Backlist book picks are back!
We took a few weeks off from sharing backlist books, but we are exciting to be featuring them again every Friday.
Social media and book websites are full of popular new releases. The books that are popular right now. The ones that everyone seems to be reading.
This is especially true when it comes to fiction. You see the latest most popular fiction books everywhere on social media and books websites.
We understand why that is the case. Publishers and authors want to get the word out about their books.
The reality is that many great books are released each week, but there are so many older books that are also worth reading. Books that were released last year, five years ago, or even ten or more years ago.
Great books are often called great books because they have stood the test of time. They are the books we recommend now and will still be recommending five years from now. They are books that get attention because they are well written books, not just because they are the hot new books that everyone is reading.
Every Friday we feature a couple of our favorite backlist books. Today we are featuring two memoirs that I loved.
Hillbilly Elegy
The author is a former marine and Yale Law School graduate. This book shares a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town that offers a look at the struggles of America’s white working class. Hillbilly Elegy was one of my favorite books of 2016. It is a tough subject, but I think an important one that many people don’t want to talk about. It is real life stuff that is not easy to read at all. But this book is the reality of life for many people. This book takes place in the Appalachian mountain area of the country. Some of what this book deals with is unique to that area, but much of it is reality all over America. I think many families will be able to relate in some way to this story.
Walk to Beautiful
Walk to Beautiful is the real life story of country music star Jimmy Wayne. It is amazing that Jimmy survived his childhood and teen years. But he didn’t just survive it he overcame it and now helps children, especially teenagers in foster care. This is a good, but tough read. Like Hillbilly Elegy it shares part of America that most people do not want to admit exists. We often look over seas, at third world countries, and see pain, suffering, poverty, and abuse, but we over look it in our own neighborhoods and cities. It is not that we can’t see it, it is often that we choose not to. The reality is that most of us, me included, don’t take the time to see what goes on around us. This book forces you to see it. It leaves a view in your mind that is hard to forget
Is there a lot of bad language in Hillbilly Elegy?
Sorry that I did not get back to you. There is some language in Hillbilly Elegy. There are also some topics that are rough. It deals with real life and a dysfunctional family. Drugs, alcohol, abuse, etc. I hope that helps answer your question.