Skip to main content

Best of 2019 Reads






Choosing the best book of the seventy-five read during 2019 is a daunting task.  Around mid-December I reflected back and the top nine were the ones I established as the 'best of 2019' for me.  I was enamored with each of these stories for different reasons.  There was plot-driven, there was character-driven, there was memoir and slow burns.  There was something in each of them that cracked me open in a way I didn't expect.  And then I finished reading for the month of December.


During December I finished both This Tender Land and Olive, Again.  They were wonderful.  And as I thought through the ones I'd previously selected I realized there was so much more to my reading life than the original nine.

There was heartache and espionage, there was seeing into the future, there was fantasy and miracles.  How could I leave these nine out of my summary.  I just couldn't.  So my top nine because top 18.

And so it was.  The reads for this year filled me with new experiences and opportunities to connect with other readers on difficult topics.  I won't easily forget the pain and frustration of A Woman is No Man where I learned cultural differences of how women can expect to be treated.  Historical fiction gained assess into my reading world this year as well.  The story of We Were the Lucky Ones based on true events and how people other different ethnicity are treated during wartime.  In The Secrets We Kept I grew to appreciate the story of how Doctor Zhivago was written and what it based on.

Other stories took me beyond my previous comfort zone to the world of fantasy and knowing into the future.  The four siblings in The Immortalists tore at my heart as their stories unfolded and Where the Forest Meets the Stars of a little girl who presents herself as an align was sensitive and illuminating.

City of Girls had me laughing until I cried.  Save Me the Plums introduced me to Ruth Reichl, whom I'll now never forget and made me a forever fan of everything she does!  The Dearly Beloved reminded me the inportance of faith - even when we don't talk about it.  While Miracle Creek had me on the edge of my seat as the trail unfolded, This Tender Land was Tom Sawyer-esqe and connected me to the land - its beauty and its danger.  The Other's Gold and The Most Fun We Ever Had dealt with the intricate dynamics of family drama.  Each clearly reminded me that I am not alone in my curiosity of how this all works, how family matters and how family is often a game of chance.

I wouldn't have traded Holding On To Nothing even though it saddened me to the core.  I felt wrung out and frustrated when it was over.  While The Dutch House and The Guest Books taught me to truly appreciate a slower burn, plot-driven tale to sink into and enjoy.

What a fantastic reading year.  I laughed and cried.  I learned and released.  I truly love the experience of not only reading them, but savoring the experience with more book friends than ever before.

Here's to an even better reading year in 2020!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Last Romantics

⭐⭐⭐⭐ What a story ..and four star because five don't come that easily to me! Family drama, abandonment, love, loss and forgiveness fill this story that should not be remembered by the title.  Which was only the name of a blog written by an anonymous author.  This family grew apart and then in threads found a way back.  But like any cloth that's been severed, it was never the same strength, feel or look than the original.  Or was the original never that strong.
Post a Comment
Read more

My daily bag

  My daily bag! Here's a tote made lovingly by my husband.  I chose the leather color and texture as well as the color of the straps.  It was custom-made!  My one request was a large pocket on the outside - particularly for sunglasses and keys.  And yes, there are two additional pockets on the inside. During quarantine and all our time at home he taught himself leabthercrafting and this is one of many of the projects he has completed.  Since then we've attended a few leather shows together where crafters share the work as well as suppliers allow you to demonstrate their tools and machines.  Its fascinating and I've gone from 0 to 50 in a short time learning all about his new hobby.   The great part is that there's always a quiet corner that I can find with my book when I've exhausted by interest and he's still at it.  So now to this book! The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian (April 2021) " Set in 1920s Mississippi, this debut Souther...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

  "The way to turn an ex-lover into a friend is to never stop loving them, to know that when one phase of a relationship ends it can transform into something else. It is to acknowledge that love is both a constant and a variable at the same time." Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow X3 The story of Sam, Sadie, and Marx wrapped itself around my little finger and next let go. From the beginning all the way until 'game over' I was clutching to the intricacies of their relationships for dear life. This was not a story about gaming that involved people. It was a beautiful written, compellingly addictive story that involved gaming. Relationships are the key to our existence. Wether the game of life, or in this story the game of Friendship. We were not meant to walk this journey alone. It is those we share this road with us - for a moment, a day, a week or a lifetime that color our world. Their addition to our story colors our world, brings music to our senses and fills in our the gap...
Post a Comment
Read more