2019: BOOKS OF THE YEAR

I often hesitate to buy new books without friends' recommendations, so this year I relied on Pulitzer Prize writers to overwhelm me with quality narratives. I would love to "talk books" with you, if you enjoy those conversations as much as I do!

In 2018, I specifically sought out writers from other cultures and found that to be rewarding. And in 2017, I gorged on novels as 2015-2016 was all neuropsychology and Oliver Sacks. Here are some of the titles I've enjoyed this year (with my highly recommended reads asterisked):

**David James Duncan's The Brothers K (one of the best books I've ever read.)
**Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles and Circe
**Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments, and The Penelopiad
​**Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex
Jennifer Egan's The Goon Squad
Jane Smiley's The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton and Golden Age (3rd in tril.)
Junot Diaz' This is How You Lose Her
Graham Swift's Last Orders
Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood
Jessie Chaffee's Florence in Ecstasy
Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Sympathizer
Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See
Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake and In Other Words (excellent resource for Italian-learners)
Ed Yong I Contain Multitudes (still working on this epic science find)
Slyvia Plath's The Bell Jar
Richard Rohr's Falling Upward
Trevor Noah's Born a Crime (audiobook - highly enjoyed the listen!)

What takeaways did you experience with these books? What other books would you recommend?
Cheers,
​Jess