Ten books I loved in 2019
In the spirit of respecting readers’ inboxes, I never send this newsletter more than once a month. That wasn’t our agreement when you subscribed, after all. But since it’s the end of the year, I thought I’d send a short note with some books I enjoyed this year. A lot of things about modern life are really quite bad, but the fact we still have books to read always gives me a reason to keep going.
I should say: I didn’t read as many books this year as I hoped. Part of the reason is that when I have free time or I’m on planes and trains, I end up reading a lot of longform articles in service of this newsletter. (I religiously use the app Pocket to save things to read for later and/or offline on my phone, and I highly recommend it.) The other reason is that, to be honest, sometimes I just want to watch Real Housewives and turn my brain off in the hour I have before bed. I reveal this because sometimes I feel rather inadequate when I see people sharing how many books they get through, and I would hate for a list like this to make you feel the same.
In any case, here are the ten books that stuck with me in 2019. Shout out to my unparalleled book club friends for making me read some of these (I’ll mark these with an *asterisk because they will be mad at me if I don’t.) I hope you meet all your ambitious reading goals over the holiday break.
So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed*, Jon Ronson: I had the sense while reading this that in fifty years, this book will be a horrifying cultural artefact detailing the precise era when things started to go off course. But Ronson’s self-doubting style is perfectly suited for this topic, and made it possible to get through without too much stress. If you are paranoid about saying the wrong thing on the internet, this book will intensify those feelings. If you worry about that as much as I do, I recommend the Jumbo app. Deleting my tweets older than two months allows me to sleep better at night.
Talking to My Daughter: A Brief History of Capitalism, Yanis Varoufakis: Explaining global capitalism to a nine year old, as this book does, really distills down why it’s so fucked up and unfair. Also, I must admit that I had to stop making fun of my partner for being a Star Trek fan after reading this, because it explains how Star Trek is a beautiful allegory for a much more equitable economic system. Who knew!?
Keep Going, Austin Kleon: I am a huge fan of Kleon’s work, and you can read this book (like his others) in an afternoon. I enjoyed it one summer afternoon in the park and found it so edifying and inspiring to remember that art and creativity is even more vital in the Bad Times.
Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire, Akala: If you are surprised that Britain all of a sudden seems super racist post-Brexit, maybe read this. The history of the treatment of people of color in Britain is less known than in the U.S., but just as abhorrent. Also, this book convinced me that absolutely nothing will change in this country until white people are adequately educated about the violence and trauma inflicted by the British empire. Britain became “Great” not because of some punchy island nation ingenuity, but rather on the back of the resources, labor, and land of the people it forcibly colonized. Luckily, Akala has a modern and buoyant writing voice which offsets such a heavy topic.
She Said, Jodi Kantor and Meghan Twohey: In addition to being riveting, this is the most instructive and practical how-to guide to investigative journalism I’ve ever read. Written by the two reporters who broke the New York Times’ Harvey Weinstein story, it will give you a sense of what it takes to write a story that changes the world.
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead*, Olga Tokarczuk: I find it hard to convince myself to read fiction sometimes; that’s why I joined a book club four years ago. This book was exactly what I want from fiction: one that takes place in a world extremely different from my own, with a weird and complicated and wonderful protagonist. When I bought it at the bookstore, the Polish lady who sold it to me proudly told me the author won the Nobel prize in her country, which I just found so charming.
No One Tells You This, Glynnis MacNicol: I really did not need to read another contemporary feminist memoir, but I did and I loved this one. It really should no longer be radical to be single, childless, 40, and enjoying life. This author not only explores why that’s the case — but makes that life sound like so much fun in the process.
Home Fire*, Kamila Shamsie: I really can’t wrap my head around what it takes to write a story like this. It’s a modern retelling of Antigone unfolding through the lives of modern British muslims, and includes home-grown terrorism, a racist home secretary (sound familiar?), forbidden love, and the violent legacy of colonialism. You don’t have to have enjoyed Antigone in your school days; I certainly didn’t and yet I couldn’t put this down.
Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain: I re-read this while on holiday in France (it inspired this newsletter edition, in fact) and among the things I forgot about it is how much essential cooking advice is contained within! I now think of the passage about how to use garlic every time I’m making dinner.
Yoga: A Manual for Life, Naomi Annand: I have already plugged this book once in this newsletter, so forgive me, but now that I’ve spent more time with it I can’t recommend it enough. Yes, it’s a yoga manual — which helpfully includes lots of sequences you can do at home, complete with an exposed spine so you can lie it flat on your mat — but it’s also filled with such beautiful reflections on how to live a more restful and expansive life. (And who doesn’t want that?) To top it off, it’s beautiful; it looks like yoga feels.
I did not include Amazon links above because, well, I’m trying not to order books from Amazon anymore because next day delivery is bad for humans and the planet (and wow can they pay some goddamn taxes?!). But if you live in the UK, here are some good alternatives for more ethical online ordering I’ve been trying to use recently.
Thanks for reading and happy New Year,
Rosie