The Best of 2019

Happy New Year everyone. I just finished my tenth year of blogging about the books that I have read. I had thought that I would quit after ten years, but my list of TBR is very long, and I have several publishers and publicists depending (?) on me. So, I guess I will keep it going.

This was a good year for literary fiction, but not such a good year for mysteries and spiritual books. I read two historical nonfiction books I really liked, but the rest seems like a blur. So, here it goes: The best of 2019.

My Favorite Book of the Year

Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout. I think I loved Olive Again so much because I identified so thoroughly with Olive. I knew this old woman with sarcasm always on her lips and a heart full of love.

Other Literary Fiction I loved (in no particular order)

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. Odie tells the story of 1932, a year in his childhood in Minnesota when his life was totally upended. It is an adventure tale, but one filled with hope.

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson. This was humor writing at its best—a great story told with humor and pathos.

Fleishman Is In Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Aker. A tough look at marriage and divorce. It is a meditation on the joys of marriage as well as its fragility.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Of course, this was the biggest fiction bestseller of the year. I absolutely loved the story of the girl making her way alone in the marshlands of North Carolina.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. The Kalamazoo Community Read for 2019,  this book will stay with me forever. It is powerful and devastating.

Two Good Thrillers (not a stellar year for mysteries or thrillers.)

Watching You by Lisa Jewel. Everyone is watching everyone else in this British thriller, making it very suspenseful.

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. These two women are a great team. Their books are page turners. They have a new book coming out in March, You Are Not Alone.

Historical Nonfiction at Its Best. Both of these books were read-alouds with my husband.

The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch. A great deal of relatively unknown information about a Revolutionary War plot to end the rebellion that is told in a fascinating way.

The Pioneers: The Heroic story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough. We really loved this book, and we are planning a trip to the early settlements along the Ohio River to visit the sites in the book.

Well dear readers. If you continue to read my blog, I will continue to read and write about the books that come into my life.