Winter Reading List & 2019 Recap
These are the last of my 2019 books! I ended up with a total of 50 books for 2019! Which is almost double what I read last year.
This late fall/winter, I read:
I adored this book. I found it interesting, heart-warming, and funny. I was so impressed by Irving's writing and the mastery it takes to weave all the threads into a final, satisfying ended. The characters were so lovely. Five stars for Owen Meany.
This was a re-read for me, but it's still one of the best books I read this year. It was so encouraging, affirming, and challenging. My brain was ready for some non-fiction, spiritual writing, and this fit the bill.
This book was excellent. It proved to be one of those connecting gears in my life that helped me mentally converge what I learned in counseling with my recent practices of embodiment and the curriculum we use in our discipleship groups at church. This was a good book that brought it all together. Academic, but insanely practical, Roccas gives great tips for engaging with God in the present and how to stop ruminating on the past or future.
This book has been on my list for awhile, and I finally tackled it. I was a little intimidated by the length, but I found it easy reading and it kept my interest. I enjoyed the story, but was disappointed at the lack of character development. The plot goes right along, but the main characters felt essentially the same at the end of the novel as they had at the beginning. The protagonist was also a little bit unbelievable to me as far as her choices and reactions to events in the book. But I did enjoy the writing, and I'm glad I read it.
I listened to this on audio. I thought it was very well-written, and the details of her childhood and family of origin, along with her depictions of life in the White House were extremely interesting. The book ended with me wanting a little bit more--more vulnerability and more expression of her personal emotions. But perhaps that is too much to ask. Her role dictates a certain amount of boundaries. I was very touched that she shared her story of miscarriage and her reactions to that and infertility.
This book also went right along with some things I've learned about embodiment. Namely, to pay attention. It was hard for me to get into this book, so I jumped to the ending and then doubled back. I'm glad I finished it, but it is mostly about adopting a practice which I have yet to accomplish.
Wow. This book was incredible. I couldn't listen to it quickly enough, and then was sad when it was over. Westover's story was captivating and intriguing. There are parts of her healing process that seem shallow and unexplored to me. Perhaps there just hasn't been enough time to process. The story of her childhood in a fundamentalist Mormon family who is against modern medicine and public education is both extreme and oddly relatable.
I finished this last night and was really impressed with Gyasi's ability to string along two branches of a family tree and insert all manner of history into each generation. I imagine this took a lot of research, and I felt a lot of compassion for the characters in it. A great look at one tiny sliver of slavery, colonization, and race.
Okay!
I want take a stab at my top books for the year, so here it goes. If I made this list on a different day, they might all be different.
2019
Best fiction:
East of Eden--John Steinbeck
A Prayer for Owen Meany--John Irving
I'll Be Your Blue Sky--Marisa de los Santos
Saint Julian--Walter Wangerin
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
Honorable mentions: Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Best memoirs:
Educated --Tara Westover
Inheritance--Dani Shapiro
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone--Lori Gottlieb
Nonfiction:
An Altar in the World--Barbara Brown Taylor
The Sacred Meal--Nora Gallagher
Time and Despondency--Nicole Roccas
This late fall/winter, I read:
I adored this book. I found it interesting, heart-warming, and funny. I was so impressed by Irving's writing and the mastery it takes to weave all the threads into a final, satisfying ended. The characters were so lovely. Five stars for Owen Meany.
This was a re-read for me, but it's still one of the best books I read this year. It was so encouraging, affirming, and challenging. My brain was ready for some non-fiction, spiritual writing, and this fit the bill.
This book was excellent. It proved to be one of those connecting gears in my life that helped me mentally converge what I learned in counseling with my recent practices of embodiment and the curriculum we use in our discipleship groups at church. This was a good book that brought it all together. Academic, but insanely practical, Roccas gives great tips for engaging with God in the present and how to stop ruminating on the past or future.
This book has been on my list for awhile, and I finally tackled it. I was a little intimidated by the length, but I found it easy reading and it kept my interest. I enjoyed the story, but was disappointed at the lack of character development. The plot goes right along, but the main characters felt essentially the same at the end of the novel as they had at the beginning. The protagonist was also a little bit unbelievable to me as far as her choices and reactions to events in the book. But I did enjoy the writing, and I'm glad I read it.
I listened to this on audio. I thought it was very well-written, and the details of her childhood and family of origin, along with her depictions of life in the White House were extremely interesting. The book ended with me wanting a little bit more--more vulnerability and more expression of her personal emotions. But perhaps that is too much to ask. Her role dictates a certain amount of boundaries. I was very touched that she shared her story of miscarriage and her reactions to that and infertility.
This book also went right along with some things I've learned about embodiment. Namely, to pay attention. It was hard for me to get into this book, so I jumped to the ending and then doubled back. I'm glad I finished it, but it is mostly about adopting a practice which I have yet to accomplish.
Wow. This book was incredible. I couldn't listen to it quickly enough, and then was sad when it was over. Westover's story was captivating and intriguing. There are parts of her healing process that seem shallow and unexplored to me. Perhaps there just hasn't been enough time to process. The story of her childhood in a fundamentalist Mormon family who is against modern medicine and public education is both extreme and oddly relatable.
I finished this last night and was really impressed with Gyasi's ability to string along two branches of a family tree and insert all manner of history into each generation. I imagine this took a lot of research, and I felt a lot of compassion for the characters in it. A great look at one tiny sliver of slavery, colonization, and race.
Okay!
I want take a stab at my top books for the year, so here it goes. If I made this list on a different day, they might all be different.
2019
Best fiction:
East of Eden--John Steinbeck
A Prayer for Owen Meany--John Irving
I'll Be Your Blue Sky--Marisa de los Santos
Saint Julian--Walter Wangerin
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
Honorable mentions: Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Best memoirs:
Educated --Tara Westover
Inheritance--Dani Shapiro
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone--Lori Gottlieb
Nonfiction:
An Altar in the World--Barbara Brown Taylor
The Sacred Meal--Nora Gallagher
Time and Despondency--Nicole Roccas
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