Best Books 2019

Hello Dear Readers,

Here I am posting again for my Toastmasters challenge. My challenge is to complete a Level 4 elective by writing a “compelling” blog and post 8 times in the month of January.  Here we go!

What were your favorite books to read in 2019? President Barack Obama tweeted a list of his favorite books for 2019. AARP magazine, the December 2019 issue, also has a list of recommended books in an article on page 13 titled, “Our Top Picks of 2019”.

None of the books on these two lists was even on my radar.  I was too busy reading books by one of my favorite writers, Lisa Jewell. I read about 9 books by her in 2019. What all her books had in common was family drama. The Family Upstairs, the most recent publication, was the last book I read for 2019. This story about three dysfunctional families, who ended up living in the same house in London, held my interest to the very end. This was a story about manipulation, obsession, and murder.

On President Obama’s list, the book I’d like to read is American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson because I like thrillers:

 “Structured as a letter addressed to her two young sons, this thriller is centered around Marie Mitchell, a black FBI intelligence officer. American Spy travels in time between Marie’s upbringing in 1960s Queens and her spy work during the Cold War to highlight the trials of a protagonist questioning her identity as a woman, a person of color and an American.” Source: Time Magazine

From the AARP list, the book I’d like to read is Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson. This is a family saga told from different perspectives. From the amazon reviews, it is about teenage pregnancy and the impact on the generations. The AARP list also includes The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. I have enjoyed the dystopian world of Margaret Atwood in the past but I didn’t enjoy reading The Handmaid’s Tale. I couldn’t complete reading the book.

What were your favorite books 📚 in 2019?