Six Great Books I Read in 2019

This is about real books that you can hold, flip actual pages, and smell the cover of (don’t lie, you do it too). I’ve talked at length about how audiobooks have filled my commutes with learning and decreased my stress. But, last year I also carved out time – intentionally – to read good, old fashioned physical books too. 

It meant giving up TV for the summer, and less time scrolling through social media. It meant staying up a little later than usual sometimes. And being ok with reading less at a time but more often. The result? I felt like a missing piece of me had been found. I felt inspired to write my own stories again. 

Note: These books did not all get published in 2019 but that’s when I read them. I think most are from 2017 onwards so pretty close. Here are my favorite books of 2019: 

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

My six year old was drawn to the cover. It shows a peaceful scene of two little girls holding each other on a dock at sunset. She kept asking me about the story and as I read more and more I struggled to tell her what I could about what happened to the little girls. I put it in simpler terms but essentially this is what I told her:

This is a story about the bond between sisters, about defining what family means and overcoming your past. What happened to the kids in this story haunts me still. No spoilers here beyond the book jacket, but the story is based on facts, which makes it even harder to digest. 

And it makes it even more remarkable to see the resilience of the human spirit told in the lives of these women. It is so important to dig up the past if only to remind ourselves of what we never want to be as a society again. 

I loved this book and would probably read it all over again but slower to really feel each of the voices as they etch their way into my heart and subconscious. 

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Set in the 90s in a manufactured Ohio neighborhood, this book unravels bit by bit through carefully revealed details until the whole irreparable mess is splayed before you. When it ended, I wanted more. The characters are unsympathetic for the most part, yet I found myself rooting for people who probably didn’t deserve it. But maybe that was the whole point. Aren’t we all multi-dimensional and hard to root for at times? Celeste Ng masterfully tells the story of family, race, friendship, judgment, and being forced to your edge. If you read nothing else this year, read Little Fires Everywhere.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is like the sign on your rearview mirror – objects are closer than they appear. At first, Eleanor comes across as an ordinary eccentric. She isn’t terribly likable to pretty much anyone and doesn’t seem to care. However, this is not a story about accepting one’s uniqueness because that is how you were born. Nope, it is a story of survival against cruelty and the powerful effect of having just one person believe in you. 

Quirky and real, I’m glad I read this book. I hear they are making a movie and fear that this is one better left on the page but am interested in a film interpretation.

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I totally get why this was such a popular book this year. I really liked it and wanted to keep learning more about this fictional band and their year where they climaxed to the top of the pop culture world. Dirty and self-indulgent, it is everything that 1970s rock and roll was all about.

Daisy Jones and the Six is told from multiple first-person perspectives making it easy to flip through without too much concentration. You know Taylor Jenkins Reid is driving toward meaning in the end. Although you do have to remind yourself of that fact sometimes as the story drudges through more and more self-destructive behavior. I really liked this book. Would I read it again? Probably not. I don’t think there are any deeper layers than what I got out of it the first time.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I wasn’t sure I would like The Hate U Give. Admittedly, the abbreviated form of U in the title was a put-off. I had heard quite a bit about this book, had seen it everywhere and knew a movie was in the works so decided to give it a shot. I’m glad I did. I couldn’t put it down. After a few pages of Starr’s voice, I understood the title choice and was glad they stuck with it for authenticity. 

This is an important book, not only for the adolescent audience for which Angie Thomas had originally intended but for all ages. I would argue, especially for those who can’t relate to the struggles of the characters in the story. It is not just another story about racial conflicts or coming of age in a world that doesn’t accept you. It’s about finding your voice, owning it, and knowing your worth.

Don’t You Forget About Me by Mairi McFarlane

I almost gave up this one. The premise seemed unbelievable and trite, but it redeemed itself halfway through. This was a great second-part of a vacation read – easy to digest, lots of humor but it has substance too (as it turns out). 

Georgina is not as simple as she is first portrayed. Although, I’m not sure the events that get revealed completely explain her current state of stuckness in her life. You do have to suspend a little disbelief and dive in. The end is happy – as you would expect from a rom-com book – but it takes a few dark turns to get there making it worth the read. 

______

Read my reviews on some recent Audiobook that I’ve consumed in my post My Year in Audiobooks. Let me know what you thought about any of them!