around and 5 stars the second time. The boys are so precious and I also really enjoy having supportive families around them which is so rare in YA. I can't wait to get into book 2!

WoF: Kristie

I read My Sister, the Serial Killer. Sharon had it on her "Wish I hadn’t" list. I thought it was ok, but could have lived without it. Not much happened and the story felt like it needed better focus. I gave it 3 stars because it was a pretty quick and easy read, but if you ask me in a week what it was about I probably won't recall many details.

WoF: Laura Lclwags

I actually ended up reading 2 books from the list, 1 on audio and 1 book. Turns out they were both on the worst list. Sandra had Mexican Gothic as a 2 star and I can understand why. The book was a bit weird and totally did not go the direction I had expected. I enjoyed it though. I liked Noemi and the creepy house with the dark history. Also, I liked that I didn't have it all figured out and was shocked by the (view spoiler)[ mushroom reveal. Even though there were hints, I was expecting it to be something less fantastical. (hide spoiler)]
Kristie had The Final Girl Support Group on the worst and DNF list. I also almost gave up on it. It's a very strange book. I found myself confused often and the pacing seemed weird. At first I thought it was because of Lynette's mental state, but I don't think it was just that. Really the only parts I enjoyed were the nods to horror films. It was fun taking the clues to connect which character was based on which franchise final girl.

WoF Rusalka

I also read Mexican Gothic which was on Sandra's worst list for the year. I rather enjoyed it. It reminded me nostalgically of Northanger Abbey. Once I worked out what was vaguely going on, the anticipation made it more and more tense as I read, just waiting for the monster to jump out from behind the cupboard.

In regards to Laura's spoiler above (view spoiler)[ I did pick it and was waiting for it. But Lexx is obsessed with fungi, so I spend a lot of time looking at mushrooms. (hide spoiler)]

Badges are posted. Please let me know if I missed you.