Monday, January 13, 2020

Best Books I Read in 2019


Looking back at the 45 books I read in 2019, I loved quite a few of them. A lot ended up being in the friendzone (I liked 'em, but didn't love 'em), and a few were so rotten they filled me with rage. But who cares about them? Let's focus on the best of the bunch.

My 4- and 5-star reads (and listens) are the books that keep my love of reading alive. When I rate a book, I base it on a mix of writing quality and how the book made me feel. Sometimes my highly rated books aren't the most skillfully constructed, but they were a joy to read. Sometimes books by authors with an exceptional talent for writing don't hit 5 stars with me because they lack some special connection or spark to send me past admiration into blissful awe. It's all very personal and subjective, this gut reaction to a book.

And here we go! Click the titles or covers for my reviews.

My Favorite Books Read in 2019


My 5-Star Reads

Milkman by Anna Burns

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe


The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy


Educated by Tara Westover


Just Kids by Patti Smith


Daisy Jones & The Six


The Library Book by Susan Orlean


The Dutch House by Ann Patchett


A Wild and Crazy Guy by Steve Martin

A Wild and Crazy Guy by Steve Martin
(re-listen -- not a read, but Goodreads had a listing for it,
so it was a chance to reminisce in a review!)

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai


The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin


The Testaments by Margaret Atwood


Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb


Girls & Boys by Dennis Kelly


We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson


Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout



My 4-Star Reads

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

Severence by Ling Ma

You Know You Want This: "Cat Person" and Other Stories by Kristen Roupenian

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

Baby, You’re Gonna Be Mine by Kevin Wilson

Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon

Normal people by Sally Rooney





Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston

If you love talking about books, please follow or friend me on Goodreads. Let's be book buddies!

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