This year, I read far less than I hoped, finishing thirty-nine books for the year. While my goal for 2018 was to read one book a week, it’s been an unsustainable goal thus far. My second goal for the year was to read more writers of color and engage with books that required me to think rather than escape. I’ve certainly achieved this second goal by including more books by writers of color, as well as numerous essays, poems, and news articles that challenged me in new ways on issues of race, identity, incarceration, and culture.
One of my objectives as a writer, educator, and reader is to grow in empathy through other people’s stories. If this is a value you hold dear, look no further, reader. Your first read of 2019 might be here!
Favorite Fiction:
Jewel by Bret Lott: “Jewel and her husband, Leston, have been blessed by a fifth child, a girl they name Brenda Kay. But Brenda Kay, who was born with Down’s syndrome, is also a challenge. In this inspirational and deeply moving book, Jewel realizes that Brenda Kay is her special gift from God.”
A beautifully told story of hardship, resilience, and a mother’s love. Lott’s writing inspires me to excellence.
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesamyn Ward: “An intimate portrait of a family and an epic tale of hope and struggle, Sing, Unburied, Sing journeys through Mississippi’s past and present, examining the ugly truths at the heart of the American story and the power—and limitations—of family bonds.”
A powerful story about family, race, and the profound generational effects of racism in the American South.
The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott: “On a dim winter afternoon, a young Irish immigrant opens the gas taps in his Brooklyn tenement. He is determined to prove—to the subway bosses who have recently fired him, to his badgering, pregnant wife—“that the hours of his life belong to himself alone.” In the aftermath of the fire that follows, Sister St. Savior, an aging nun, appears, unbidden, to direct the way forward for his widow and his unborn child.”
A difficult, but moving novel about Irish immigrants in Brooklyn at the turn of the century. Well worth the read for McDermott’s writing alone, although the story itself is compelling.
How The Light Gets In by Louise Penny: “Christmas is approaching, and in Québec it’s a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department, his old friend and lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir hasn’t spoken to him in months, and hostile forces are lining up against him. When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers that a longtime friend has failed to arrive for Christmas in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city.”
I’m slowly making my way through this series of mysteries by Louise Penny, and this, her ninth book, is hard to put down. Penny’s books are always a win for me, as they are rich in character development, depth of feeling, and a sense of place.
Favorite Non-Fiction:
A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca: “A vivid portrait of life inside a maximum-security prison and an affirmation of one man’s spirit in overcoming the most brutal adversity, this award-winning memoir “stands as proof there is always hope in even the most desperate lives.””
Without a doubt, my favorite book of the year. I read it twice, and used it as a text for an entire semester in my college writing class. I can’t recommend this book highly enough for its powerful story, empathetic approach, and stunning writing from renowned poet Jimmy Santiago Baca.
I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown: “Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age 7, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools, organizations, and churches, Austin writes, “I had to learn what it means to love blackness.”
Necessary. Painful. Powerful. Read this book.
Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies by Marilyn McEntyre: “If every literate person in the United States read this book, the result could dramatically transform our society. . . Written with modesty, keen insight, and grace, Marilyn McEntyre’s Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies proposes a revolution of human expression that would bring precision, honesty, and felicity to the spoken and written discourse of contemporary culture.”
I can’t think of a time when it has been more important to use our words carefully, and to distinguish between the truth and the lies masquerading as such. This book challenged me to use my words with greater respect and care.
Educated by Tara Westover: “Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills bag”. In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father’s junkyard.”
This memoir is one of the best I’ve ever read, and I’ve read many. I read this book months ago, and it has burrowed down into the muscle memory of my reading life. I can’t stop thinking about it. It was impossible to put down.
The Inner Voice of Love by Henri Nouwen: “For the countless men and women who have to live through the pain of broken relationships, or who suffer from the loss of a loved one, this book about the inner voice of love offers new courage, new hope, even new life.”
Nouwen’s kept this personal journal during an intensely dark season in his spiritual life, and it came to me at just the right time. This book is a salve for a season of doubt, anxiety, or fear. I know I’ll return to this one again and again.
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Care to share your favorites of the year? Leave a comment or hit reply from your in-box if you’re a subscriber. For more of my favorites visit me on goodreads, or read last year’s list of my favorites here and 2016’s list here.
*All blurbs and photos taken from goodreads
**Many of these books contain adult language and adult situations, which I’m comfortable with because I’m an adult;) If you’re sensitive to either, I recommend further research before reading.
