Book Nerd Native's 2020 Favorites

“This bestselling, powerful young adult novel about social justice and one teen girl's effort to fight for what is right, will leave you breathless. The narration by Bahni Turpin is hands down the best I've ever heard. This is such an important book it should be required reading for life in general. Or listening. Definitely listening.”

“When I heard Brooks y’all about his research process, how he describes his process, and why Devolution despite it being about a “Bigfoot” attack had so much relevance, I was sold. And, as my instincts predicted, I was totally hooked, and fast! Then I realized that Brooks writes about these futuristic horror-ish survival adventures, in a way that drives you forward like the plot of a good thriller. His irony is excellent, and his vivid descriptions are clear, non-flowery and absolutely relevant to the plot. And this is the part that I also like so much...I naturally start thinking: “how would I handle this? “Wow, these mistakes are completely plausible.” How do you avoid mistakes like this?” “I can’t wait to see how these pieces of information come together. I know this important but now I have to know why.” And “This is such a smart book in the pure and enjoyable sense of the word.” I will gladly take the genre jump when the next Max Brooks appear on the horizon. Especially now that I’ve discovered that audio Brooks is even more outstanding than I could have hoped! Be careful...if you listen in the car, you’ll start hoping for traffic.”

“The House in the Cerulean Sea is a heart-swelling wave of sweetness and hope. Mild-mannered government caseworker Linus Baker is sent on a secret assignment to an island orphanage he’s never even heard of. The astonishing inhabitants he gets to know there will change his life and make him reassess everything he thought he knew. This book will leave you believing in the good in everyone — even those society has given up on — and contemplating how huge changes have to start somewhere.”

“At its simplest, we could just say this is a story about the human condition. Backman’s wry and deceptively simple storytelling provides us an exquisite and astute study of the little complexities that fills our lives with joy and pain. Through his rich story exploring second chances, missed opportunities, and unintended consequences, he captures the essence of what it means to be human and the complexities of navigating relationships with each other by exploring what we say and do not say to one another. The audio version is absolutely spectacular. The narrator brings each character to life with unique and spot-on personalities that I cannot imagine creating myself in my head. Her delivery of the dialogue and story is spot on and kept me laughing throughout.”

“This story’s power comes not just from its beautiful writing but the reality of its characters and the incisive nature of its setting. Liz Moore has created a masterpiece that exposes the opioid epidemic in Philadelphia, highlighting the vulnerability of its victims and the sheer scope of suffering it causes. From the first page, when the murder mystery begins, readers will suffer and rejoice with the novel’s oh-so-human characters. The power of this story is a fire that will linger for a long time.”

“Want to learn how to be a good ancestor? Need to address your privilege and feel uncomfortable about talking about racism? You need to read and work through Me and White Supremacy.”

“Imagine quantum leaping throughout your own life and trying to cobble together a life one year at a time. Oona leaps every New Year's Eve at midnight and never knows when she is going to wake up. As if that is not traumatic enough, she has no idea what has happened the previous year (and leaves herself letters, notes, and cryptic clues to fill in the gaps). "Oona out of Order" is smart, funny, poignant, and just a little wacky! What a pleasure to listen too and follow Oona travel through time!”

“This memoir by black and gay poet Saeed Jones is a visceral coming of age and coming out story. Growing up as an only child to his single mother in Texas and spending summers with his evangelical grandmother in Memphis, Jones struggles to come to terms with his sexuality, to come out of the closet, and to love himself. He wrestles with his fractured identity, learning what it means to be gay in the black community, to be black in the gay community, and to realize that either one on its own is enough to get you killed in a straight, white world. There are passages that will bruise and choke you, but ultimately both Jones and the reader come out of the book all the better for it.”

“Stradal brings the heart here with characters you will really enjoy. They face the future with difficulty, courage and bravery. The story of the three determined women using what they know, baking pies and making beer, help them succeed. P.S. You don’t have to like pies or beer to savor this book.”