First Book of The Year 2021

Happy New Year! And Happy New Books Year! Every year for the past 8 years, Sheila over at  Book Journey has hosted the First Book of the Year. I'm going to look back, but I think I have picked out a first book every year for all those years.

This year I had originally picked out World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. But I was having a hard time finding a copy anywhere! Even the big box store online was out of stock. Barnes and Noble had chosen it as its Book of the Year 2020 and IT was out of stock online, BUT it said that one of the Barnes and Nobles in "the big city" about a 45 minute drive from here DID have a copy... so off I went.

Of course I couldn't just walk in and pick that book up and leave! No, I had to wander around. A bookstore is like a candy store to us readers, so I was in happy land. After a few hours I was back in the car driving home with a small bag of books... (I'll share those books here Sunday for my Sunday Salon post) One of which was my original choice for First Book of the Year, and another book that will be the first book I am also going to read for my first book. Let me explain...

World of Wonders is this beautiful little book of natures essays, 28 to be exact, that quietly bring you back to what matters. Aimee is an award winning poet, but here she uses her skills with the pen and her subtle observations to write about such subjects as the Catalpa Tree, the Narwhal, and even the flamingo. But these aren't long drawn out essays, these are like little poems, love notes of a page or two that let us relax in a world we may have temporarily forgotten. And it's because of that that I want to linger among the pages and have decided to read World of Wonder over time. Enjoying an essay or two every night until I turn the last page. So it will be "technically" my First Book of the Year, but I won't finish it first...

So what book will I finish first? That would be... Good Dogs Don't Make It to the South Pole by Hans-Olav Thyvold. I had briefly read something about this book. Basically it's a story told thru the eyes of a dog. I like dog books. I've read quite a few books where the dog is telling the story... The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, Finding Mr. Right by Emily Carmichael being two I loved... so I was interested. Then I read the inside jacket flap, about "A funny and touching tale...told thru the eyes of a grumpy yet lovable mutt" which made me want to read it more. And finally the author is Norwegian, which made it a slam dunk because I have enjoyed other Norwegian writers, such as Jo Nesbo and Karin Fossum. Of course the later two authors write crime fiction, but there is a certain style to their writing I like. 

My First "Books" of the Year 2021 will be one to relax by and regain focus for what is important, something that I think we all need to do after all the craziness of 2020, and one to make me smile, which is something we all need once in a while too. 

What will your First Book of the Year be?

Will it be funny, sad, advice? Will it be a book to set the mood for 2021? Will it be funny, sad, advice? Let me know in the comments below what you're pick will be! and in the meantime, come back on Sunday to see what other books I brought home with me!

Happy Reading.... Suzanne