I read forty books in 2019-- a number which seems about average-- and for the most part, I kept it eclectic: fiction, non-fiction, genre stuff, graphic novels, economics, history, and even some self-help. My friend and fellow English teacher Kevin pointed out that I don't read enough books by women. While I definitely consume some chick-lit every year, he is right. Only six of the forty books were by women authors (but several of the books by men are about women, so that should count for something). I might remedy this in 2020 . . . but I might not. Books are one of the few things in life that you have control over. If books by women appeal to me, I'll read them. If not, Kevin can fuck off.
I did go down a couple of rabbit holes.
I read the entire Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy by Cixin Liu . . . and it wasn't easy. I'm quite proud of this and highly recommend these books to diehard sci-fi fans. I also read four mystery novels set in Wyoming. I don't know how this happened, but I really enjoyed the Longmire stuff by Craig Johnson.
I wrote about my seven favorite books of the year over at Gheorghe:The Blog, so you can check that post out if you like, but if you want just one book to read, here it is:
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe.
This selection may be a result of the serial positioning effect, but the best book I read in 2019 is the last book I read in 2019.
The book is about the Troubles in Northern Ireland, mainly during the 1970s and 1980s, but there is a frame story that is completely topical. The story is scary and compelling and violent and incredibly researched. It will dispel any romanticized notions you have about the IRA. The British are portrayed as no better.
These books provided a lot of material for me to write about. If it wasn't for books, my dog, my wife, and my absurd children, this blog would have died long ago.
Thank you books!
1) The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
2) An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
3) The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
4) God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State by Lawrence Wright
5) Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America's Strangest Jail by Rusty Young (and Thomas McFadden)
6) The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu
7) The Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry
8) The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
9) Death's End by Cixin Liu
10) Atomic Habits by James Clear
11) Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and The Drug Company That Addicted America by Beth Macy
12) Glasshouse by Charles Stross
13) Educated by Tara Westbrook
14) The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan
15) Redshirts by John Scalzi
16) Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nicholas Nassim Taleb
17) The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson
18) The Walking Dead 31: The Rotten Core by Robert Kirkman
19) The Walking Dead 32: Rest in Peace by Robert Kirkman
20) The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson
21) FreeFire by C.J. Box
22) Old Man's War by John Scalzi
23) Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson
24) Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
25) The Sins of the Fathers by Lawrence Block
26) Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
27) Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life by Gary John Bishop
28) The Last Colony by John Scalzi
29) Locke and Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
30) Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell
31) Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World by Tim Marshall
32) The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
33) Real Tigers by Mick Herron
34) Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic by Ben Westhoff
35) Slow Horses by Mick Herron
36) Giants of the Monsoon Forest by Jacob Shell
37) Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About The People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
38) Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
39) Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap by Ben Westhoff
40) Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
3 comments:
"(but several of the books by men are about women, so that should count for something)."
yup, Dave - that's just what we need, more men explaining women. glad you read those books.
In your mind are "books by women" and "chick-lit" the same thing?
i'm going to get a new post up as quickly as possible . . .
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