I’m no good at picking favorites, but a New Year (and new decade!!) is upon us, and in the spirit of reflection, I’ll give it my best shot.
Here are a few of my best books of 2019, in no particular order, with enough categories to fit in a majority of the books I read, and color-coded to fit the Reading Rainbow reference, because we should never forget that that wonderful program existed.
best audiobook
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
The final book of the Winternight Trilogy, a YA fantasy novel rich with Russia folklore and featuring a headstrong “witch” who has to reconcile the spirits of the old world with the broadening influence of Christianity. I think our house was the cleanest its been all year when I was listening to this one—I found chores to do just so I’d have an excuse to keep listening. The whole trilogy was wonderful, and I found listening to be an enriching experience (in large part because I would’ve botched the mental pronunciation of so many of the Russian words on my own).
(totally un-)Biased Favorites
In case you missed my previous post, I had the pleasure of meeting three writers from the Nebraska/Iowa area this year—not once, but twice. They are delightful human beings, and it is true that I may not have read (or even heard about) their books without first knowing them, but they are also, as a matter of wholly objective fact, really great writers, too.
Little Broken Things and You Were Always Mine by Nicole Baart
Nicole Baart is basically my career idol. Her latest two novels of domestic suspense have strong and complex female characters, interesting family dynamics, beautiful but unpretentious writing, and well-plotted thrills.
Sugar and Heart Land by Kimberly Stuart
Delightful romantic comedies about smart and sassy career women. I don’t usually pick out romances at the library, but Stuart’s voice is just so easy going, I ate these right up (pun intended, re: Sugar).
The Line Between and A Single Light by Tosca Lee
A duology of thrillers. A young woman from a doomsday cult escapes to find…well, doomsday, but she might hold the key to stopping it. Set it in the midst of an apocalypse (and bonus—in the Midwest/Nebraska), rather than in the post-apocalyptic/dystopian future that we see more often, made these books that much more thrilling, unsettling, and hopeful.
Best Random Shelf Pick
I’m a believer in reading providence (and yes, I totally made that term up). That is, I like to ignore the bestsellers lists and wander library/used bookstore/Overdrive digital shelves until something speaks to me (and yes, that totally means I judge books by their covers).
The Wolf Wants In by Laura McHugh
This one spoke to my small-town sensibilities (though it did not paint the most favorable of pictures), and featured a good ol’ boy doggo (always a plus). It follows two equally engaging story lines that snap together in a perfectly satisfying and uncontrived conclusion. Wonderfully written and performed (this was another audiobook read), I am definitely glad I found this one.
most rewarding
The Silmarillion
Confession: I’m a total Tolkien nerd. I read The Lord of the Rings approximately umpteen times in high school, and came back to the beloved fantasy in fall 2018 with new appreciation after six years of studying literature and creative writing in college and grad school. I found myself looking back at the Silmarillion as I went through the Fellowship, digging deeper into all the little nuggets Tolkien drops in that narrative. I’d gotten the book in high school, wanting more TLOTR, but as it reads more like a history/mythology book than a novel, I found it nearly impossible to get through. This year I finally tackled it (with the help of the Prancing Pony Podcast) and what a rich, enlightening, wonderful ride it was. Digging deep into Tolkien’s life and legendarium is making me a better reader, writer, and Catholic. Studied together, the Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings offer an exploration of the deepest questions of humanity: death/mortality, the balance between fate and free will, why bad things happen in a world created by a good God, etc. You know, just the usual light, fluffy stuff. But of course, you can also take it at face value, and just enjoy all the fantastical stuff for what it is—the work of a masterful storyteller.
unqualified bests
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Written from the perspective of a wizened man reflecting on one rather tragic summer of his youth, this book was reminiscent of Where the Red Fern Grows and To Kill a Mockingbird, with the faith-filled grace of Gilead by Marilynn Robinson. Fun, sad, and beautiful in equal measures. His latest, This Tender Land, will be near the top of my TBR pile for 2020.
After the Flood by Kassandra Montag
A post-apocalptic high-seas pirate adventure featuring a hardcore mother who will do whatever it takes (and use whoever she needs) to traverse the flooded globe in the hopes of rescuing her long-lost daughter—even if that means putting the daughter she already has at risk. Though some plot points come together rather conveniently, it was beautifully written with some delightfully weird characters, and offered a gritty portrait of life and motherhood in changed world.
Grist Mill Road by Christopher Yates
A psychological thriller, masterfully written and told in the alternating points of view of three characters who were involved as children in a bizarre and haunting incident. Past and present collide in a dual tragedy of errors when their lives intersect again as adults, and your certainty blurs as each character reveals their truth. Gripping, gritty, and twisty.
a few standouts of the decade
(Probably with a strong recency bias)
- The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (published way back in 1997, but I only discovered it in 2018)
- A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozecki
- How to Start a Fire by Lisa Lutz
- The Themis Files trilogy by Sylvain Neuval (fantastic audiobook production)
- Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
- Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab
- Gilead by Marilynn Robinson
- Circling the Sun by Paula McClain
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
