It was down to the wire. With two nights remaining until 2021 was over, I parked myself on the couch after the kids went to bed and got to work. I had a deadline to meet. I wanted to be able to say that I finished 40 books in the year that I turned 40. And I did it. (Yay!) Of the 40 books I read, some of them were older books that I’d had on my to-read list for years, others were re-reads of books I had loved and wanted to read again. 14 of them were audiobooks that I borrowed through our library and listened to while painting, knitting, or puttering around the kitchen.
In keeping with our tradition of posting a Top 5 List (in case you missed it, here’s my list and Tim’s list for 2020), I’ve chosen books that were new to me this year. Since they’re difficult to rank, I’m listing them by category. I’m also including an Honourable Mentions list as well as a list of top books that my kids enjoyed listening to me read at bedtime.
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Favourite Memoirs
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
Tim got this book for Christmas last year and I started to read the hard copy but then I borrowed the audiobook and found it to be much more enjoyable. Barack Obama reads his own book in the audio version and I love listening to his voice. It’s a bit of a tome – the audiobook is somewhere around 19 hours – but the content is rich, insightful, and personal as he gives readers the backstage pass to his life and the first four years of his presidency.
The Smallest Lights in the Universe by Sara Seager
Sara Seager beautifully weaves the story of the loss of her husband to cancer with her search for exoplanets as an astrophysicist. When I borrowed this audiobook, I hadn’t realized that this was a Canadian book and was surprised to recognize several references to Toronto experiences that I grew up with.
Favourite Novel
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
This is an older novel but I enjoyed Sue Monk Kidd’s The Book of Longings so much last year that I read everything I could borrow from the library by her. Of all the novels I read by her, I enjoyed the Secret Life of Bees the most. I found her writing so beautiful and the crafting of this story well-researched and just brilliant.
Favourite Personal Development/Women’s Empowerment
Think Like a Breadwinner by Jennifer Barrett
This was a practical book encouraging women to take ownership of their financial health. Too many women leave their finances to their husbands/partners and end up in trouble when they find themselves on their own for whatever reason. This book helped me to see the value in taking more interest in our finances (even as Tim does our record keeping) and motivated me to look after the finances for my own art business.
Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
You might be surprised that I am recommending a book about sex but this is such an important topic. Come As You Are is by far the most informative, well-written book I have read on the subject of understanding women’s sexuality. Citing a wealth of research on both physiology and psychology, this book helped me understand myself better as a woman and debunked some myths that I had been taught. I would recommend this for anyone wanting to learn more about women’s sexuality, particularly if you were raised to avoid the topic (like me).
Honourable Mentions
A Burning in My Bones by Winn Collier – This biography of Eugene Peterson was well written and gave me a greater appreciation for the man that he was.
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi – This perceptive novel offered me an expanded understanding of both addiction and the Ghanaian immigrant experience. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audiobook version of this.
Spiritual Conversations with Children: Listening to God Together by Lacy Finn Borgo – This small book contains gems and insights into how we as adults can create safe spaces for children to notice and process their experiences with God.
Try Softer by Aundi Kolber – For a person who is always trying harder, this book was the encouragement I needed to hear and a reminder of grace; offering the alternative of “trying softer.”
My Kids’ Favourite Bedtime Books
My kids are 10 and 7 now so our bedtime reading has gotten a little more sophisticated than it used to be. They enjoy listening to me read and our book choices are usually novels. But once in a while, I like to introduce them to content that they might not read on their own (or books I can insert commentary on if needed). Sometimes, I test their limits to see if they’re able to track with me. For example, earlier this year we borrowed the biography of Helen Keller and made it through a few chapters before they lost interest. The writing and vocabulary usage was a bit too formal and outdated for them. Surprisingly, they wanted to continue Nelson Mandela’s The Long Walk to Freedom, despite not being familiar with South Africa or global history. We are only halfway through and are currently waiting with the library for our turn with that book again – otherwise, it might have made it onto our list here.
I sat down with them and together we created this list of books we enjoyed:
Alice Fleck’s Recipe for Disaster by Rachelle Delaney – Cooking competition meets mystery novel. Super fun, especially if you like food.
Pages & Co Series by Anna James – This is a magical adventure series that takes place inside of books. There are four books in this series so far.
Becoming: Adapted for Young Readers by Michelle Obama – My girls loved hearing about Michelle Obama’s life. They wouldn’t let me stop reading at night.
Train to Impossible Places Series by P.G. Bell – This adventure series combines fantasy with a sprinkling of physics, all while fighting the bad guys. There are three books in this series so far.
Dumpling Days by Grace Lin – It’s rare to find novels that explore the Asian American experience and I was glad to read this with my kids. This book features a Taiwanese American girl who travels to Taiwan with her family for the summer and eats all sorts of dumplings. While researching for this post, I learned that this is book three of a series. We will definitely be looking up the first two books!