I read even more than usual this year. These are my favorites, the books I selfishly wished all my friends were reading at the same time so I could talk with them about them! They are listed roughly in order of my enthusiasm, which of course is a highly subjective rating system. (This is a favorites list, not a best list). While I have discussed some of these in previous posts, I have not written more here in order to keep this a reasonable length. Of course I’m happy to I’m always happy to talk about about books, and would love to hear about your own favorites in the comments!
Fiction
Song of Solomon, Tony Morrison (1977)
Testaments, Margaret Atwood (2019)
Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi (2017)
Fleishman is in Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Ackner (2019)
There, There, Tommy Orange (2018)
Bel Canto, Ann Patchett (2005)
The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller (2012)
Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman (2017)
Less, Andrew Sean Greer (2019)
Memoir
Heavy: An American Memoir, Kiese Laymon (2018)
Truth & Beauty, Ann Patchett (2004)
Still Point in a Turning World, Emily Rapp (2013)
This is a Story of a Happy Marriage, Ann Patchett (2013)
Poetry
Shelter in Place, Catherine Kyle (2019)
Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God, Translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy (translation reprint, 2005)
Philosophy and Spirituality
The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin (1962)
My Bright Abyss: Meditations of a Modern Believer, Christian Wiman (2013)
The Way of the Heart: Connecting with God through Prayer, Wisdom, and Silence, Henri Nouwen (1981)
Comfortable with Uncertainty, Pema Chodron (2003)
Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise, Thich Nhat Hanh (2015)
The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning, Ernest Kurtz (1992)
How to and Advice
Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction, Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd (2013)
Advice for Future Corpses: A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying, Sallie Tisdale (2018)
The American Book of Living and Dying: Lessons in Healing Spiritual Pain, Richard Groves and Henriette Anne Klauser (2005)
Children’s Literature
Cinderella Liberator, Rebecca Solnit (2019)
Other Recommendations
The books on this list also engaged, surprised, and often helped me in some way. I’m glad I read them. (I don’t include books I don’t like, because why spend time on that!)
Fiction
City of Girls, Elizabeth Gilbert (2019)
An American Marriage, Tayari Jones (2018)
The River, Peter Heller (2019)
The Sweetest Fruits, Monique Truong (2019)
Great House, Nicole Krauss (2010)
Inland, Tea Obreht (2019)
Normal People, Sally Roony (2019)
Shadow Country, Peter Matthiessen (2008)
Circe, Madeline Miller (2018)
Warlight, Michael Ondaatje (2018)
Nonfiction
Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy (1994)
A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Rebecca Solnit (2006)
Telling True Stories, Wendy Call and Mark Kramer (2007)
The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World, Melinda Gates (2019)
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noise World, Cal Newport (2019)
The Business of Being a Writer, Jane Friedman (2018)
The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk, and Adventure in the 25 years after 50, Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot (2009)
Walking Each Other Home, Ram Dass and Marabai Bush (2018)
Hi Laura. I loved so many of the books on your list. Which makes me want to read the rest of them! Maybe during Christmas break. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Judith! Great to hear from you!
I think ann patchett is quite a writer. I liked Bel Canto, but found Truth and Beauty self-indulgent. (If you have time read about her friend’s family and what they thought of the book.) I really enjoyed …Happy Marriage, and Commonwealth is quite good. If you’ve not read it, as as writer you may really enjoy it. The Magicians Assistant is a favorite, and I have The Dutch house on my to-read list for 2020.
I’d love to discuss An American Marriage, which I enjoyed.
May I suggest books by Diane Setterfield? She writes a modern gothic novel. The Thirteenth Tale was good, but Once Upon a River is genious as this type of novel goes.
Happy reading in 2020.
Interesting about Truth and Beauty, Lisa. I really loved the writing in and it made me return to Ann Patchett. I’ve really enjoyed her nonfiction this year. Commonwealth may still be my favorite fiction of hers, though I enjoyed Bel Canto. Dutch House is on my 2020 list as well. Thanks so much for the recommendations!