2019 Finalists for the Trixie and the Moai Book Award

I want to recognize the amazing books and authors that I read every year, so in 2016 I started a tradition of giving an award to the 5 best books I read that year. This is a completely arbitrary award with no meaning to anyone but me. But it's a tradition I quite like and look forward to it each year!! 

One of the things that I like about this process is that I'm sometimes surprised by the ones that I pick. Sometimes a book that I loved in the moment doesn't stick with me as time passes. Other times a book that I actually kind of hated doesn't leave me and makes me rethink it. This year a book that I kind of hated in the moment but put on this list is The Poison Thread. I did not think that would make it on my list at all!!

Here are the finalists for the fourth annual Trixie and the Moai Book Award!

Books of 2019- Installment #22

106. The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher
This book was amazing!!! I loooooooooooooove it!! It was creepy and scary but it was funny!! And I love that!! A woman, Mouse, and her dog, Bongo, go to clean out grandma's house after her death. Turns out that her rather unpleasant grandma was a hoarder, and the job of cleaning it out is a bit more daunting that she might have hoped for. I couldn't help but notice some of the similarities between this book and The Family Plot, but those similarities are largely superficial. A scary book where a woman is cleaning out an old house. This book had an oddly Lovecraftian feel to it. I say oddly because I've never read any Lovecraft and have only read homages to or reworkings of Lovecraft, and she discusses in the author's note the inspiration for this book, and it's not Lovecraft. But there is a connection.... But the main point is I loooooooooooooove this book!!

107. In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund
This is a fun take on the board game Clue. A fancy boarding school on an island off the coast of Maine. You have the rich kids, the townies, the teachers, the residence hall advisors, the buildings, the traditions of the school and the town, and most importantly- the secrets!!! When the storm hits and everyone is trapped and someone dies? Well, that's when things get scary!!

108. Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen
I love time travel books and so had to check this one out! I loved that it was more of a love story than an action story, and I was really pleasantly surprised when the town I live in was mentioned in the book.

109. The Lights Go Out in Lychford by Paul Cornell
This is the fourth book in the Lychford series, so of course I had to read it. And I loved it!! Loved it!! Short and delightful. It scratches many of my itches. 

110. Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North
I really loved Ryan North's How to Invent Everything, and I wanted to read a choose your own adventure type book, so I thought that this book was a natural. It didn't really work for me.

I've read 110 books so far and 78 were by woman, 28 by men, 1 book by a female and male author, and 3 anthologies with both female and male authors- two of which were mostly female authors. My year of reading lots of women was strong!!!

Books of 2019- Installment #21

101. 1222 by Anne Holt
This book was described as a locked room mystery and it is of a sort. It's more like one of those mysteries where everyone is trapped in a big old mansion and people start dying. But what I liked about this book is the main character is a former police detective that was paralyzed in the line of duty and solves the mystery from her wheelchair. I also liked that it is a Norwegian book that was translated into English even though the translator clearly doesn't know the difference between snuff and chew!

102. The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
I devoured this book!! It's A Christmas Carol. The main character, Holly Chase, gets visited by her own Jacob Marley and the three Christmas ghosts- Past, Present, and Future, all in an attempt to save her.What ensues was a delight!!

103. The Beadworkers by Beth Piatote
This book such a long time coming to me off the hold list at the library that I no longer know how it made it's way into my ken, but I'm so happy that it did. Beth Piatote is Nez Perce and enrolled in the Colville Confederated tribes. I used to live in Spokane very close to the Colville Reservation, and so many things she mentioned or talked about just touched me! Julyamsh! Jim Boyd! Jingle dresses! This story collection is beautiful, fascinating, and poignant! She touches on so many important aspects of our lives: love, sorrow, death, family, women's lives, indigenous lives, modernity, passage of time. It's a wonderful read!

104. Lanny by Max Porter
This book took forever to come off the holds list, but it is so good! I really enjoyed it. I had read Grief is the Thing with Feathers. I wasn't really sure what to expect of this book, but I loved it and was freaked out by it! Lanny, the titular character, is this amazing little boy that seems to have this extra special relationship with nature. As this book is less than 200 pages, I don't want to say more.

105. The Fossil Hunter: Dinosaurs, Evolution, and the Woman Whose Discoveries Changed the World by Shelley Emling
This nonfiction book is about Mary Anning (1799-1847) who discovered some of the most important fossil finds ever. Her discoveries led to the theory of evolution, to the rethinking in the Western world of the time the Earth has existed, and a deeper understanding of our world. So have you heard of her? Well, I hadn't- that's for sure! So I had to read this book and learn more!

I've read 105 books so far and 79 were by woman, 25 by men, 1 book by a female and male author, and 3 anthologies with both female and male authors- two of which were mostly female authors. My year of reading lots of women is still going strong!!!

Books of 2019- Installment #20

96. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
I was so excited to read this novella. The two main characters are on opposite sides of a time war and their interactions with each other. Being drawn to each because of their skill/talents and needing to not be seen interacting leads to some crazy escapades.

97. The Border Keeper by Kerstin Hall
A man shows up at the Border Keeper's door. He wants something, but he doesn't say what. What follows is the journey to learn what he wants and how they are connected.

98. The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite
This is a romance where a countess and an astronomer meet and fall in love. It's a little bit novel for a romance. But I think what made me love this book was that for the most part the obstacles that these two lovers face are not the typical romance novel obstacles where they take half the book realizing that they actually do like each other. These women face the challenges of being a woman together and thrive. So that made me very happy.

99. Ormeshadow by Priya Sharma
I'm not really sure what to say about this novella. A family falls on hard times and has to move in with a brother. They go from city life to farm life. And the son learns of a family legacy.

100. The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon
This is my second Jennifer McMahon (both this year!!) and this one scared the bejesus out of me!! A farmhouse in rural Vermont haunted by its past and its present- literally and metaphorically.

I've read 100 books so far and 72 were by woman, 24 by men, 1 book by a female and male author, and 3 anthologies with both female and male authors- two of which were mostly female authors. My year of reading lots of women is still going strong!!!