Year in Review: 2019 Book List


Change: that verb sums up my 2019, our first full year in Washington, D.C. My AmeriCorps term with GRID Alternatives ended, and so did that one hour commute. I became a vegetarian. I wrote a novel during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I described change as a verb because I didn’t sit back and watch changes happen to me; I took action and changed elements of my life. Books spurred me on, inspired me, and challenged me in the process. At times they propelled the changes; at other times they simply offered an escape. Either way, they defined my life, and I read some truly incredible books this last year of the decade.

On Goodreads, I can track how many books I’ve read over the last five years (I joined the platform in 2015). After my GRID term ended, I realized I might be able to beat my record, set in 2016, for most books read in a year. I was well on my way until NaNoWriMo hit, and suddenly I was barely reading at all. I discovered I don’t want to read fiction when I’m writing my own. But I’m the kind of person who needs books like oxygen, and nonfiction was a perfect fit for evenings after writing. Luckily, I’d started an excellent nonfiction book, Bryan Stevenson’s groundbreaking Just Mercy, near the start of the month. When I tired of writing about spaceships, I could re-enter the real world through a powerful account of a world-changing lawyer tackling unjust incarceration in America. Reading nonfiction while writing fiction provided the perfect balance for me.

After November, I had to read fast to break 2016’s record. Again luckily, several books I’d been on the wait list for at the library came through in December. The DC library system only allows readers to renew a book if no one else has a hold, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to renew them and had to finish as quickly as possible. This fact was an excellent motivator; a few books later, I crushed my goal, completing a few books shy of 50 and setting a new record. My goal for 2020 is to hit 50 books. More on that in a year!

Another 2019 book highlight was the DC Public Library Adult Summer Reading Program. For June, July, and August, I tracked the books I read in an app, and that motivated me to read 12 books (over 5,075 pages) during those three months. We love our local library and the DC library system, and I had a blast devouring books by the pool with a hard seltzer in hand over the summer.

I also rejoined Book of the Month this year. I’d stopped in January 2018, when we weren’t sure where we’d be moving after Connecticut. My ensuing commute prevented me from starting up again in DC. But this past May, I made the huge life decision to not attend grad school. It was a hard choice — I really wanted to go — but didn’t want to go into debt tens of thousands of dollars. As a consolation prize, I started Book of the Month back up. I fell in love with May’s book, Julie Orringer’s The Flight Portfolio, and it’s been really fun to once again read books I may never have read.

Below is the long list of all the books I read this year; I don’t recommend every single one, but keep reading for the top 10 list.

An American Marriage ~ Tayari Jones
Ask Again, Yes ~ Mary Beth Keane
Becoming ~ Michelle Obama
Crazy Rich Asians ~ Kevin Kwan
Dark Age ~ Pierce Brown
Dear Edward ~ Ann Napolitano
Digital Minimalism ~ Cal Newport
Dominicana ~ Angie Cruz
Eating Animals ~ Jonathan Safran Foer
Exhalation: Stories ~ Ted Chiang
The Flight Portfolio ~ Julie Orringer
The Fountains of Silence ~ Ruta Sepetys
Free Food for Millionaires ~ Min Jin Lee
A Gentleman in Moscow ~ Amor Towles
Gods of Jade and Shadow ~ Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Heads of the Colored People ~ Nafissa Thompson-Spires
Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers ~ Anne Lamott
Infinite Home ~ Kathleen Alcott
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption ~ Bryan Stevenson
The Library Book ~ Susan Orlean
Little Fires Everywhere ~ Celeste Ng
Men We Reaped ~ Jesmyn Ward
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock ~ Imogen Hermes Gowar
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore ~ Robin Sloan
Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker ~ Jennifer Chiaverini
The Parade ~ Dave Eggers
The Philosopher’s Flight ~ Tom Miller
Pride ~ Ibi Zoboi
Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story ~ Jacob Tobia
Sourdough ~ Robin Sloan
Spoken from the Heart ~ Laura Bush
Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less - and Achieve More Than You Ever Imagined ~ Scott Sonenshein
The Unhoneymooners ~ Christina Lauren
Where the Crawdads Sing ~ Delia Owens
The Winter of our Discontent ~ John Steinbeck
You Suck at Cooking: The Absurdly Practical Guide to Sucking Slightly Less at Making Food: A Cookbook

Re-read

Red Rising ~ Pierce Brown
Golden Son ~ Pierce Brown
Morning Star ~ Pierce Brown
Iron Gold ~ Pierce Brown

Audiobooks

Between the World and Me ~ Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World ~ Dalai Lama XIV and Desmond Tutu
Calypso ~ David Sedaris
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban ~ Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living ~ Shauna Niequist
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking ~ Susan Cain
Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person ~ Shonda Rhimes


Top 10

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World ~ Dalai Lama XIV and Desmond Tutu
The Dalai Lama XIV and Desmond Tutu have more reason than most to be bitter or angry about the hardships they’ve faced. But both men exude joy and peace and have inspired millions because of it. The advice they offered in this book resonated so much because they’ve lived through so much pain and are joyful even still. Their efforts to give practical advice, applicable to people’s daily lives, also inspired me. I went out and bought this book after listening to it because I know I’ll be returning to it for the rest of my life. It was incredibly inspiring and thought provoking, and I’d recommend it for anyone, regardless of religion or creed.

Dark Age ~ Pierce Brown
The Red Rising saga seriously just keeps getting better and better with every book. I tear up often with books, but actually had to set this one down and sob for a while. I’ve lived through my twenties with this series, and they mean more to me than many books I’ve loved. If you haven’t gotten this from my posts over the last several years, I'm obsessed with these books, and I’ll keep right on pressuring you to read them until you finally do!

Digital Minimalism ~ Cal Newport
This was another nonfiction book I loved for its thoughtful, practical advice. I’d recommend this one for anyone seeking to explore their relationship with technology. Newport doesn’t vilify technology; he offers people tools not to abandon it but to use it to enhance their lives without the addictive swiping and clicking many of us don't even realize we're doing. I’ll be embarking on a digital declutter in January with the goal of adopting a more intentional approach to technology.

Eating Animals ~ Jonathan Safran Foer
Fair warning: I wasn’t a vegetarian before I read this book, but I was after. Eating Animals served as a tipping point to convert me. Although it might not have that impact on everyone, the transition to vegetarianism has been really natural for me, a change that’s been a long time coming. Foer addresses animal rights, environmentalism, and health with a philosophical yet approachable take, and his thoughtful examination of the issue without censure made me realize if I’m serious about lessening my personal impact on the environment, I needed to take action by no longer eating meat. I’d recommend this book for all eaters, carnivores and herbivores alike. The title of this book, I think, doesn’t refer to the fact of eating animals, but describes us humans, as animals who eat. 

Exhalation: Stories ~ Ted Chiang
I’ve stopped counting how many times I’ve recommended Exhalation this year. I picked it up entirely by accident — a friend left it for me to read after visiting us in DC (thanks Trin!) — and was hooked from the first story. Chiang’s speculative fiction is intelligent, deep, and startlingly well written. I’m sure I’ll read this book again and would read any story Chiang writes.

The Flight Portfolio ~ Julie Orringer
While reading The Flight Portfolio, I’d periodically pause over a sentence just to examine how it was constructed. That’s how beautiful Orringer’s writing is. It wasn’t just the elegant writing that sucked me into this novel, but the historical story, set in 1940, of a journalist who travels to France to try and help artists escape persecution from Hitler. Orringer’s fictional tale of the real-life journalist, Varian Fry, was moving, hilarious, tear-inducing, and heartfelt. I just loved this book.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption ~ Bryan Stevenson
Just Mercy was a powerhouse of a book shining clarity on injustice. I’ll be honest, Stevenson’s book was hard to read at times. I knew rough sketches of our country’s prison industrial complex, but not much, and this book exposed the way prison crushes people. It revealed how our so-called justice system is often anything but just. But Stevenson's fight to free innocent people and prevent children from being incarcerated with adults wasn’t a depressing story. Instead, it made me feel grateful there are people like Stevenson in the world, working for truth and mercy. It left me feeling hopeful and inspired.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore ~ Robin Sloan
This book was pure fun. Sloan’s whimsical, clever story lured me in from the beginning. I geeked out and laughed out loud while reading it, but it also offered me space to reflect on the path of my life. I read it after I’d made the decision to not attend grad school and was pondering what life I wanted to create. The main character’s journey from unemployed to caught up in a bookish mystery was just what I needed in that moment. In fact, here’s a quote from page 288 of the book summing it up perfectly: “After that, the book will fade, the way all books fade in your mind. But I hope you will remember this: A man walking fast down a dark lonely street. Quick steps and hard breathing, all wonder and need. A bell above a door and the tinkle it makes. A clerk and a ladder and warm golden light, and then: the right book exactly, at exactly the right time.”

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking ~ Susan Cain
I’m an introvert. If you know me in person, this statement probably won’t come as a surprise. But I knew only vaguely what that really means, and Cain’s book taught me so much about myself. I learned how to celebrate and honor this fact about me, and really appreciated her exploration of introversion in this book. I wish all introverts and extroverts would read this book. Cain also discussed the importance of core personal projects, reiterating to me I need to be writing.

You Suck at Cooking: The Absurdly Practical Guide to Sucking Slightly Less at Making Food: A Cookbook
The mysterious You Suck at Cooking YouTuber wrote a cookbook, and somehow managed to distill his hilarious videos perfectly into book form. You’ll laugh out loud while reading but you’ll also learn quite a bit about cooking. I can confirm the recipes are delicious too. Aaron and I have already cooked Broccoli Cheddar Soup several times; it’s become our go-to easy weeknight dinner. This is the only cookbook I’ve ever read cover to cover, and had a blast while doing so.

I’ve published my yearly book list for most of the decade, beginning in 2012. You can find prior years’ lists below.

2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012

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