Aside from the books themselves, I truly enjoyed how social my reading life also was. I am an extrovert and definitely get energy from interacting with others, so adding books into that mix was hugely satisfying!
I joined some colleagues in starting a The Murder Book Club where we read a murder mystery/thriller book once a month and gathered to discuss on a morning before work. In total, nine of these books contributed to my annual reads and while not all were amazing, it was great to read some books I otherwise might not have prioritized and talk about them in good company. Also, it's gotten me to read some books that I ended up loving! We are continuing this into 2020 so I am looking forward to what books it will bring me this year.
Generally, I also found myself talking with more people about books and reading, which lead to not only some soul-filling conversations, but great book recommendations. Whether it was new friends at the gym, in the neighborhood, or at work, I feel like I've found more readers in my life, which is always a good thing.
Joining the Friends of Tattered Cover program certainly kept me motivated. I got to go to one of the members-only parties this year, which closes the store to the public and where everything for members is 15% off. The party itself was also fun - I met one of my friends from #bookstagram in real life and generally enjoyed the company of other readers. There are more of these parties this week and I am bringing friends. Last night's party was fun and I got to bring a friend; I am looking forward to another next week with another friend who loves books - so it really feels like I have a solid reading community around me.
I want to keep up that social life this year, and trust more recommendations from friends! Many on my "best" list below came from these social circles. Check it out!
- Best Use of Imagination: "Black Leopard, Red Wolf" by Marlon James and "The Night Tiger" by Yangsze Choo
- Why: The way Marlon James strings words together is endlessly profound to me. His writing is all-at-once poetic and illustrative; I feel the words he writes in ways that are hard to describe. While this book is not for everyone, I am so glad I committed to finishing it - and I did so largely because of the world and perspective James illustrated with his words. The journey described in this book is epic and creative - it's a whole different, complex world that is described so vividly. The way that James uses point of view and first person-voice is also powerful. I am excited for the next book in the trilogy, which will take on a different perspective of the same story.
- Why: Yangsze Choo's book is beautifully written and ties together disparate storylines in a clever way. It is magical realism that reminded me why I do like that genre - even if it is sometimes difficult for me to (at first) access. The way Choo incorporates folklore and history is so creative and educational. I'd absolutely read another novel by Choo.
- Books I'd Read Again Right Now: "Daisy Jones and the Six" by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
- Why: I listened to this as an audiobook and loved it. It is a narrative told in multiple perspectives, so the voices of multiple narrators made this feel like a really good play. I just got a free copy of the book because it one Book of the Month's "Book of the Year" award and I am actually excited to engage with the hard copy. It's a really good story and while I loved listening to it, I want to revisit the detail. It may be one of the few books I'll ever re-read besides Harry Potter.
- Books That Will Stay With Me For Years: "The Heart's Invisible Furies" by John Boyne, "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles
- Why: Boyne's book was my first of 2019 and I devoured it in a few days. It resonated for many reasons - from its coverage of Irish history to the threads of family, friendship, loyalty, as well as its arc about HIV/AIDs and sexuality. It's a book that's stayed with me so far because I vividly remember laughing out loud sometime and crying big tears while reading it. A book that can offer wide emotional range and cover so much time while keeping me invested in its main character is incredible.
- Why: This is a book I've wanted to read for years and finally did. Zafon's world taught me about Spanish history, celebrated my love of books, and took me on an adventure that was sometimes suspenseful, always mysterious, and ultimately wrapped up so well that I was unsure why there are more books! To learn that Zafon has now centered two more stories in this same universe that are connected by not serial makes me excited to read the next one. The world he creates is one I want to keep revisiting.
- Why: The word that comes to mind with Towles' book is "endearing." Who knew I could get so engrossed in a story centered in Eastern Europe between the Russian Revolution and Cold War? The way that Towles develops characters over the course of mostly normal events in abnormal circumstances is kind of profound. By the end of the book, I sincerely loved the main character and his friends to the point that the ending made me tear up from simply being touched. I will always think of this book fondly as a subtle masterpiece.
- Best Books With a Weak Ending: "Severance" by Ling Ma
- Why: I had such high hopes for this book! I was thinking it would be similar enough to "Station Eleven" that I could revisit some of the feelings from that book. NOPE. It was definitely an interesting dystopian read and equally interesting premise to S11, but the ending really lowered my opinion of the book. I was sufficiently engaged in the plot and invested in the main character but then it just... ended. The ending felt abrupt, incomplete and not fulfilling. I am not sure how it should have ended other then it felt like the story dropped off mid-way and in the very least, we readers deserved a little more time with the main character and her journey.
- Books I Am So Glad I Read Because of Current Events: "Catch and Kill" by Ronan Farrow, "Us Against You" by Fredrick Backmann
- Why: Farrow's book is a powerful journalistic book about the reporting of the #MeToo movement and the powerful forces that colluded to cover for powerful men. It felt like a fictional thriller sometimes because of Ronan's storytelling AND because of just how crazy the depth of the corruption was. It also covered many events that were so recent that I not only could remember my original reaction to the news but that my perspective was built while reading Farrow. I also enjoyed the tidbits about his relationship with my favorite podcast host, Jon Lovett;-)
- Why: Backmann's book is a sequel to "Beartown" which made my 2017 list for what I will universally recommend. I would also include "Us Against You" on that list, but in combination with Farrow's book above, this was such a fitting piece of fiction. The book was page-turning and profound, while reminding me how much I love Backmann's characters - which are so real that some of that could have easily been analogues for real life people, like the powerful men in Farrow's book. I will always, always recommend the Beartown books and find them to be as relevant as ever.
- Books That Opened My Eyes the Most: "The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead
- Why: This book floored me. First, it covered a piece of modern American history that is overlooked and underreported. It also included one of the most surprising twists of the year in all of my reading - a twist that broke my heart. I learned a lot about real history while reading Whitehead's fictionalization and will definitely recommend this read to everyone I know.
- When People Ask Me to Recommend from my 2019 List: "There There" by Tommy Orange, "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss, "A Woman is No Man" by Etaf Rum.
- Why: I actively wanted to read more short stories this year and this was a perfect collection to help with that intention. Each of Orange's stories is connected to his cast of characters getting to a PowWow in Oakland and simultaneously serves to illustrate modern lives of American Indians. I recommend this because the stories are well-written and an important reminder of our country's history and present as it relates to indigenous people.
- Why: Rothfuss' book was recommended to me by a friend and I quickly discovered that many people in my social networks had read it already and loved it. I can see why - it was such a good read! I have already recommended it to several others, including buying it as a Christmas present for my cousin and her husband. It's a fantasy novel that celebrates music and magic, often interchanging the two - it carried with it emotional intensity and a strong, first-person voice that raised questions about perspective. I can't wait to read the second, but really hope Rothfuss finishes and publishes the third soon.
- Why: Rum's debut novel is incredibly powerful. I want to recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a book about women by a woman and/or to build understanding about diverse perspectives. The story got me emotional because I found it to be relatable.
- Book I Wouldn't Recommend to Anyone OR Books That Were Disappointing: "The Hiding Place" by CJ Tudor, "Washington Black" by Esi Edugyan
- Why: I loved Tudor's first book "The Chalkman" - it made my 2018 list for a book with the most shocking or surprising ending. Unlike it's predecessor, The Hiding Place lacked detail and had too many plot holes. It felt like it could have used some more pages to dive deeper into both plot and character. While I was excited to see a second from Tudor so quickly after the first, I wouldn't mind some more time before the next published novel if it means it is more complete.
- Why: This book came across to me as very hyped and something akin to the power of "The Underground Railroad." I could not have been more disappointed. The book definitely started in a way that was intriguing with a lot of potential, but it started to drag and then left a lot of plot holes. The pacing was inconsistent and story ultimately lacked focus. There were parts that were well-written and interesting, but overall it was a disappointing read.
- Books I Read the Quickest: "Recursion" by Blake Crouch, "Lock Every Door" by Riley Sager
- Why: Crouch did what I expected - made me turn pages quickly through a science fiction book. I am not great at science, so some science fiction content can be hard for me to access. Crouch makes it readable and interesting, although I guess I do have to wonder about its authenticity - but that's more a question for my science friends. It was interesting that I found connections between this book and the Daniel Faraday time-travel thread in LOST, which certainly made this book even more intriguing and page-turning. I finished it in less than two days.
- Why: Like Sager's book with the most shocking and surprising ending (below), I finished this book in a matter of days and found myself wanting to quickly navigate the twists and turns just to know the conclusion. It did not disappoint.
- NEW - Books That Took Me the Longest: "Sapiens" by Yuval Noah Harari, "Small Great Things" by Jodi Picoult
- Why: I am notoriously terrible at reading nonfiction, especially if it is not narrative-based. I was so intrigued by "Sapiens" that I was determined to finish it. I got it as a bargain book on Kindle, but picked up the paperback because it is a beautifully-made book, including some great charts and illustrations that were better to see in hard copy. According to Goodreads, I marked this book as "currently reading" on October 4, 2018 and finished it on December 22, 2019. I read it in sprints - 20-100 pages at a time, but obviously over the course of many months. It is interesting but also dense, at least for me. I did read the last 110 pages in basically one sitting. I am glad I finished it and glad I read it, but definitely learned that it takes some endurance for me to finish nonfiction like this.
- Why: I liked Picoult's book, but just didn't commit to truly reading it for awhile. It was a bargain kindle book and I had listened to a podcast discussing the book, so I was intrigued. I decided to make it my "bath book" - what I read while soaking my muscles in the tub every week. It was also interesting, but the habit was only to read it for about 20-25 minutes at a time, and only when I was in the tub. I started it casually on November 9, 2019 and I actually didn't expect to finish it in 2019, except that while reading it during a soak on winter break, I was inspired to keep reading. I finished a little under half of the book - about 250 pages - in two days, making me realize that had I committed it would have been finished pretty quickly in November. But I am also ok with this being one of the multiple books I was reading at once, and how compartmentalized I made the experience of reading it.
- Books With the Most Shocking or Surprising Ending: "The Last Time I Lied" by Riley Sager
- Why: I finished this book in bed late one night and all I wanted to do was call someone and tell them how crazy the ending was. I audibly gasped multiple times and the multiple twists in the last 30-50 pages, including the very last line of the book which made me say, "Holy f&%k." The book itself is wholly original and the ending was one of the best I've ever read because I can sincerely say I didn't see it coming - yet it made perfect sense in just how insane it was.
- Honorable Mentions: "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi, "Lethal White" by Robert Galbraith, "Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee" by Casey Cep, "Miracle Creek" by Angie Kim
- Children was inventive and really emphasized how powerful representation is in literature. It was great to see non-white characters as protagonists in a YA fantasy novel and to have that novel not so explicitly centered on just race. Race is an important component of Adeyemi's story and inspiration, but I think this book really shows that characters of color can have unique and important stories that stand independent of how they relate to white characters.
- Lethal was much-anticipated for me as it's the fourth in Galbraith/Rowling's Cormoran Strike series. It was a classic mystery/whodunit with complex layers and tip-top character development. It may be years, but I can't wait for the next.
- Furious Hours was great narrative non-fiction that was a touch true-crime and a touch biography. Broken into three parts, it covers a real set of serial killings in Alabama, the story of a lawyer that defended a man for killing the serial killer, and the life of Harper Lee, who covered the trial.
- Miracle was a great BOTM pick by a debut author. A former lawyer, Kim writes a great trial story about an interesting crime and a family of immigrants in a rural, mostly white community.
- NEW - Did Not Finish: "God of Jade and Shadow" by Silvia Moreno Garcia
- I really, really wanted to love this book. It is a perfect recipe for a book I could love - Mayan mythology, different cultural perspectives, a female protagonist, and an epic adventure through Mexico. Unfortunately, it fell pretty flat pretty quickly for me - I don't think I even got through 100 pages before deciding my reading time was too valuable to waste on a book I just couldn't get into. I may try to revisit it, but my hopes are not high that it was just a matter of my reading mood.
- NEW - Murder Book Club Best Picks: "Turn of the Key" by Ruth Ware, "The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle" by Stuart Turton, "An Anonymous Girl" by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
- Key was twisty, creepy AF, and kept me turning pages. I also appreciated that it wrapped up nicely at the end and the supernatural elements had practical explanations.
- Hardcastle was complicated and weird. It had creepy, horror-film moments but was also confusing sometimes. Everything came together nicely in the end AND the ending was so different from what I expected. We agreed as a book club that it was a worthwhile read, but at first maybe lower on our recommendation lists. We realized how good it was later, when, after weeks of being apart from it, we were still thinking about it. It still comes up in our book club meetings.
- Anonymous was the right amount of suspenseful, creepy and interesting. It was well-crafted and kept me guessing. We agreed as a club that we liked how it progressed and how unique of a story it was; we also reflected on how our perspectives on the characters evolved throughout.
- NEW: Books I am Looking Forward to in 2020
- The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern - the author of The Night Circus! One of my favorite books that I still recommend.
- The Glass House by Emily St John Mandel - the author of Station Eleven, which still stands out to me as one of my favorite books of all time.
- The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss - the second in the Kingkiller Chronicle series. My only hesitation is that the third is not published yet and the publication is still TBA - how can I wait for that story to continue?!
- Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi - the second in the Legacy of Orisha series. I am excited to see what the female hero will accomplish in this installment!
Stats:
- 43 total books, 42 unique authors
- 36 fiction, 7 non-fiction
- 50% were hardcover, 23% paperback
- 6 e-books and 6 audiobooks were included
- 14 new purchases, 12 BOTMs, 3 library books
- Read 22 on my official TBR list
- 45% (19) were written by authors of color and 19 were also written by women
- 50% (21) described or represented a different culture or world view than mine while 40% (17) actively focused on a non-dominant culture
- I would described 12 as my favorites and 6 as "Everyone Must Read"
- My average Goodreads rating was 4.3
- 24 were Instagrammed (#mjreadingchallenge2019)
- 16,285 pages; the average was 388 pages. The longest book was 662 pages and the shortest book was 208 pages.
Going into 2020, I am continuing my floor of 30 books. I am aiming for 20 of those to be written by women, and at least half by people of color. I feel great about those goals and look forward to many great reads, and great reading friends, this year!
I do hope to do some reflecting this year on the DECADE in books, so we will see - more to come!
Cheers,
~MJ
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