Presents have been opened, rejoiced or returned, and the tree is now needles all over the floor. It’s time to look back at the year-in-books.
Frankly, I haven’t had a stellar year. Though I’m always reading, few books engaged my head & heart. I quit many (without guilt) and realized that, as with jeans, to get a good fit one must try, try, and try again. *
The upside is that my book malaise spurred me to explore. I reached beyond my routine of contemporary fiction and dabbled in mystery, fantasy, memoir and more. Some were thinkers, others sinkers, but I felt nicely stretched nonetheless.
Here, a few of the good books I read in 2019:
FICTION
The Middlesteins
by Jami Attenberg
Don’t judge a book by its cover (as I did, quickly dismissing this as adolescent drivel). This novel is original, funny, sad, sweet, with a spot-on grasp of family dynamics.
Chairs in the Rafters
by Julia Glass
A little-know novella by the bestselling author of Three Junes. As always, Glass delivers evocative prose with complex characters.
Educated
by Tara Westover
Yes, yes, everyone and their neighbor read, raved or loathed this memoir. This was such a page-turner I read it in one full swoop, glued to the couch for an entire day.
The Dry
by Jane Harper
This gripping mystery thriller is thick with atmosphere. An easy read, it was the ideal who-done-it to take me out of my head.
NON-FICTION
Don’t Let Me Be Lonely
by Claudia Rankine
Published in the George W era, this multi-genre inquiry is as politically and emotionally relevant as ever. Smart and incisive, with a seamless blend of poetry and prose, Rankine dives deep into culture, race, terrorism, depression, medication and media.
Stranger on a Train
by Jenny Diski
With wry and incisive prose, this travel memoir is less about landscape and more about people. In search of solitude, the British writer traverses the U.S. by train and finds herself drawn into the complex lives of ordinary strangers.
How the Light Gets In: Writing as a Spiritual Practice
by Pat Schneider
A warm and interior look into the motivations and circulations of the writing life. With her signature grace, Schneider invites readers to contemplate their lives and deepest questions through writing.
POETRY
If the House
by Molly Spencer
Layered, textured, rich and deep, this debut collection of poems is stunning. Poet David Biespiel sums it best: “Her portrait of life’s silences is fundamental and mysterious. Here is a riveting, deeply moving book of marriage and its dissolutions—between husband and wife, between a woman and her home, between dream and memory.”
The End of the West
by Michael Dickman
Dark, violent, conversational, essential, enigmatic — and beautiful.
Irksome Particulars
by Matt Cook
A pocket-size collection of irreverent prose poems, each no longer than a page and most just a few lines long, from the former poet laureate of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
FAVORITE BOOKSTORES
Where are you shopping? This year I was excited to discover and revisit these independent book shops:
Bart’s Books
Ojai, California
I stumbled (literally, I was on a walk and was looking for exercise, not books) when I found an outdoor bookstore. Open since 1964, Bart’s is the largest independently owned and operated outdoor bookstore in the U.S. With a selection of nearly one million new and used books, Bart’s is quirky, kooky and wonderfully bookish.
Klindt’s Booksellers
The Dalles, Oregon
Open since 1870, Klindt’s is the oldest bookstore in Oregon. With its original hardwood floors, cabinets and bookshelves, the narrow shop oozes history while packing in plenty of contemporary treasures.
Powell’s City of Books
Portland, Oregon
Filling an entire city block in downtown Portland, since 1971 this is both mecca and disneyland for readers and writers. Not to see Powell’s is not to see Portland.
* I’m still searching for the perfect jeans.