- Man Enough by Justin Baldoni
- A Thousand Sisters by Elizabeth Wein
- For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor
- All These Worlds by Dennis E. Taylor
- Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
- Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
- Impact Winter by Travis Beacham
I think my favorite book this year is A Thousand Sisters by Elizabeth Wein. At a time when disdain for the Russian people is incredibly high in the States, I think this book might be controversial. But, the story of the aviatrixes who helped win the Second World War is just so good. At the end of the book I found myself wanting to learn more about their fate. Sadly, their heroics are mostly forgotten some efforts have been made to raise them. An anime was created where some of the women are key characters, for example. Overall, it's a great celebration of women and the ability they have to kick ass.
Last year, I read We Are Legion (We Are Bob). It turned out to be a guilty pleasure. Not the best writing but, wow, what a fun story. I pulled in the next two books in the series and devoured them. I love them so much.
Bedtime reading has left Roald Dahl... Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was fine but there are better books out there. Like Charlotte's Web, for example. Oh wow, Aggie LOVED Charlotte's Web. We both cried at the end, though. Getting older and rereading some of these stories is incredibly interesting - they continue to hit differently than they did as a kid.
Special mention to Man Enough by Justin Baldoni. Ciri and I watched Jane the Virgin (which was a lot of fun but don't tell her I said so) and when I looked up the "pretty boy" actor I found his book, Man Enough. I think we're in a new era where men need to redefine what a man is. We are not our marriage, we are not our work, we are not our bodies... what are we? I appreciate a person like Justin Baldoni, although he has lots of privilege, he uses that privilege to be an ally for others without losing who he is as a man.