Here’s the list:

1. The High Mountains of Portugal (fiction, by Yann Martel)
2. Almost There (fiction, by Farrah Rochon)
3. Killers of a Certain Age (fiction, by Deanna Raybourn)
4. Lessons in Chemistry (fiction, by Bonnie Garmus)
5. The Witches (fiction, by Roald Dahl)
6. The Little Prince (fiction, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
7. Less is Lost (fiction, by Andrew Sean Greer) 
8. The Late Mrs. Willoughby (fiction, by Claudia Gray)
9. Finlay Donovan is Killing It (fiction, by Elle Cosimano)
10. Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood (non-fiction, by Lisa Damour)
11. Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead (fiction, by Elle Cosimano)
12. Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (fiction, by Elle Cosimano)
13. Beartown (fiction, by Fredrik Backman)
14. Us Against You (fiction, by Fredrik Backman)
15. The Winners (fiction, by Fredrik Backman)
16. Class (non-fiction, by Stephanie Land)
17. The Guncle (fiction, by Steven Rowley)

Here’s the list:

1. The Guide (fiction, by Peter Heller)
2. On the Come Up (fiction, by Angie Thomas)
3. The Vanishing Half (fiction, by Brit Bennett)
4. Deacon King Kong (fiction, by James McBride)
5. Concrete Rose (fiction, by Angie Thomas)
6. Miss Benson’s Beetle (fiction, by Rachel Joyce)
7. The Enchantress Returns (fiction, by Chris Colfer)
8. Anxious People (fiction, by Fredrik Backman)
9. The Sleeper and the Spindle (fiction, by Neil Gaiman)
10. Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents (non-fiction, by Reid Wilson and Lynn Lyons)
11. The Murder of Mr. Wickham (fiction, by Claudia Gray)
12. A Visit from the Goon Squad (fiction, by Jennifer Egan)
13. Heidi (fiction, by Johanna Spyri)
14. All the Light We Cannot See (fiction, by Anthony Doerr)
15. Black Cake (fiction, by Charmaine Wilkerson)
16. Mr. Popper’s Penguins (fiction, by Richard and Florence Atwater)
17. The Secret Garden (fiction, by Frances Hodgson Burnett)
18. Mandy (fiction, by Julie Andrews Edwards)
19. Night Train to Lisbon (fiction, by Pascal Mercier)

Here’s the list:

1. Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People (non-fiction, by Mahzarin R. Banaji & Anthony G. Greenwald)
2. Bill Bryson’s African Diary (non-fiction, by Bill Bryson)
3. Back When We Were Grownups (fiction, by Anne Tyler)
4. Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning (non-fiction, by Tom Vanderbilt)
5. Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America 1619-2019 (non-fiction, by Ibram X. Kendi & Keisha N. Blain
6. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (fiction, by Gary D. Schmidt)
7. Why Not Me? (non-fiction, by Mindy Kaling)
8. Such a Fun Age (fiction, by Kiley Reid)
9. Less (fiction, by Andrew Sean Greer)
10. Everything Sad is Untrue (A True Story) (fictionalized memoir, by Daniel Nayeri)
11. Homegoing (fiction, by Yaa Gyasi)
12. A Little Princess (fiction, by Frances Hodgson Burnett)
13. You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain (non-fiction, by Phoebe Robinson)
14. The Phantom Tollbooth (fiction, by Norton Juster)
15. The Wishing Spell (fiction, by Chris Colfer)

For the last several years, I’ve tried to capture the essence of each of the books I read during the year in as few words as possible. I didn’t quite have the energy for that this year, but I still kept a list of the books I read. Better than nothing?

1. 1. The Bean Trees (fiction, by Barbara Kingsolver)
   2. The Secret Life of Bees (fiction, by Sue Monk Kidd)
   3. Pigs in Heaven (fiction, by Barbara Kingsolver)
   4. White Fragility (non-fiction, by Robin DiAngelo)
   5. The Wee Free Men (fiction, by Terry Pratchett)
   6. A Hat Full of Sky (fiction, by Terry Pratchett)
   7. Wintersmith (fiction, by Terry Pratchett)
   8. I Shall Wear Midnight (fiction, by Terry Pratchett)
   9. How to Be an Antiracist (non-fiction, by Ibram X. Kendi)
   10. The Shepherd’s Crown (fiction, by Terry Pratchett)
   11. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (fiction, by Suzanne Collins)
   12. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (fiction, by JK Rowling)
   13. I’m Not Dying With You Tonight (fiction, by Gilly Segal & Kimberly Jones)
   14. Nothing to See Here (fiction, by Kevin Wilson)
   15. You Should See Me in a Crown (fiction, by Leah Johnson)
   16. Britt-Marie Was Here (fiction, by Fredrik Backman)

As I’ve done for the last several years, I’ve tried to capture the essence of each of the books I read this year in as few words as possible.

1. Far from the Tree (fiction, by Robin Benway): separated biological siblings discover a deeper understanding of family
2. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry (fiction, by Fredrik Backman): a precocious 7-year-old goes on a modern fairy tale scavenger hunt adventure, devised by her eccentric granny
3. The Panama Hat Trail (non-fiction, by Tom Miller): following the entire process of making a Panama hat leads to travel all over Ecuador, and memorable stories about the people and places involved
4. The Great Alone (fiction, by Kristin Hannah): a family moves to Alaska to live off the land, but the father’s post-POW mental state declines and everyone’s love and survival is tested
5. Educated (non-fiction, by Tara Westover): after an unconventional and sometimes dangerous upbringing in a large rural Mormon family, a young woman tries to merge her insights from a prestigious education with her conflicted love for her family
6. Hate Hurts: How Children Learn and Unlearn Prejudice (non-fiction, by Caryl Stern-LaRosa and Ellen Hofheimer Bettman): information and advice from the Anti-Defamation League to help parents to understand and stop prejudice in their children, with age-specific tips
7. James and the Giant Peach (fiction, by Roald Dahl): the title really says it all
8. A Place for Us: A Novel (fiction, by Fatima Farheen Mirza): Indian Muslim immigrant parents raising their kids in California face unique cultural challenges over the years
9. We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World (non-fiction, by Malala Yousafzai): Malala shares heartbreaking and inspiring life stories from refugees around the world
10. The Bluest Eye (fiction, by Toni Morrison): racist culture ruins a girl’s life
11. A Street Cat Named Bob (non-fiction, by James Bowen): a street cat wanders into the author’s apartment building and helps him turn his life around

Some books on deck for 2020 are White Fragility (by Robin DiAngelo) and The Bean Trees (by Barbara Kingsolver). Do you have any book recommendations?

Like I did last year, and the year before, I’ve tried to capture the essence of each of the books I read this year in as few words as possible.

1. The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way (non-fiction, by Bill Bryson): how the English language developed, its future direction, and funny tidbits about swearing, spelling, and whatnot
2. The Hate U Give (fiction, by Angie Thomas): at the age of 16, two of the protagonist’s best friends have been murdered, most recently in an unprovoked police shooting
3. A Leg to Stand On (non-fiction, by Oliver Sacks): a neurologist injures his leg and experiences the feeling of limb loss and learning to walk again
4. Kilmeny of the Orchard (fiction, by L.M. Montgomery): another charming story on Prince Edward Island
5. The Member of the Wedding (fiction, by Carson McCullers): a peak into the mind of a girl on the cusp of becoming a teenager
6. The Ecuador Reader (non-fiction, edited by Carlos de la Torre and Steve Striffler): a collection of essays about the history and culture of Ecuador
7. Living Poor (non-fiction, by Moritz Thomsen): a forty-something Peace Corps volunteer lives in coastal Ecuador for several years in the 1960s, working on projects with the local villagers to alleviate their extreme poverty
8. The Nest (fiction, by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney): a dysfunctional family of selfish adult siblings copes with a sudden change to their financial prospects
9. On Beauty (fiction, by Zadie Smith): conflict, romance, and friendship between various members of two families affects their college town community
10. Notes from a Feminist Killjoy (non-fiction, by Erin Wunker): reflections on rape culture, friendship, motherhood, and how the “so-called joys of patriarchal culture” affect all of these things.
11. My Heart and Other Black Holes (fiction, by Jasmine Warga): teenage suicide partners bond over their shared experiences with depression
12. When You Reach Me (fiction, by Rebecca Stead): homage to A Wrinkle in Time involving a mysterious time traveler in New York City
13. The Book Thief (fiction, by Markus Zusak): Death tells the story of small-town Germans, centered around one fascinatingly resilient girl, during World War II
14. Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman (non-fiction, by Lindy West): a truly laugh-out-loud funny take down of misogynists and fat shamers

Some books on deck for 2019 are A Place for Us: A Novel (by Fatima Farheen Mirza), Brown Girl Dreaming (by Jacqueline Woodson), and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry (by Fredrik Backman). Do you have any book recommendations?