Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
I had a bit of an adventure trying to find a good stock photo for this week’s post.
So many of the pictures under tags like friendship and relationship presumed I was only talking about romance or that I wanted to see photos of people laughing together without any context as to what was so funny.
There’s nothing wrong with those answers, of course, they just quite weren’t what I was hoping for this time around. Luckily, I eventually found something that left a bit more scope for the imagination as Anne Shirley would say.
1. Waswanipi by Jean-Yves Soucy
This memoir was never finished, but the portion of it that could be published provided such an interesting glimpse into what Cree life was like before Europeans disrupted it. I enjoyed seeing how every member of the tribe relied on others to survive and how they came together to work on problems. That’s really all I can say without giving you too many spoilers, but the relationships between the folks mentioned in this book were beautiful.
2. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
Yes, I know I’ve mentioned this book on many other Top Ten Tuesday themes before. If you’re curious about this series but haven’t read it yet, maybe all of this repetition will convince you to give it a try. Hehe.
Sibling Dex (a human) and Mosscap (a robot) didn’t seem to have much in common at first glance, but I loved discovering all of their similarities and seeing how their friendship blossomed.
3. Don’t Cry for Me by Daniel Black
This is sort of an unusual choice for this prompt because of how lonely and isolated Jacob was as he neared the end of his life. The relationship aspect comes in when he recalled his difficult childhood and how his older brother protected him from their sometimes violent grandfather. Those sorts of bonds can last forever.
4. The Necessity of Stars by E. Catherine Tobler
The protagonist of this novella was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. As she struggles to remember the present and sometimes mixes up the past with her current life, she also discovers aliens living in her backyard.
The friendship she strikes up with them was as unexpected as it was mesmerizing. If only this one had a sequel.
I look forward to reading all of your answers!
I haven’t read any of these books.
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2023/09/12/top-ten-tuesday-did-i-read-my-summer-2023-tbr/
They were all good. 🙂
Don’t Cry for Me sounds very interesting.
It was excellent!
Interesting list!
Thank you.
You had me at “novella” and “finds aliens in her backyard” for The Necessity of Stars. That’s gonna get added to my TBR. (I’m really into sci-fi novellas right now)
Dex and Mosscap cracked me up on several occasions throughout the two books so far. And also touched me when they’d have their quiet, existential crisis moments together. I can’t wait for more to the story and their friendship!
Awesome! I hope you love it. It was so good.
I love Dex and Mosscap! I drew an absolute blank on this week’s topic (and just didn’t have the time to put much thought into it) — this pairing is a great one!
Thank you, Lisa. Yeah, this one was a bit tricky for sure.
Writing a novel from the POV of a person with Alzheimers sounds like a real challenge! I had several Star Trek references because they’re some of the few I revisit enough to remember!
Yeah, I think it was! It was really well done, though. I’ll come over and say hi now.
I use repeat books WAY too often on my lists, so I understand this. I think I used to be varied and better about repeats, but now it’s like I just go with it either way. 😉 Your last title sounds interesting! Not one I’ve seen but that sounds like one unique premise. Thanks a bunch for visiting my website today.
You’re welcome. I’m glad I’m not the only one who repeats books. Hehe.
The Necessity of Stars certainly has a unique premise!
It sure does.
The relationship in #4 sounds really special.
It sure was. 🙂
Interesting list! I use repeat authors a lot so I understand that!
Thanks. 🙂
Wow! What unusual, interesting, and unexpected choices. Great work.
Thank you.
I read A Psalm for the Wild-Built just last month, and loved the relationship between the two characters.
That’s awesome!
I like your take on the relationships you chose for the prompts.
Thank you. 🙂
I like your reasons for the books you chose. I have not read any of them. Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier. Have a great rest of your week!
You’re welcome. Have a nice week, too!
I really need to get to Psalm. I feel like I’m getting behind on her books. 🙂
It’s so good!
Monk & Robot is a good answer for anything! I also hope more people discover the joys of that series.
My TTT: https://bookwyrmknits.com/2023/09/12/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-platonic-character-relationships/
Fingers crossed. 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed these!
Thanks.
I’ve not read any of these books, but they do sound intriguing! Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
Thanks.
I read Don’t Cry For Me and it was so heartbreaking. With your mention of Anne Shirley, I’m surprised you didn’t add Anne of Green Gables. Very interesting list, Lydia.
Heh, I should have! Don’t you think Don’t Cry for Me should have a sequel written from the son’s perspective?
Quite an assortment of books. Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier today.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/favorite-platonic-relationships-recent-reads/
You’re welcome.
“… she also discovers aliens living in her backyard.” lol – that is an irresistible detail.
Heh, agreed!
I really need to read A Psalm For The Wild Built
It was excellent! Hope you like it.
I’ve read other books by Becky Chambers so I’ll try this one. Great list!
Awesome!
They sound like lovely books. I don’t read many books about friendship. I read more murder mystery and romance 😂
Have a great week!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
Thank you. Mysteries are cool, too! And I do sometimes find romances that I enjoy as well. 🙂
Some interesting books there, Lydia. Thanks for presenting them.
And thanks for visiting my TTT this week.
You’re welcome, Marianne!
These books all sound so interesting! I’ve never heard of most of them. Everybody seems to love the Wild Robot series. I might just have to try it, even though it sounds like it’s outside of my reading comfort zone.
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I hope you like it if you read it! But no pressure of course.
Happy belated TTT to you as well.
Dex and Moscap do have a great relationship. They are so different from each other yet in some ways they can really connect too.
Agreed. I loved seeing how their personalities complement each other.
I haven’t read any and I have a feeling I should put them on my tbr
May you enjoy them if you do. 🙂
I must get to Psalm soon. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things!
It was so good!
Several of these are on my TBR so I’m glad to hear they have such great relationships in them.
That’s awesome. 🙂
Great job this week! I found myself overwhelmed by this topic. There’s so many relationships to choose from. Happy reading this week, Lydia!
Thank you. You, too!
Such an interesting list of character relationships. I’m not familiar with any of these books but you have me intrigued and I will have to check them out.
Thank you. Happy reading!
Yay for Psalm for the Wild-Built 😍 I can’t wait to continue reading Monk & Robot’s adventures. Also, The Necessity of Stars sounds amazing? I will definitely have to check it out. Great list!
It was great. Hope you like it!
I do think it’s interesting that anytime you say “relationship,” the default is automatically romance. Like we don’t have plenty of other types of relationships in our lives!
I haven’t read any of these yet, but I definitely need to give A Psalm for the Wild-Built a go!
Absolutely. I hope you like A Psalm for the Wild-Built.