Bookloft Top 10 of 2019

“I finished this book wishing that I could tour THE DUTCH HOUSE in real life. I'm sure every person who reads this wishes they could have had Maeve's room. Patchett writes another beautiful and vivid family drama story. What she does best & my favorite aspect of her writing is her character development. The story can be a bit slow but it helped shape the characters and their relationships. Once I heard that Tom Hanks was the narrator of the audiobook, I immediately put myself on the library wait list. The entire time I pictured him as our main character, Danny, going through life and it made me like the book so much more.”

“The Bear and the Nightingale is an enchanting mix of fairy tale, fantasy, and historical fiction set in medieval Russia. Nestled between the northern wilderness and civilization is a village where old and new traditions live side by side. Vasya, the last daughter of Pyotr and Marina, is born on the howling winds of autumn. Different from the others in her village, she is destined to be like her grandmother and is gifted with powers by birthright. As time goes by, Vasya is tested. Caught in the conflict between the old spirits and the new religion, Vasya must do everything in her power to save her family and village. Arden's novel is the rich, mesmerizing fairy tale you've been waiting for!”

“Raised by Mormon fundamentalists, mistrustful of the medical community while having never stepped foot in a classroom setting, Tara Westover's memoir, "Educated" is excruciatingly painful at times. From witnessing devastating destruction deep in the woods of Idaho to enduring an abusive bi-polar brother to becoming ostracized by her survivalist parents for her beliefs, Tara's tale of self-discovery will totally bring you to tears. Torrents of them. For fans of "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls and "Hillbilly Elegy" by J.D. Vance, except much more dysfunctional, "Educated" will leave you thanking your lucky stars you weren't raised a Westover. Read by Julia Whelan, this audiobook is perfect for recent graduates, educators and everyone concerned about the state of our country. I highly recommend!”

“I adore our former president and I miss him. Yet I cannot help but be ecstatic that Michelle is coming out with a book about her own life so that I can learn more about this powerful, intelligent, and singularly awesome woman. Barack would be the first to say that his wife is a superstar, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Becoming to read about her in her own words.”

“A stunning debut novel by an original voice. Twelve characters of Native American descent, interrelated by birth or chance, struggle with the competing forces of cultural history and modern urban existence. Their stories build separately before colliding powerfully in the book’s final pages at The Big Oakland Powwow. I was riveted.”

“Everyone that Kya has ever known has abandoned her. From the time that she was a young child she is left behind. After the student truancy officers track her down and get her to school the children laugh at her so she retreats to the only place that she feels normal - the marshland of North Carolina. She perseveres when she has every strike against her. She fends for herself and studies the natural surroundings of the marsh carefully. She paints and catalogs her collections, studies animal biology carefully, and becomes more in tune with nature than with the townspeople who call her "The Marsh Girl." Then one day the town's "golden boy" Chase Andrews ends up dead and Kya is the one that is suspected of killing him. The story that unfolds will draw you in - I was consumed with the story to the point where I could think about little else during the day because I had to know what happened next in the book. I laughed, I cried, I did fist pumps when things go well for Kya... this book infected me and I'm still having a tough time with the idea that the book is over. I'll carry these characters and this story with me for a long time.”

“A bold retelling of the Circe episode from Homer's Odyssey that not only captures the interlocking pieces of Greek mythology, but also gives each god, titan, and Grecian a pulsing complexity. Both Circe the book and the character are quiet, sensual and--at times--freewheeling, adventurous, and devastating. Perdita Week's performance here is multi-layered and captivating. The voices she chooses to portray each character captures the unfolding drama and humor beautify.”

“Do you love trees? Probably not as much as Richard Powers does! This books weaves together the converging stories of nine characters, but they really function as a means to probe the perspective of the trees themselves. With lyrical prose and amazing stories of naturalist history, this is an epic of environmental literature.”

“My words can't do justice to how beautiful the language is in this book. Listening to the author read it was so raw and engaging. This book was emotionally painful in a lot of parts but just touched me on so many levels. Definitely the best book that I've listened to (and read) so far this year.”