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Post by scrubb on Jan 2, 2020 1:20:08 GMT -5
Liiiiiiiiisa said she might make a thread for people to list/discuss the best books they read in 2019, but I can't wait for her  The ones at the very top of my list are (in no particular order): 1. Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler - unexpectedly lovely, by an unknown (to me) author 2. LaRose by Louise Erdrich - a writer who has always been good, but definitely improved over the years. I read a few of her books last year and liked them all, but this one really stuck with me. 3. Calypso by David Sedaris - he was back in peak form with this one. So funny, but so poignant. 4. Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thein - to be honest, I have already forgotten a lot of this one but a few bits have clung, and I do remember that I loved it at the time. Others that I marked as excellent, but are older books, and that looking back, I'm no longer sure I really loved: 5. We have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - very creepy. I'm not really a horror fan, but Shirley Jackson does it soooo well. 6. The World as I See It by Albert Einstein - a collection of short essays and letters. He had some prescient things to say, and a clear picture of what humanity needs to do and says it all very compassionately 7. Night by Elie Wiesel - his account of being in Auschwitz as a teenager, and what happened to his family. Devastating. Others that I didn't mark as excellent at the time, but jumped out at me just now when I glanced through my list: 8. The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obrecht - 9. The Muse by Jessie Burton 10. IN Defence of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollen and one last one that had some big flaws, that but sucked me in and made me love it while I read it: 11. The Q by Beth Brower |
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Jan 2, 2020 5:42:30 GMT -5
I usually do this on New Years Day but was too sloth yesterday and busy with other stuff today.
Will get on to it tomorrow!
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Post by Liiisa on Jan 2, 2020 6:19:12 GMT -5
Oops yes I did say I'd do that, didn't I... thank you scrubb! Here are the books that I starred on my list. Fiction Esi Edugyan, Washington Black - 19th-c boy who is a former slave traveling around with a scientist Lucy Ellman, Ducks, Newburyport - wooooow Tessa Hadley, Late in the Day - I don't remember what this is about, but I liked it Rachel Kushner, The Mars Room - very intense book about exotic dancers/women in prison Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation - NYC woman drugs herself into oblivion for a year (it's funny) Sarah Moss, Ghost Wall - Iron Age reenactment camp brings out the worst in working-class authoritarian Dad Wallace Stegner, The Big Rock Candy Mountain - family being dragged around the early 20th-c west Olga Tokarczuk, Flights - fantastic short pieces roughly related to airports Nonfiction Robert MacFarlane, Underland - things happening underground John McPhee, Assembling California - how did California's geology get like that David Wallace-Wells, The Uninhabitable Earth - oh god we're all gonna die Like I said in the original thread, "Ducks, Newburyport" was the most impressive (as I'm sure you'll remember, since it took me about a month to read it and I feel like I talked about it constantly the whole time); nothing after that seemed quite as good, but it could be I was just exhausted. |
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Post by mei on Jan 2, 2020 10:26:21 GMT -5
I read 24 books, which for me is a very good number so I'm happy about that.
About a thirds of those are non-fiction, but the best of them was definitely The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert. Also read some very interesting books on (sustainable) fashion, Fashionopolis and Wild Dress stand out most.
For fiction, a book by Belgian author Griet op de Beeck was very good. Also loved Pachinko and Milkman.
Interestingly, these six I've mentioned here are all by female writers, even though I read many more books by male authors.
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Post by lillielangtry on Jan 2, 2020 13:41:03 GMT -5
Love seeing all these fantastic (women) writers!
My 2019 book stats: 93 books read, of which 72 by women. 12 read in German, 2 in Spanish, all the rest in English (oops!), 30 in translation. From 32 different countries.
I gave 12 books 5 stars on Goodreads, and they were the following:
Esi Edugyan, Washington Black
Diana Athill, Yesterday Morning (memoir)
Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye
Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake
Margaret Atwood, The Testaments
Julia Boyd, Travellers in the Third Reich (non-fiction)
Caroline Criado-Perez, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men (non-fiction)
Caroline Fraser, Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder (biography)
Lucy Mangan, Bookworm (memoir)
Yoko Ogawa, The Housekeeper and the Professor
Sarah Moss, Ghost Wall
Olga Tokarczuk, Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead
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Post by Webs on Jan 2, 2020 14:42:12 GMT -5
My favorites this year (in no particular order)
Bowlaway - Elizabeth McCraken
The Witches of New York - Ami McKay
The Starless Sea - Erin Morganstern
Mythos - Stephen Fry
There are others but these are the ones I keep telling others about.
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Post by Queen on Jan 2, 2020 17:24:53 GMT -5
Best Fiction
The Liars' Gospel - Naomi Alderman
This is the only fiction book I read that I'm looking back at and thinking, "oh yes, I will read that again one of these days".
Best humour
The Diary of a Bookseller - Shaun Bythell
(really a lot of fun, if you like books, eccentrics and bookshops but aren't fond of customers)
I think there's a book 2 on the way, so will be reading that as well.
Best non-fiction
Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth - Rachel Maddow
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators - Ronan Farrow
(these two are my current heroes in journalism)
Honorable Mentions
Weapons of Maths Destruction
Travels in the Third Reich
I had a reading number goal which I met, and I diversity goal which I only partially met... I've set a simplified diversity goal for 2020...
- a classic (not a re-read)
- a poetry anthology
- a Booker or Pulitzer prize-winning book
- 50% women writers
- 30% from non UK/US writers
- by a writer from a country I haven't visited
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Post by scrubb on Jan 15, 2020 18:16:54 GMT -5
I usually do this on New Years Day but was too sloth yesterday and busy with other stuff today. Will get on to it tomorrow! Still waiting, Hal! |
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Post by sprite on Jan 16, 2020 8:36:01 GMT -5
THe only real stand out for me was 'Invisible Women' by Caroline Criado-Perez, partly for the gob-smacking amount of information, but also because it still has me questioning the inclusiveness of what I'm seeing around me.
This is a bit odd, because I mostly read fiction. i'm now wondering if part of the stand out-ness of it is because it was an outlier, or because i'm not reading great fiction.
I think I read 'The Power' in 2019, and that was good enough that I sent a secondhand copy to a friend back home, which i rarely do.
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Post by weeg on Jan 16, 2020 15:24:10 GMT -5
THe only real stand out for me was 'Invisible Women' by Caroline Criado-Perez, partly for the gob-smacking amount of information, but also because it still has me questioning the inclusiveness of what I'm seeing around me. This is a bit odd, because I mostly read fiction. i'm now wondering if part of the stand out-ness of it is because it was an outlier, or because i'm not reading great fiction. I think I read 'The Power' in 2019, and that was good enough that I sent a secondhand copy to a friend back home, which i rarely do. I actually opened this thread to post exactly the same book. Couldn't stop talking about it while I was reading it, and instantly had to buy my sister a copy. Fascinating. |
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Jan 19, 2020 1:45:12 GMT -5
I usually do this on New Years Day but was too sloth yesterday and busy with other stuff today. Will get on to it tomorrow! Still waiting, Hal! Back home with laptop now so it will come soon.  |
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Post by Liiisa on Jan 19, 2020 7:33:49 GMT -5
I had meant to put "Invisible Women" on my to-read list last year and forgot, so thank you all for that.
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Post by sprite on Jan 19, 2020 15:33:07 GMT -5
It's an easy read, but don't read the medical chapter at bedtime.
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Post by Liiisa on Jan 19, 2020 17:09:26 GMT -5
It's an easy read, but don't read the medical chapter at bedtime. Ooohhh I can only imagine. |
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Jan 19, 2020 18:39:55 GMT -5
This isn't going to be in any particular order.
The book I tried to get people to read:
Lenny's Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee.
Middle grade fiction that won all sorts of awards last year and will make you snot cry when you read it.
Because of You - Pip Henry.
YA novel dealing with homelessness and hope set in a very believable Sydney.
The book that stayed with me the longest:
The Van Apfel Girls are Gone - Felicity McLean.
It may not be the best written book I read last year and I can see why some people say there are flaws with it. But I loved this story that plays onthe old idea of children lost in the Australian bush. Very atmospheric - I could hear the bird calls and smell the river stench while reading it.
Gravity Is The Thing- Jaclyn Moriarty
Another one where I remember the emotions I felt while reading.
The Monster Who Wasn't - T. C Shelley.
A middle grade novel. Again, not always perfect but the emotions stayed with me long after I finished reading the book. Another one I have told plenty of people to read.
Non Fiction best read - I only managed 3 non fiction books last year but this one was still a top book.
Fixed It: Violence and the Representation of Women in the Media - Jane Gilmore.
It made me angry, it made me frustrated, it made me think. Well done and a must read for the fans of Invisible women etc.
I did get into a bit of a fight with a friend about this. Friend had not read the book but is an ex journalist and didn't like the author and feels it was written as some sort of atonement for the past articles the author had written. My stand was does that really matter if Gilmore is trying to change the culture of how women are seen and written about, and how men are absolved or written out of all sorts of crimes?
Deeplight - Frances Hardinge.
Another excellent YA/middle grade book. Hardinge does really different fantasy books.
Tried really hard to get LC to read this one.
There were a few series that I started last year and read avidly. Maybe not the best books but in the rollicking good fun and great escapism categories.
The Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson. The third one will be out soon and I can't wait.
The Veronica Speedwell series - the first one was a bit of a slog but then I just loved the rest. Silly, escapist and I can't wait for the next book.
The Invisible Library Series. Fantasy and books - what more could you want?
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Jan 19, 2020 19:11:09 GMT -5
I forgot about this one - stunning YA set in Swaziland in the 60s. Mixed race, prejudice, boarding school. Really well done.
Oops - a title would help.
When the Ground is Hard - Malla Nunn.
A lot of my favourite books from last year came from recommendations from the owner of the Children's Bookshop. The bookshop is now closed but you can still follow it on FB or instagram and find the book trail he does each year. He covers adult fiction, YA, middle grade, picture books.
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Post by shilgia on Jan 19, 2020 20:24:29 GMT -5
It turned into a top 7:
Nickolas Butler, Shotgun Lovesongs. Exactly as described by Scrubb: unexpectedly lovely, by an unknown (to me) author.
Andrew Solomon, The Noonday Demon. Pretty much the best nonfiction writer in English, imho. He just writes so well.
Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep. Enlightening, frightening, disturbing, fascinating.
Elisabeth Pisani, Indonesia, Etc.. Just a great book about Indonesia. Informative, funny, well-researched, readable.
Susan Orlean, The Library Book. A book about libraries by a woman who writes well. What other info do you need?
Lauren Hilger, Patriot Number One. About a group of Chinese immigrants in Chinatown, Flushing (NYC). Interesting.
Paulien Cornelisse, Taal voor de leuk. Dutch author/comedian has fun with language. Really great.
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Jan 27, 2020 3:45:07 GMT -5
Now that I’m back home and have reliable 24/7 wifi, I can go back and check Goodreads!
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Post by Oweena on Feb 1, 2020 12:02:51 GMT -5
I'm late to this--it's February already!
2019 Fiction (in no particular order):
Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn: tale of an immigrant who works to come to the US, but not for the usual reasons.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett: not my favorite Patchett, but it had been a long time since she'd written one I liked as much as this one.
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden: This memoir--so good that it's stuck with me. It's confusing and heartbreaking, and even has a bit of a twist at the end.
Deep River by Karl Marlantes: this is a long one, but it's one where you get invested in the characters, a Scandinavian family who ends up in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1900s.
Himself by Jess Kidd: a book full of Irish characters, centering on Mahony. He was abandoned on the steps of an orphanage as a baby and as an adult is mysteriously told that it's possible his mother didn't willingly give him up. Funny and magical at the same time.
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Post by Oweena on Feb 1, 2020 12:20:59 GMT -5
2019 Non-Fiction
These Truths by Jill Lepore: a one volume history of the United States and at over 900 pages it's a commitment. But in these times we're living it explains so much of how we ended up here (hint: race). She doesn't write in an overly academic way, so it's accessible to all. Whether you're American or not, I think reading this will explain a lot of why we are the way we are.
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe: want to try to untangle The Troubles of Northern Ireland even a little bit? Using the 1972 kidnapping and murder of one of the its victims (Jean McConville) allows the author to explain the bigger picture of conflict between the IRA and Loyalists/Unionists. The double agents and the triple agents and the dirty deeds committed by the British government--no side comes out unscathed. The best I've ever read on this topic.
Becoming by Michelle Obama: when you want to remember the grace and maturity of what we used to be as a country. Reading this was sad as it exposes so much of what we've lost in the current climate. But read it to remember what is possible.
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Post by Oweena on Feb 1, 2020 12:37:07 GMT -5
I agree with others that Shotgun Lovesongs was a good read. He had another book come out in 2019, Little Faith. It wasn't as good as Shotgun Lovesongs.
Also I'm glad to see that someone discovered Wallace Stegner, he's in my top 5 of favorite authors.
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Post by shilgia on Feb 2, 2020 15:27:37 GMT -5
I agree with others that Shotgun Lovesongs was a good read. He had another book come out in 2019, Little Faith. It wasn't as good as Shotgun Lovesongs. I agree. Though when reading it I was wondering whether I liked it less because it actually was less good or because it was more of the same? |
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Post by Oweena on Feb 4, 2020 21:40:53 GMT -5
I agree with others that Shotgun Lovesongs was a good read. He had another book come out in 2019, Little Faith. It wasn't as good as Shotgun Lovesongs. I agree. Though when reading it I was wondering whether I liked it less because it actually was less good or because it was more of the same? I found the characters way less likable in his latest book. Granted I don't have to have likable characters, but in addition they seemed pretty one dimensional. The characters in Shotgun Lovesongs were full and interesting. |
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Post by tzarine on Feb 13, 2020 16:01:49 GMT -5
the memoirs of st augustine
so beautifully written
wm finnegan: barbarian days
a surf memoir
but so much more
there's travel, love, friendship
w a dash of socio economic analysis as well
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Post by ozziegiraffe on Feb 23, 2020 5:21:41 GMT -5
Finally got around to checking my list. The majority of my reading was fiction and female authors, with just over half set in the USA.
Best fiction:
The Castlemaine Murders
Just One Damned Thing After Another
And a couple each by Donna Leon and Louise Penny.
Best non-fiction:
Educated
Dark Emu
Headscarves and Hymens
Throwim Way Leg
And the worst of the year was a book of short detective stories, supposedly set in the part of Australia where I’ve lived for over 30 years, by an author who only visits the area occasionally, and is based overseas. The writing is woeful, and the geography all wrong.
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Post by scrubb on Oct 18, 2020 0:17:04 GMT -5
Somehow I didn't notice this one in your list till now - I agree, it's a great book! I should reread it now that I've been to PNG. |
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Post by HalcyonDaze on Oct 18, 2020 1:00:10 GMT -5
A lot of my favourite books from last year came from recommendations from the owner of the Children's Bookshop. The bookshop is now closed but you can still follow it on FB or instagram and find the book trail he does each year. He covers adult fiction, YA, middle grade, picture books. Interesting to see this because it is still holding true for this year as well. |
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