At this point in my life, I've accepted the reality that I will never make it through my TBR list. For every one title I complete, I add another three books, which I am inevitably distracted from reading by a chance encounter with another compelling story. Although my "Want to Read" shelf on Goodreads has only expanded, I have been able to work my way through some truly unforgettable books in 2019. If you're looking for some titles to tackle in 2020, here are my recommendations.
Most Compelling: The Goldfinch
Confession: I decided to read this book because its movie trailer looked interesting. So I picked up a copy at the library and started plowing my way through this behemoth of a Pulitzer Prize winner. I finished it in June, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.
The Goldfinch is not a warm, fuzzy read that'll make you feel good about the world. It's not just the book itself that's heavy (it's nearly 800 pages long); it's the story. After losing his mother in a terrorist attack on an art museum, the protagonist, Theo, spirals into depression, substance abuse, and criminal activity, haunted by both the memory of his mother and his unlawful possession of the priceless painting he rescued from the rubble of the bombed museum. Although the narrative is at times difficult to push through (Tartt probably could have trimmed a good 50 pages off the book's final length by simply paring back her descriptions of Theo's drug habit), its conclusion is a beautiful reward to the persevering reader. It is a profound story of suffering, redemption, and the transcendent power of art, and it is one I look forward to revisiting in the years to come.
Most Inspiring: Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
I probably would never have picked this up of my own volition, but one of the best parts of being in a book club is that you're forced to get into books you never would have discovered on your own. I tore through the first 160 pages in a matter of hours, stopping only to eat. Endurance tells the story of Ernest Shackleton, a 20th century explorer whose plan of crossing Antarctica on foot went horribly wrong. Against all odds, he led his crew back to civilization, crossing thousands of miles of the most treacherous region of the world in order to bring them all home.
As I was reading, I was continually impressed by the crew's optimistic spirit. Even though they had to contend with constant cold and damp, limited rations, and backbreaking work, they were simply grateful to be alive. Their story made me rethink my response the first world problems I so often complain about. Human beings are capable of enduring profound difficulty, but our endurance is largely contingent upon our ability to see the good in our circumstances and maintain our hopes for their improvement. If people who are losing toes to frostbite and eating seal blubber can look on the bright side, then surely I can as well.
Most Educational: Anything by Malcolm Gladwell
My father doesn't do a whole lot of reading for fun, so when he started raving about Malcolm Gladwell's books, I knew I had to read them for myself. Throughout the year, I worked my way through Blink, Outliers, David and Goliath, and about 3/4 of What the Dog Saw. A tremendous thinker and storyteller, Gladwell has quickly joined the ranks of my favorite writers. In each of his books, he weaves together statistics, stories, and studies in a way that challenges conventional thinking and promotes a nuanced understanding of the world. Although I have loved all his books so far (Tipping Point and Talking to Strangers are still TBR), David and Goliath has been my favorite thus far. Like my dad, I hope to collect all of Gladwell's gorgeous books so I can reread each one and lend them out to all my favorite people.
Most Surprising: The Boys in the Boat
I know nothing about rowing, and I've never particularly cared to change that. But The Boys in the Boat, the story of the American rowing team that won the 1936 Olympics, came highly recommended, so I decided to give it a try.
Let me tell you in case you haven't heard it from enough people: this book is phenomenal. I didn't expect to get into the story, but it was impossible to avoid getting invested in the team's journey to the Olympics. Brown brings a level of detail and energy to the writing that truly makes the story and characters come to life. I literally felt rushes of adrenaline during the intense racing sequences because of how well they had been written. To me, this story represents the best of the American spirit: determination, hard work, and dedication. Even if you're not big into sports, history, or nonfiction, you should give this book a shot. If you're anything like me, you'll find it well worth your while.
Most Overrated: Where the Crawdads Sing
“Sometimes," John Green writes in The Fault in Our Stars, "you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” Reading Where the Crawdads Sing, however, has convinced me that there are some books that produce the exact opposite effect: instead of trying to convince everyone you know to read this book, you feel compelled to keep it away from other people at all costs.
I know, I know – it was a runaway best-seller; everyone and their mother is reading it for book club; four people have probably already recommended it to you, including Reese Witherspoon. With only one exception, I too heard overwhelmingly positive reviews of this story of a girl from the marshes of North Carolina who grows up in isolation and must learn to survive on her own.
Having now read it for myself, I regret to inform you that Where the Crawdads Sing is easily one of the worst books I've ever read. While there are a few moments of genuinely nice writing (Owens is a former nature writer, so she knows how to describe a setting), the book on the whole is an absolute garbage fire, plagued by nonsensical plotting, wooden dialogue, unrealistic characters, a lack of any moral center and an absolutely infuriating conclusion. So if this book has been languishing on your TBR list, I would strongly encourage you to skip it.
There are so many books in the world, and none of us will ever read them all. But our hope is that we will, in our reading, discover the best ones and share them with one another.