Back in December, when I wrote the post on our 25 Favorite Christmas books, I was reminded that What We’re Reading was supposed to be a regular feature on The Semiconservative Granola Girl. And somewhere along the way, I decided to post mostly about food. However, in 2019, my reading life changed dramatically. And I want to share the journey of our Favorite Books of 2019.
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I have always been a reader, but in the last few years, my reading life had kind of floundered. It wasn’t that I wasn’t reading. Because I was. But I wasn’t so excited I couldn’t wait to get back to what I was reading.
I didn’t have great sources for new titles, that is until I discovered The Read Aloud Revival Podcast. This came from an Amazon recommendation of Mackenzie’s book, The Read Aloud Family.
Through Sarah Mackenzie, I met my new virtual best friend: Anne Bogel of the What Should I Read Next Podcast and the Modern Mrs. Darcy website. She was a guest on the Mackenzie’s podcast. (By the way, we’ve never, met or even talked or communicated with one another, but we are truly kindred spirits.)
Virtual Friendship
My virtual friendship with Anne Bogel began at the beginning of 2019 when she was a guest on the Read Aloud Revival (RAR # 119 Delight in Your Own Reading Life). It was a special episode dedicated the the Mama Reading Life. At that point, I decided to check out Bogel’s podcast, What Should I Read Next. And I was hooked.
Her book recommendations have so changed my reading life that it is hard to believe it’s only been a little over a year. In 2019, I read 20 books with my eyes and 31 books with my ears. I have no idea how many books I read in 2018, but it wasn’t even close. We only started listening to books in the fall of 2018. It was after I read The Read Aloud Family. At best, we listened to 5.
I am going to do this as a two part series. Today I will reveal my 5 favorite books that I read in print form. Later in the week, I will share my favorite audio books.
Our Favorite Books of 2019 Print
None of these books are necessarily new. They are just new to me. In fact, some of them are verging on old. Oh, and they are in no particular order. In fact, they are mostly in the order that I read them. Mostly.
Print Book #1: We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
I heard Georgia Hunter with Anne Bogel on an episode of What Should I Read Next (Episode 157). I listened to this podcast when I was binging on back episodes early last winter. This discussion totally sparked my interest in reading this historical fiction novel based on the real survival story of Hunter’s Jewish ancestors and their escape from the Holocaust during World War II.
It has been a long time since I have read a Holocaust story that truly resonated with me the way this one did. (It was when I was a sophomore in high school. I read Night by Elie Wiesel from cover to cover in one sitting. And I wept and wept.) This book had me at the edge of my seat. Sometimes I was cringing and at one point, my heart was racing because of my angst for the characters. So worth the read.
Print Book #2: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer.
This book spoke to me from the book shelves of the library at my school. I have no idea why I was drawn to it. My eyes kept falling on it when I was there working with my students on projects. So I grabbed it for summer reading. And oh, yes.
Interestingly, it is another World War II historical fiction. That’s just a coincident, not something I necessarily gravitate toward (although I do enjoy a good historical fiction). I love the way this book brought together two stories of you young people on different sides of the war.
The first is an orphan in Germany who has a knack with radio technology. After he finds and repairs a radio, he and his sister secretly listen to it in the evenings. This skill gets him a good position in the German army. The second is blind French girl. She has spent most of her childhood with her father at the Museum of Natural History in Paris where he works. They are evacuated to the countryside to stay with her father’s uncle and with them they secretly carry one of the museum’s most prized objects.
Print Book #3: House of Dreams by Liz Rosenburg
Anne of Green Gables is my most favorite book of all time. If someone asks my favorite book (which happens a lot if you are an English teacher), I never hesitate to say Anne of Green Gables. It is one of the few books that I have read multiple times that is not because we read it in school. I even went on a road trip to visit PEI and Green Gables. (Oh, and I want to do it again, now that my daughter has also devoured the series.) So when I stumbled upon this biography of Montgomery at my local library, I scooped it up.
It was in the kids’ section which is neither here nor there. But I didn’t read this one with my kids, I read it for me. Because of that it was a quicker read despite the sometimes heavy material. I was fascinated to see the semi-biographical aspects of both the Anne books and the Emily books (more so Emily) and to learn about the publication process. Did you know that the order we read the books in is not the order in which they were published? I had no idea.
Montgomery’s life was rife with mental illness: her own and that of her husband. At times, it is difficult to read about the internal struggles. My heart ached for a woman who would have benefited so for modern medicine. If you are a kindred spirit, it is definitely worth the time.
Print Book #4: Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
This book was a recommendation from the Read Aloud Revival Episode that introduced me to Anne Bogel. Initially, I borrowed it from the library. But as a slow reader who wasn’t quite done with another book when I checked it out, I didn’t quite finish it before the due date. And alas, there were other holds on it! (I’m not the only one in my library system getting book advice from Anne and Sarah?)
Rather than wait potentially another three weeks to finish it, I ordered it from Amazon and had it in two days (thank you, “>Prime shipping).
Hmmm … another World War II-ish historical fiction. It actually starts in a more contemporary setting, but then goes back and forth in time starting before World War II. Hannah is a first person narrator, a woman in her seventies who has twice been widowed. The first time during the war and the second at a more appropriate age to be widowed. But, it’s really about small towns and growing up. As one who lives in a small town, I loved the small-towny aspects of this book. It’s a gentle, meandering story kind of like my Anne-books.
Print Book # 5: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
This may seem like it comes out of left field compared to the other texts I listed. But I swear to you the World War II / historical-fiction thing is just an anomaly. I do actually read pretty widely. And over the years, I have read quite a few of Margaret Atwood’s novels and this one had been on my radar, perhaps even on my mental TBR (to be read) for a while. The opportunity to read it came as a result of a “book club” project I did with my AP Lit kids. They researched books from the list that has been suggested on past AP exams. They could choose any book from that list. I told them that if any groups selected a book I had never read, I would join their book club. One group selected Oryx and Crake and I read along.
Oryx and Crake is a dystopian novel, perhaps some might even call it post-apocalyptic. The story starts after the apocalyptic event and focuses on a man named Snowman. It too is a story that goes back and forth in time. The the story flashes back to Snowman’s childhood when he was known as Jimmy. In his childhood world, genetic splicing has become the norm. He has a pet rakunk–a invented animal that takes the intelligence of the racoon and merges it with the docile nature of a skunk, creating the perfect pet. The world is full of these kinds of inventions. And their potentials to go awry. It becomes a page turner as you journey with Jimmy to his current life as Snowman.
Favorite Books of 2019
I hope that you enjoyed reading about my favorite books of 2019. Truthfully, I enjoyed putting the list together. I hope that it has allowed you to add to your TBR. Let me know in the comments what your favorite books of 2019 were.
Be sure to tune in later in the week to find out what my Favorite Audio Books of 2019 were.
