2019 - Year in Books
2019 afforded me 7 fantastic, privileged, unemployed months to reinvest in myself. During that time, I reconnected with a love of reading; particularly contemporary fiction, memoirs, and personal growth books. In the past few years my reading has been on life support. I’d skim the New Yorker for thought provoking articles, read the NYT for news, and check different tech blogs for work. Beyond that, it was a struggle to finish even a couple books a year. It wasn’t due to lack of interest so much as competing free-time priorities. Reading didn’t make the cut.
To that end, 2019 was meaningfully different. I’ve read 50 books, 76% by underrepresented authors -either women or POC- which was an intent in selection. I’ve read mostly newly released material, though a specific release date wasn’t a requirement. I’ve also spent time thinking about how to read more -especially as I anticipate heading back to work in 2020. Check out those strategies & my favorite books below.
Much love and happy reading, -Beck
Fiction & Memoir Favorites
Personal Growth Favorites
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Helpful Strategies To Read More
#1 Read Categories that Bring You Pleasure | I’ve picked up and then put down many non-fiction and sci-fi novels because I thought I should be reading a wider breadth of books. Reading anything is (probably) better than watching TV and (definitely) better than screwing around on Facebook/IG...so unapologetically read what makes you happy!
#2 Be Selective | Once you’ve narrowed down to favorite categories of books ...further curate your selections. Spend time upfront reading reviews, best of lists, etc. Perhaps obvious, but with limited time, picking “already vetted material” means you’re more likely to enjoy what you read.
#3 It’s OK to Stop | Own cutting your losses. If you’re 1/3rd of the way through a book and still struggling to turn the pages, maybe it’s time to give up, or at least “give-up for now”. To this point, I ditched a few critically acclaimed books including Overstory, Flights, Waking Up and Machines Like Me. It either wasn’t the right time, or it wasn’t the right book for me. If you’re a Kindle reader, those abandoned books will be there waiting for your return.
#4 It’s also OK to Skim | I haven’t had a reading comprehension test in a looonnnnggg time....have you? If more breadth vs. depth is your goal then skim. I’ve zoomed through a few books this year, certainly missing some details, but appreciating the overall plot, prose, concepts or lessons. Perfect is the enemy of done. And that principle applies to reading, too.
#5 Expand Beyond Reading to Listening: Listen to Audiobooks | I haven’t used this tip much myself, but plan to in 2020. Audiobooks are a stellar complement or substitute for reading. They grow opportunities for content consumption -unlocking time when driving, commuting, running, etc. Furthermore, audiobooks are a great stopgap when you lack motivation to read, but are strong enough to resist devolving down the social media rathole. If you’re already listening to podcasts, why not listen to audiobooks, too?
#6 Grow Your Kindle Collection and Embrace Non-Linear Reading | If you’re a staunch believer in physical books, or are committed enough to use the library, good for you! But for everyone else who has switched to digital reading, take advantage of what it has to offer. Physical space is no longer a constraint; you can easily carry the equivalent of hundreds of books around with you. Parallel reading: Switching between publications depending on your mood, environment, and time allotment, helps keep ideas fresh and sparks momentum in reading.
#7 Read Short Books and/or Great Short Story Collections. There’s joy in finishing a book. It’s an accomplishment and an opportunity to start something new. A novel is a novel no matter the length -so make finishing easier by selecting short books :) Alternately, short story collections are great for clean chapter-wise reading. Some recommended story collections I’ve read this year include Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino, Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami, and Exhalation by Ted Chiang.
#8 Share Your Passion for Reading with Your Community | At least for me, having friends who support reading is a huge asset. We talk about books we love and why, and upcoming releases we are excited about. These conversations and connections are energizing. Select those who will support you best and make a concerted effort to bring them along in your reading journey. Or even better, join or start your own book club! Accountability keeps us on track.
A Plug to Read and Support Underrepresented Authors - Specifically people of color, women and LGBTQ writers. It’s critical we hear and amplify new stories, new experiences, and different perspectives. The fastest way to do this is to equitably support diversity in authorship. 7 stats in the diversity of book publishing that reveal the problem.
Fiction & Memoir Favorites
Normal People by Sally Rooney | Still holds up as my favorite book of the year! Peer into the lives of Connell and Marianne -watch as they stumble and dance through their teens and early 20s. It perfectly evokes the longing to be just a little bit closer to a lover…. But reminds us that words, acts, glances, and most of all insecurities, failed us all back then.
“It’s funny the decisions you make because you like someone, he says, and then your whole life is different. I think we’re at that weird age where life can change a lot from small decisions.” -Normal People
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong | So beautifully and poetically written -The title alone is worth a 3rd or 4th read. Voung’s semi-autobiographical, gay, immigrant, coming of age story evocatively portrays his experience of entangled love and violence both with mother and lover.
“What I felt then, however, was not desire, but the coiled charge of possibility, a feeling that emitted, it seemed, it’s own gravity, holding me in place.” -On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
Becoming by Michelle Obama | Michelle Obama is everything. She’s a gifted writer -real, raw, vulnerable and insightful. Her memoir intimately showcases her life as a powerhouse lawyer, committed but failable partner, parent and First Lady. Highly self-aware and thoughtful storytelling.
“It was an extension of the dialogue we’d been having over seventeen years already. Why were we? What mattered to us? What could we do?” -Becoming
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai | Parallel stories: One of a small group of young gay male friends in Chicago surviving, and dying, in the early-to-mid 80s from the aids crisis. Another of Fiona, a mother looking for her estranged daughter in Paris in 2015. The real joy and sorrow of the novel lies in the lives of the boys who so quickly had to become men.
“And was friendship that different in the end from love? You took the possibility of sex out of it, and it was all about the moment anyway. Being here, right now, in someone’s life. Making room for someone in yours.” -The Great Believers
Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami | Thank you Barack Obama for suggesting this one on your reading list. A collection of short stories written with care, poignancy and humanity. The plots loosely deal with men who long for women, but the philosophical questions presented transcend gender. You’re left to explore love, loss, loneliness, and the wavering strength of human connection.
“So in the end maybe that’s the challenge: to look inside your own heart as perceptively and seriously as you can, and to make peace with what you find there. If we hope to truly see another person, we have to start by looking within ourselves.” -Men Without Women
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead | A gutting, intricate and complex story of a fictionalized version of the Dozier School for Boys, renamed to Nickel Academy. This gripping page-turner, with a twist, addresses systemic racism, violence and the constant efforts to escape and outrun that oppression.
“Of the forty-three bodies, seven remained unnamed.”
“Maybe there was no system at all to the violence and no one, not the keepers or the kept, knew what happened or why.” -The Nickel Boys
Exhalation by Ted Chiang | Another great collection of short stories. Where Men Without Women focuses on human connection, Exhalation takes a bigger swing at exploring ideas through a fantastical futuristic sci-fi lens -time and perception, memories, consciousness, the future of AI and our relationship to that future, and human evolution. An expansive and comprehensive collection of stories that remain remarkably focused.
“Pretend that you have free will. It’s essential that you behave as if your decisions matter, even though you know they don’t. The reality isn’t important; what’s important is your belief, and believing the lie is the only way to avoid a waking coma. Civilization now depends on self-deception. Perhaps it always has.” -Exhalation
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani | The first sentences of the novel reads: “The baby is dead. It took only a few seconds. The doctor said he didn’t suffer.” Woah! Buckle up for an incredibly intense thriller.
“Life has become a succession of tasks, commitments to honor, appointments to keep. Myriam and Paul are snowed under with work. They like to repeat this as if their exhaustion was a portent of success. Their life is full to bursting; there’s hardly even time for sleep, never mind thinking.” -The Perfect Nanny
Call Me by Your Name: A novel by Andre Aciman | Lush storytelling. Experience the frenetic and obsessive internal monolog of 17-year-old Elio worshiping 24-year-old Oliver -as all teenagers do in their first real love.
“We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start something new...But to feel nothing so not as to feel anything -what a waste!” -Call me by your name
Circe by Madeline Miller | A refreshing and clever take on an old story -a reframing of the Odyssey and other greek myths, from a first person Circe perspective. A pleasurable, fast, and reminiscent read.
“Humbling women seems to me a chief pastime of poets. As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep.” -Circe
Educated by Tara Westover | Most of you have probably already read it. If not, go do so. Tara Westover, now in her early 30s, writes of her surreal childhood in a Mormon town in Idaho and her eventual escape into the broader world. Totally bananas coming of age story!
“Everything I had worked for, all my years of study, had been to purchase for myself this one privilege: to see and experience more truths than those given to me by my father, and to use those truths to construct my own mind.” -Educated
Personal Growth Favorites
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg | Approaches & tools for active listening, clarifying question asking and compassionate communication. The four components of NVC include: 1. Observations 2. Feelings 3. Needs 4. Requests. Working through this framework will absolutely make you a more empathetic and compassionate communicator.
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo | A must-read for white people who care about breaking down everything from day-to-day racist microaggressions to the deeply rooted racist policies in America. Challenging, but nuanced, valuable and practical read.
Better Allies: Everyday Actions to Create Inclusive, Engaging Workplaces by Karen Catlin | Practical tips and approaches to be a better ally in the workplace. Get at it!
Mating in Captivity by Ester Perel | Valuable for anyone in a long-term relationship (LTR) of 4+ years. Delves into the conundrum of “more intimacy, but less sex” in many American relationships. Perel also unpacks the false modern marriage promise that we are led to believe -that there is one soulmate out there who will make us complete.