Zuzana is a mother, wife, enthusiastic seamstress and eternal admirer of things with a story. Which books definitely are. Since having a son, she has read (much) less than before. However, the more books she chooses, the better pieces life sends her on her way.
"This year I was lucky to have only good books. Good is not enough. Fantastic. At the beginning of the year I left for Spain with only one book on my list, Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I knew I would read it in a few days. Also that I didn't know what I would read next. I didn't mind, I had a feeling something would come. I never imagined that I would reach the books I did, row after row. They came from all directions. And they were worth it.
I read most of the books on the list this year. The rest are supplemented by those that I like to return to and read repeatedly.
Half of the yellow sun /
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I mentioned the book right at the beginning, so it will rightly be the first. What I like about Chimamanda, besides the fact that she writes brilliantly, is the fact that she opens up topics that are, for me, white
A far cry from a European. He tells them humanly and raw at the same time. Without embellishment, just as they are. Half of a Yellow Sun is a story about the civil war in Biafra. About their fight for independence, which is associated with famine and ultimately an inevitable and bloody defeat. All against the backdrop of the main characters who dealt with the situation as best they could. It is difficult to read, sometimes every sentence hurts. But it opens the heart, and that is what we want from books.
Humanity / Rutger Bregman
The book is subtitled A History of Hope and it doesn't lie. I am an optimist, I try to see the good in people rather than the bad and whenever something goes even a little bit wrong, I turn the coin to the positive side of things. However, I was surprised by how much I see the evil rooted in others. In fear, well-intentioned advice, messages, attitudes, the world. And yet it's all the other way around. We are inherently good and this book is not a bestseller for nothing. If Chimamanda opens hearts, Bregman opens eyes.
The sculptor's daughter / Tove Jansson
It took me a while to get used to the writing style and I had to read the first two stories again at the end. But with pleasure. In each story, reality is strangely intertwined with a unique fantasy and an unusual perception and observation of the world that only a child can have. When you add to that the author's age and her life experiences, it is truly an exceptional read.
In the Treetops / Richard Powers
The book In the Treetops is an ode to nature. Richard Powers writes about trees in such a way that after reading them, you will look at them differently forever. With greater respect, understanding and the need to protect them. Even if you want to get attached to one of them, just so that it stays alive. The book is divided into 3 parts - roots, trunk and crown, and that is exactly how the fates of the individual characters unfold. The book sucked me in, taught me page by page, cleared my conscience and changed what I know about trees and that I actually know nothing. I also recommend the podcast that was published on Denník N. Katarína Šimončičová beautifully explains why we should protect trees, how to protect them and that trees NEVER INSULT.
The Story of the Bees / Maja Lunde
I thought the book would be mainly about bees. Just like In the Treetops was mainly about trees. However, the story of the bees is more, and besides the constant struggle for the bees to continue to live happily in this world, it is a story about families, about relationships. These gradually unfold in three separate spaces and times, only to eventually meet. An exceptional read!
Soft Boiled / Katarína Poliacíková
I am a big fan of the newsletter Eggtuition by Katarína Poliačiková. And actually Katarína in general. I started subscribing later, and I was even more pleased that she published her first year of newslettering in a book. Katarína has a huge sense of beauty and seeing the world through her eyes, even if only in this mediated way, is a gift.
Nine Lives / William Dalrymple
In the book 9 Lives you will find, as the title itself suggests, 9 different lives. 9 different destinies, 9 stories that are completely incomprehensible to our world. Sacred prostitutes, dancers who are reincarnated as gods, skull feeders and a nun who voluntarily starves herself to death. These are not pictures from the distant past, but from contemporary India, which is even more fantastic about this entire collection. Long after I finished reading the book, I remembered the individual stories and during the second reading I stuck stickers with short notes in the book. Let me go, the next time I search, just to be sure.
Motherhood / Sheila Heti
A book called Motherhood, which is not about motherhood at all. Not in the way you would expect. Motherhood is the author's honest exploration of whether or not to have a child. Without shame or embellishment. I recommend it to everyone, whether you already have a child or not. Whether you want one or not. It opens up topics, changes thinking, and breaks down stereotypes. And even though I, like the author herself, thought that the result of the entire book would be two lines on a pregnancy test, there is much more to it.
Memoirs of a tidy girl /
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir probably doesn't need to be introduced, her actions speak for themselves. Memoirs of a well-mannered girl tell where it all began. Paris in the 1920s and 1930s is an attraction in itself. Then there are her memoirs, which personally completely captivated me. A childhood that seemed rosy and ideally transformed into a very complicated adolescence and adulthood, a first love that probably wasn't even love, and Zaza, the closest friend who suffered to death at the end of the book. Their mutual relationship, which reminds me of Elena and Lily's friendship, is the book Inseparable , which de Beauvoir wrote after Zaza's death. I recommend both!
However, most of the books I read are still children's books. After all - they are read in one sitting and, above all, over and over again. The library around the corner helped us a lot in terms of variety and the fact that it is Eliáš's favorite stop, wherever we go. Of the children's books that I pass on, these are the ones. Eliáš is three years old, so these are books appropriate for his age.
The books When Sadness Knocks and How Are You Feeling, Teddy Bear?
Both books, as the title suggests, talk about feelings, which is an endless topic for me personally. They both present them very clearly, even delightfully. When Sadness Knocks by Eva Eland tells about a big soft cloud, Sadness, that sometimes knocks on each of us and wants only one thing – to be accepted. How Do You Feel, Teddy Bear by Agata Królak shows in cheerful illustrations the feelings, how such a teddy bear (or we) can feel in all sorts of ways. I feel like I should wash my head. I feel like I didn't get dessert after lunch. I feel like I'm at my aunt's house who doesn't have any toys at home. There are 26 situations in total and it's a great springboard for discussions about our feelings. Because there are!
Here We Are – Notes on Life on Planet Earth / Oliver Jeffers
An explanation of how we function on this planet for the little ones. Childish, human, gentle and simple. There is almost nothing in the book for the first page, illustrations and little text. However, I promise that with each subsequent reading with your child you will get further and further. It contains the universe, that humans have lungs and bones, that we need to eat, drink and be warm to survive, that a volcano is hot and water is wet and most importantly – it shows that there are many, very many of us in the world, but that does not mean that we should not be kind to each other. There is enough space here. For everyone.
Beekeeper Jozífek or anything by Simona Čechová
Jozífek the Beekeeper, František from the Compost and Eliška is not a ghost. They are all books that explain a topic in a childish and in-depth way. So much so that even many an adult will learn a lot.
A million trillion Christmas elves
A Million Trillion Christmas Elves is a book about Christmas and presents. Without Santa Claus. We don't tell Eliáš about Santa Claus, we give presents to each other because we love each other. Or are miniature Christmas elves whispering it in our ears? Who knows. For me, a perfect idea for how to bring magic to Christmas even without Santa Claus.
Balcony / Melissa Castrillon
A wonderful book about the importance of greenery, the joy of growing, and how plants make our lives much more diverse.
