2019 Year in Books.

2019 was a hell of a year for a lot of reasons. One area it excelled in those was my reading time.  I have a reverse commute now in my New York life, taking the Path train out to New Jersey every day for my job guarantees me morning and evening reading time (with no cell service as I go under the Hudson River! A blessed break.)

I managed to read 35 books this year, perhaps a personal record.  I read far more memoirs than is my standard and I got lucky, having more hits than misses with my picks.  I'm not sure if I could pick a favorite but top three would probably be: Born to Run (Bruce! my best friend! I was so sad when our journey together ended.) No One Tells You This (finally, someone captured life heading into your 40s as a single woman) and Circe (because if you too have read it, you know exactly why it's in my top three.)

Honorable mention goes to Daisy Jones & the Six - a great summer read that totally swept me up in the world of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll and my very last read of the year, which I finished yesterday, The Dutch House.  Oh, Ann Patchett, I will read your grocery lists should you publish them.

There were a few duds too, there always are.  I didn't quite understand the obsession everyone seemed to have with Where the Crawdads Sing. Less may have won the Pulitzer but maybe those judges read a completely different book? Because I just did not get the obsession. Three Women was one I wanted to talk about with other people but didn't like - I had a lot of issues with the writing style and direction. But that's also exactly why I wanted to talk to people about it.

If 2019 gave me anything, (while it was busy taking away a lot) it was a reminder of how much I love to read and how important books are in my life - for that I will remain grateful.

2019 Reads:

Becoming - Michelle Obama

Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens

This Will Only Hurt a Little  - Busy Phillips

Uncommon Type: Some Stories - Tom Hanks

Educated: A Memoir - Tara Westover

Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen

Chosen By a Horse - Susan Richards

Man’s Search for Meaning - Victor E. Frankl

Inheritance - Dani Shapiro

No One Tells You This - Glynnis MacNicol

Pachinko - Min Jin Lee

The Great Believers - Rebecca Makkai

On Being 40ish (essays) - edited by Lindsey Mead

Florida - Lauren Groff

Less - Andrew Sean Greeg

I Miss You When I Blink - Mary Laura Philpott

The Last Romantics - Tara Conklin

Little Comfort - Edwin Hill

Daisy Jones & the Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid

Warlight - Michael Ondaatje

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid

Circe - Madeline Miller

Almost Everything - Anne Lamont

The Mother-In-Law - Sally Hepworth

The Friend - Sigrid Nunez

When You Read This - Mary Adkins

Calypso - David Sedaris

The Witch Elm - Tana French

Evvie Drake Starts Over - Linda Holmes

Exit West - Mohsin Hamid

Sing, Unburied, Sing - Jesmyn Ward

Three Women - Lisa Taddeo

Born A Crime - Trevor Noah

The River - Peter Heller

The Dutch House - Ann Patchett