Well, what do you know. Rather than being my usual contrarian self, I actually have ten books I consider to be the best of 2019. Of course, that doesn’t include the eight debut novels I wrote about on Wednesday, but let’s not split hairs. The point is: ALL of these books are marvelous. Even better, you still have time to get any one of them before Christmas for your favorite reader.
The River by Peter Heller
Published by Knopf Publishing Group
Publication date: March 5, 2019
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If it weren’t for Susie at Novel Visits, I would not have discovered The River. A novel about two guys canoeing in Canada? Hard pass. Thankfully, she recommended it to me and I fell in love. Yes, there’s canoeing, but there’s so much more than that. My review
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date: April 2, 2019
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2019 has been my best year for nonfiction reading in a very long time and this genre-busting book is one of the reasons why. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is a page-turning look into the world of one therapist as she tries to deal with her own issues and those of her patients. My review
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
Published by Scribner
Publication date: May 28, 2019
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Ask Again Yes has a lot of drama in the beginning, then settles into a really special novel about family, mental health, and forgiveness. My review
Talk to Me by John Kenney
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date: January 15, 2019
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If there is such a thing as a sleeper novel, Talk to Me, would qualify. I thought it was going to be light, sensationalistic reading, but it goes a lot deeper. A probing novel about mistakes and consequences, this one really made me think. Great option for book clubs. My review
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Published by Hogarth Press
Publication date: April 16, 2019
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I didn’t finish Sally Rooney’s first novel, so was apprehensive about Normal People. Happily, I found it to be a beautiful meditation on the complexities of relationships when we’re young. It wins for being a novel I loved in spite of really not liking the ending. My review
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
Published by Riverhead
Publication date: June 4, 2019
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Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls is as bold and brassy as Gilbert herself. A great women’s story about making unpopular choices to forage one’s true path. My review
If You Want to Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date: July 16, 2019
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If You Want to Make God Laugh is a stunning portrayal of the racism that still pervades South Africa even after the end of apartheid. My review
She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey
Published by Penguin Press
Publication date: September 10, 2019
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Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement feel like a long time ago, which is not great. Thankfully, there’s She Said, the book by journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor. They’re the two women who brought Weinstein’s decades of abusive behavior and the system that continues to support this kind of behavior to light. A must read because Weinstein was not operating in a vacuum. My review
Women Talking by Miriam Toews
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date: April 2, 2019
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A novel set in a small Mennonite community might not seem like enough for powerful reading, but I found Women Talking to be a profound exploration of women finding their voices. My review
Necessary People by Anna Pitoniak
Published by Little Brown and Company
Publication date: May 21, 2019
Bookshop
The theme of rich girl/poor girl friendships is not a new one, but one I always fall for—and sometimes regret. That wasn’t the case with Necessary People. Somehow, this novel hit the all the right notes while building layers of both suspense and the very relatable feelings that accompany an unequal power dynamic. My review
There you have it—the ten books I loved most this year. Except…there were two more, but they got so much hype, buzz, and book love that I didn’t include them in my list because you’ve already seen them everywhere. They are Daisy Jones & the Six and The Testaments—and they are five star phenomenal. If by some crazy chance you haven’t heard of them, READ them.
Whew…that really is it for 2019. I hope you had a year with more great books than bad and that you have a wonderful, peaceful holiday!
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Oh I almost forgot that Talk To Me was a book I read this year. I loved it! I also loved Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, Normal People and Ask Again Yes.
Great list! I have several others on your list in my tbr with She Said a library hold.
Happy Holidays and wishes for a fabulous reading year in 2020
It was an under the radar kind of book wasn’t it? It was the very first book I read in 2019 and I thought, ‘If this is how the year is going to go, I’m going to be really happy.” And it did!
Have a wonderful holiday and yes, here’s to more fabulous reading!
A good looking list! Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is on my TBR list.
I don’t read a ton of nonfiction so maybe this happens more often than I think: this book has a twist that made me jump and then burst into tears. I reread the section 3 times because I couldn’t believe it. Really powerful.
Great List. I read two of these The River which I liked and Normal People which was so-so for me. But I’d like to get to more of these books you list. They’re on my TBR.
Just started Ask Again Yes and think it will be perfect vacation reading! Excited to read more of the ones on your list this year.
I hope you like it! There is the big shock at the beginning, but it’s what follows that I think is so wonderfully done. I hope you’re having a fabulous vacation!
So many on your list were just shy of making mine, especially Normal People and Necessary People. 2019 truly was a great year for books. Let’s hope the trend continues into the new year, new decade!
That’s so funny because there were several on your list that just missed on mine. I guess it means we both had an outstanding reading year! Let’s hope it flows over into the new decade.
I haven’t posted my list yet, but I also loved The River – such beautiful writing! I also read and loved The Falconer on your recommendation, and that made my top ten.
Oh, yay! I’m so glad you loved The Falconer. It got so little attention.