As we near the end of 2021, it's time to announce our Best of the Year Books, as chosen by subscribers like you. This week, we introduce you to the Top 20. Next week, we'll reveal the winners in each of the four categories: Best Fiction, Best Nonfiction, Best YA and Best Debut.
Meanwhile, our First Impressions readers have been weighing in on Beasts of a Little Land, a remarkable debut novel by Juhea Kim about life in Korea during Japanese occupation and the subsequent independence movement.
Also, see below for a coupon code to save $7 off a gift membership to BookBrowse (you can also save on a membership for yourself), as well as our review of The Correspondents by Judith Mackrell.
Very best,
Davina Morgan-Witts
BookBrowse Publisher
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BookBrowse Best of the Year: The Top 20 |
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This week, we're highlighting the Top 20 Best Books of the Year, chosen by BookBrowse subscribers. Over 9,000 votes were cast this year. If you took part in the voting, thank you!
The list includes some well-established favorites such as Colm Tóibín, Amor Towles and Kazuo Ishiguro, plus new talents such as Honoree Fannone Jeffers, Angeline Boulley and Nathan Harris. Head over to the BookBrowse blog to see the full list!
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Each month we give away books to BookBrowse members who live in the U.S. to read and review. Members who choose to participate receive a free book about every 3-4 months. Here are their opinions on one recently released title. |
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Beasts of a Little Land
by Juhea Kim
Reader Reviews
"I learn history best through historical fiction, and I was particularly intrigued by this title because I know little about Korea. Yes, I've read several popular novels, but this author led me through the Japanese occupation to the independence movement and into some parts of Korea's early nationhood. The story is populated with interesting characters — Japanese and Korean, male and female. The themes of loyalty, self-gratification, entrepreneurship and love enriched the history. This title would make for an exciting book club discussion. Who are the beasts?" - Pamela W. (Piney Flats, TN)
"What a captivating book! So full of images, traditions, insight and history. What a great way to learn about the history of Korea. The characters were engrossing and to follow them for many years through many changes was a gift. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and/or character development." - Carol J. (Isle, MN)
"After completing this novel, I had difficulty falling asleep, my mind wrestling with questions about the issues that determined the fate of each character. How much is preordained by the wartime setting and the occupation of Korea by Japan in the first decades of the 20th century? To what degree did the characters thrive or suffer based on factors related to their gender, family and social circumstances, or the peculiarities of their personalities and life philosophies? This novel will appeal to readers who love to learn about history during periods of great social upheaval, but even more to those who want to contemplate the events and choices that determine our fate. I highly enjoyed the book and will continue to think about it for a long time." - Mary S. (Houston, TX)
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Ecco. Historical Fiction. 416 pages. December 7, 2021
Readers' Consensus: 4.4/5, Number of Reader Reviews: 18
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Save on the Perfect Gift for Your Bookish Friends |
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This holiday season, give the gift that will last all year — a one-year membership to BookBrowse, including our twice-monthly e-magazine, access to all our reviews and "beyond the book" articles, and much more. It's the perfect choice for your bookish friends and family!
For a limited time, we're offering a $7 discount, so you can give a one-year membership for just $32.
Buy today using coupon code HOLIDAY2021 and tell us when you'd like your gift to be sent, and we'll email the gift certificate to your recipient on the day you specify.
And if you're not already a BookBrowse member, you can also use HOLIDAY2021 to treat yourself! |
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US$32 is equivalent to approx. Can$41, £24, €28, AU$45 and NZ$47.
This coupon code is not valid to renew a lapsed membership or extend an existing one.
Offer ends Dec 29, 2021.
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The Correspondents
by Judith Mackrell
In the introduction to The Correspondents, author Judith Mackrell points out that although there had been women journalists reporting from the front lines of earlier wars, it was the Second World War "which was to become the defining opportunity for female correspondents." By the end of the conflict, she continues, "around 250 of the reporters and photographers accredited to the Allied armies were women." The author focuses on six of these intrepid journalists, each of whom not only braved the dangers of reporting from a war zone but had to fight rampant sexism to do so.
Each had supporters, but they were mostly forced to forge ahead independently as they encountered roadblocks, many erected specifically to bar women from the front lines. The persistence they showed and the creativity they used is astonishing. Shultz, for example, faked heart palpitations to get admitted to a clinic treating Germany's President Ebert so she could get information about his condition before anyone else, and Gellhorn stowed away on a Red Cross ship so she could cover the invasion of Normandy... continued
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Beyond the Book: The Spanish Civil War
Several of the women highlighted in Judith Mackrell's The Correspondents started their journalistic careers covering the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
Although positions across the Spanish populace were nuanced and varied widely, opposing factions can be placed into two very broad categories. The rebels became known as the Nationalists, and were supported mainly by the military, political conservatives, landowners and businessmen, and the Roman Catholic Church. On the other side of the conflict were low-wage urban workers, agricultural workers and miners, and the educated liberal middle class. This latter group became known as the Republicans.
Republican forces were supplemented by the International Brigades — an umbrella term used to describe foreigners who volunteered to fight for the leftist regime. Robert Jordan, the fictional hero of Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, was one of these soldiers. Hemingway reported on the Spanish Civil War in 1937, alongside fellow journalist Martha Gellhorn, one of the women depicted in The Correspondents. He and Gellhorn were married in 1940. George Orwell almost died fighting for the Republicans when he was shot in the neck during one battle. He wrote about this experience in his memoir Homage to Catalonia... continued
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Doubleday. History. 464 pages. Published November 2, 2021
Critics' Consensus: 4.7/5, BookBrowse Rating: 5/5
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With so many new books published every month, it's difficult to find the standouts, the ones which are really worth your time. This is why hundreds of thousands of readers rely on BookBrowse to do the hard work of sifting though the multitude of titles to find the most promising new books, with a focus on books that entertain, engage and enlighten. |
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BookBrowse Highlights is one of our four free newsletters. We also offer Publishing This Week every Sunday, and Book Club News and Librarian News monthly.
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