Best books of 2019!

I love reading everyone's lists at the end of the year--best movies, best blogs, best podcasts, but especially best books. I read a lot, and I read even more than usual this year (hello, long winter. hello, sabbatical). Here are some of my faves. (And they're just from my quarterly "best of" posts, so if you've read those, this is nothing new).

So without further ado!

I joked with my friend that this book title perfectly describes an Enneagram 5. :) Anne Bogel's I'd Rather Be Reading highlights everything we love about books and why we can't imagine life without them. It was a very enjoyable read.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones follows an African American couple after the husband is wrongly accused of a crime and incarcerated. Fascinating and thought-provoking.

I've enjoyed everything I've read by Rachel Held Evans, and Inspired was no different. The book itself was inspired by her own questions about the Bible, and she walks us through various types of writing found there, as well as what God is trying to teach us through it.

Knox McCoy is one of the hosts of two of my favorite podcasts, The Popcast and The Bible Binge, and The Wondering Years is his memoir. It's hilarious and heartwarming and I loved it so much.

The Overstory by Richard Powers details the lives of nine individuals and how they all come together around trees. Sounds weird, but it's fascinating and beautiful. Their stories run deep and it was fun to piece them all together.

I'll Be There For You: The One About Friends by Kelsey Miller. I'm a die-hard Friends fan, and Kelsey had some backstories and behind-the-scenes that I hadn't even heard before. It was so great! And it made me want to watch the series all over again. (I haven't yet, but do you know what I love watching? Friends bloopers videos on Facebook. Don't even start, because it's so hard to stop. Or do, because it will be the funniest thing you've watched all day). :)

Carnegie's Maid is a fictional work about the real Andrew Carnegie. It's a fascinating and enjoyable read with a definite "Downton Abbey" upstairs/downstairs feel.

Love & Gelato and Love & Luck are two fun teen fiction books. (Read them in this order--it's not necessarily a book and its sequel, but the second does reference characters from the first). Super cute stories that will make you want to travel to Europe. :)

I talked about this one when it was up for Giveaway Day last month, but it was so incredibly inspiring! These two friends, one in a wheelchair, take on the Camino trail in Spain. So good.

Born Survivors is the account of three women who had babies in concentration camps during World War II. You honestly can't even believe that these women survived, much less their babies. This is not a weekend read. I literally took the whole three weeks that I had this from the library, and I read some lighter novels in between sections of it. It's heart-wrenching and fascinating, and every time I read anything about that period of time, I can't believe the horror of what went on.

I chose this one for book club last month and we all really enjoyed it. :) She's a fantastic writer (or her ghostwriter is...) and her life story was really interesting to read about.

Maid was another fascinating nonfiction read. I learned a lot about poverty and the working poor. Land's story was eye-opening and inspiring.

Freeman's podcast of the same name is one of my favorites, and her book is mostly past episodes with some new content. It was a delight to listen to the audiobook, and the actual hardcover is beautifully crisp and clean. :)

I read Thomas' The Hate U Give last year and was excited when it was finally my turn at the library for her new book On the Come Up. I really enjoy her writing, and both books have been eye-opening about life among gang and drug activity in Los Angeles.

Where the Crawdads Sing has been SUPER hyped up lately, and I was wary about reading it for that reason. But I really loved it! It's a fascinating story with just enough mystery to keep you turning the pages.

The Dreamers was green-lit on The Popcast, and it was downright quirky. But I really liked it. "An ordinary town is transformed by a mysterious illness that triggers perpetual sleep" (NYT). See? quirky. :)

I have a thing for WWII fiction. I don't know why. I think it's a fascinating and heartbreaking time in our not-so-distant past, and it's hard to believe what people went through. The Tattooist of Auschwitz was beautiful and haunting, and it's based on a true story.

I first heard Hillary McBride on Jen Hatmaker's podcast (season 14 episode 3, 1/8/19), and I immediately requested her book, Mothers, Daughters & Body Image. It's an important read for anyone, but especially for mothers with daughters, and especially growing up in the culture we are. It can read a little textbook/dry sometimes, but the message is beautiful and so vital.

Educated is another absolutely fascinating read--Tara lives in Idaho with her survivalist family, and she is homeschooled briefly as a child. She decides to leave the confines of what her parents think is safest for her, and attends school for the first time as a 17-year-old. The book follows her journey through college and beyond.

I have to be careful in this recommendation. :) Nadia Bolz-Weber is amazing and thought-provoking, but she's also very "out there." So if you're not so "out there," you've been warned. ;) Shameless is the first book of hers that I've read (although I have two more on my shelf and I've followed her for a while). I loved this book for a lot of reasons, but I think the version of myself that loved it most was the one that grew up in the height of purity culture (think "True Love Waits," "I Kissed Dating Goodbye," etc). I come across things once in a while that slowly undo some of the damage done through purity culture, and this book was just another helpful antidote. :)

Tell the Wolves I'm Home was a recommendation from my mom, and I loved it. It follows 14-year-old June in the 1980s, after the death of her uncle to AIDS. She ends up developing a very sweet relationship with her uncle's boyfriend, whom the family has previously blamed for their uncle's death.

I'm pretty sure The Mother-in-Law was a Popcast green light. It details the relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, moving between the present time, where the mother-in-law has just died, and various points in the past. Super intriguing read.

The River was definitely a Popcast green light, and I've been waiting my turn on the library waiting list for a while. :) It was absolutely worth the wait--Heller is an amazing writer and the story is extremely compelling. It follows college friends on a canoeing trip, where lots of things pop up to complicate their plans.

I adored Anne Bogel's I'd Rather Be Reading, and I'm very much looking forward to her Don't Overthink It. But I'd never picked up Reading People, and I'm so glad I finally did. The book outlines a variety of personality-type systems (Myers Briggs, Enneagram, Love Languages, etc) and it's so fascinating to realize all the ways we are so unique from one another.

I don't know where I heard about Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, but it was so fantastic! It's the account of a therapist and the journey of four of her clients, as well as HER own relationship with her therapist. It's so beautifully written--you grow to love Gottlieb and her clients so much. And it will make you grateful for any therapist you've ever had. :)

Holy Envy was the big nonfiction winner for me this quarter. I've never read anything by Barbara Brown Taylor, but every time I hear Jen Hatmaker as her question ("What is saving your life right now?") at the end of her podcast, I think, "I should read something by her." So I did! And I picked a good one to start with. Taylor is an Episcopal priest and professor, and this book recounts her time teaching a world religions class at Piedmont College. The subtitle, "Finding God in the Faith of Others," really does sum up what this book does. She speaks of the major religions she teaches and how they impacted her life as a Christian. It's fascinating and intriguing and I didn't want it to be done. Can't wait to read more by her.

Here's to lots of fun books in 2020!! Happy reading, friends!