5.11 The Community Library Reading Awards 2021
The end of another year means another Community Library Reading Awards! In this totally biased and unfair awards ceremony, I give awards to my most thought-provoking book, favourite lockdown read, favourite translated fiction, and more! Consider this a highlights reel of all the books I read this year. Happy New Year, and I hope you enjoy!
Listen to the episode here
Transcription coming soon!
TL;DL? Here’s a list of all the books I talked about in the episode:
BIGGEST SURPRISE
The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
published 1947 and 1949
adult / fiction / classic, WWII
the gist: Two young British women try and find love leading up to and during the second world war.
2. BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT
We Are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer
published 2019
adult / nonfiction / climate, science
the gist: An exploration of the moral, social, political and physical implications of the climate crisis.
3. MOST THOUGHT-PROVOKING
Disfigured by Amanda Leduc
published 2020
adult / nonfiction / disability, fairy tales, memoir
the gist: Leduc explores fairy tales and folklore through the lens of disability studies while also sharing her own experience having cerebral palsy.
4. NEW FAVOURITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER
Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
published in 1925
adult / fiction / classic, romantic comedy
the gist: Told through diary entries, we follow Lorelei’s hijinks across Europe, seducing men and collecting jewels (preferably diamonds).
5. FAVOURITE COVER
All’s Well by Mona Awad
published 2021
adult / fiction / speculative, horror
the gist: University theatre director Miranda is suffering from chronic illness while trying to put on a production of Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well.
6. FAVOURITE YA FICTION
The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake
published 2019
YA / fiction / coming-of-age, romance
the gist: Stuck in the small town of Lyric for the summer, sixteen-year-old Violet tries to get her life back on track by making new friends and trying to locate a missing shipwreck.
7. FAVOURITE ADULT FICTION
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
published 2019
adult / fiction / sci-fi, romance
the gist: Red and Blue are undercover agents on opposite sides of a war through time, but their relationship develops as they begin to communicate through letters.
8. FAVOURITE TRANSLATED FICTION
The Door by Magda Szabó
translated from Hungarian by Len Rix
published 1987
adult / fiction / domestic, autofiction
the gist: Chronicles a writer’s relationship with her elderly housekeeper.
9. FAVOURITE AUSTRALIAN FICTION
Careful, He Might Hear You by Sumner Locke Elliott
published 1963
adult / fiction / historical, family
the gist: 6-year-old PS, whose eccentric mother died the day after he was born, is caught in a custody battle between his aunts.
10. FAVOURITE CLASSIC
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
published 1925
adult / fiction / classic, stream of consciousness
the gist: A middle-aged woman prepares for a party while reminiscing on her life so far.
11. FAVOURITE NONFICTION
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
published 2019
adult / nonfiction / memoir, literary criticism
the gist: Machado recounts her experience in an abusive relationship by framing it through different genres, literary devices and story conventions.
12. FAVOURITE SHORT STORY, POETRY OR PLAY
Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing? by Maya Angelou
published 1983
adult / poetry / social justice, memoir
the gist: Angelou displays her craft as a storyteller and poet through her exploration of love, grief and community.
13. FAVOURITE RE-READ
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
published 1925
adult / fiction / classic, 1920s
the gist: Nick Carraway recounts his experience befriending his mysterious and elusive neighbour who throws roaring parties every weekend.
14. FAVOURITE 2021 RELEASE
A Burning by Megha Majumdar
published 2021
adult / fiction / politics, social commentary
the gist: After a bomb is set off on a train in India, we follow three characters and how their lives are impacted by this single event.
15. FAVOURITE LOCKDOWN READ
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
published 2020
adult / fiction / fantasy, folklore
the gist: In an empire reminiscent of Imperial China, a clerk is sent to document the histories of the land. When they stumble upon an old hut, they meet Rabbit, who tells them the story of the rise of Empress In-Yo through curious objects and artefacts.
16. NEW FAVOURITE AUTHOR
Sumner Locke Elliott, 1917-1991
17. BOOK OF THE YEAR
The Whole Picture by Alice Procter
published 2020
adult / nonfiction / art history
the gist: Procter takes the reader through the colonial history of museums, while highlighting important historical and contemporary works.
