A Word About Awards

ELBOW ROOM by James Alan McPherson   Award: Pulitzer Winner 1978   Nomination: National Book Finalist 1978   Date Read: November 25, 2025     Why I Like Country Music The unnamed narrator of this story enjoys country music because it is nostalgic from his primary school upbringing in South Carolina. Although he is often side-eyed by his wife for his taste in music, the narrator cannot help but focus on a spring event in his youth that called for square dancing. In the 4 th  grade, our narrator was put on the team for square dancing for the spring showcase. He was so mortified to dance in front of his peers that he had his dad wright a note saying he needed to be on the maypole team. While watching the square dancers practicing, he realized how much fun it seemed and that he missed out on an opportunity to dance with his crush, Gwenneth Lawson. On the day of the event, her partner was unable to dance because of spurs on his boots so our hero steps in and was...

BLACK BUTTERFLIES by Priscilla Morris   Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2025, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2025, Womens Prize Finalist 2023   Date Read: November 23, 2025   From Kirkus Reviews (starred): “ The human costs of the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s are recounted in a compelling debut. Zora, a 55-year-old painter and art instructor, lives a busy life  in Sarajevo with her older husband, Franjo. When, during the early days of the partisan conflict, the family’s equanimity is upset by squatters trying to take possession of Zora’s mother’s apartment, Zora and Franjo decide that he will accompany her mother on an earlier-than-planned visit to their daughter and son-in-law (and beloved granddaughter) in England. Unable to believe or comprehend that the military action beginning to envelope the city will last for very long, Zora stays behind to watch the family’s properties and continue her work. Over the course of the following year, Zora struggles to surv...