2019 was a successful year for reading - I completed all of the books on 2019 Reading List and many more. I love having the extra time to read on the subway.
And in December I read After the End by Clare Mackintosh - a truly heartbreaking book that I would not recommend reading in public, but so so good. You will hold your children closer after reading it. And I read The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. It was another heartbreaking book. I picked it up after seeing it on Obama's reading list. It was about a reform school/prison for young boys in Florida. The school itself was fictional but based on a true story. The treatment of those boys was worse than you can imagine, and particularly bad for the black boys. A worthwhile read though if you can get your hands on it.
Now I am reading Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamonds and that will probably take me to the end of the year.
Of the books I read I think I say my top three were:
An American Marriage
Where the Crawdads Sing
I Let You Go
Any a few duds, in my opinion:
Once More With Feeling
Washington Black
The Cozy Life
Although I will read more than the 10 books below, I still wanted to share with you the books that are on my list to pick up in 2020:
American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson. This is another book from Obama's list so I'll give it a shot. It's a thriller so not one I would normally pick up on my own.
Becoming by Michelle Obama. This is one of the most borrowed/requested book at the Toronto Library for 2019 so I thought I should get to it.
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones. This author wrote one of my favourite books from this year (An American Marriage) so I want to check this out too.
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This is another popular one but one that apparently lives up the hype.
Three Women by Lisa Taddeo. This is a non-fiction book about three women (!) that had some difficult sexual/exploitative experiences. I've heard great things about this and that you'll remember it for a long time after finishing it.
The Innocents by Michael Crummey. The Canadian authors I read last year were somewhat disappointing, so I'm hoping this one will step it up a little bit. It was a finalist for the Giller Prize.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. I never did read Anna Karenina, but I've always been interested by Russia; I'm sure this will be a more manageable read.
The Farm by Joanne Ramos. This was recommended to me but I don't really know what it is about. I can guess though from the cover.
The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda. This is another thriller and from Reese Witherspoon's reading list. Since she recommended Where the Crawdads Sing and Daisy Jones and the Six, I'm sure it will be great.
Normal People by Sally Rooney. I don't know much about this either but the brief synopsis says it is a coming of age story, so sounds good to me!
Happy reading!
Thanks for sharing your comments and book choices. I find picking out a book at the library overwhelming without a certain author in mind. So I've read several you suggested and it's broadened my reading.
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