Favorite Reads from 2019
We were on vacation last week in Calabria -- the toe of the boot of Italy. Tom was taking a charcuterie course at the Italian Culinary Institute and I spent some time relaxing and sightseeing. I started to work on this blog post while on vacation and wanted to hurry up and get it posted before January is over.
Similar to 2018 I wanted to do a final blog post to roll up my reading in 2019. I read 24 books for the Read Harder Challenge in 2019 and I did three blog posts. If you want to go back and read the posts here are the links:
Has This All Happened Before (February 3, 2019)
Another Year...Another Book Challenge (August 25, 2019)
Challenge Complete (November 17, 2019)
I read an additional 40 books in 2019 bringing my grand total to 64.
Similar to 2018 I wanted to do a final blog post to roll up my reading in 2019. I read 24 books for the Read Harder Challenge in 2019 and I did three blog posts. If you want to go back and read the posts here are the links:
Has This All Happened Before (February 3, 2019)
Another Year...Another Book Challenge (August 25, 2019)
Challenge Complete (November 17, 2019)
I read an additional 40 books in 2019 bringing my grand total to 64.
58 percent of the books I read were by women - 37/27
64 percent were nonfiction books - 41/23 (Still my go-to genre)
72 percent of the books I read were library books - 46/18 (Let's hear it for library books!)
Most read author of the year: Maria von Trapp (3)
I went on a bit of a Maria von Trapp kick early in the year. I read The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, A Family on Wheels, and Maria. I enjoyed all her books and learned a great deal about the family and their life in America after fleeing Austria during World War II. They did a tremendous amount of traveling as a family, singing and doing ministry work, and then they built a music camp near their home in Vermont.
Favorite new (to me) author: Kate DiCamillo
64 percent were nonfiction books - 41/23 (Still my go-to genre)
72 percent of the books I read were library books - 46/18 (Let's hear it for library books!)
Most read author of the year: Maria von Trapp (3)
I went on a bit of a Maria von Trapp kick early in the year. I read The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, A Family on Wheels, and Maria. I enjoyed all her books and learned a great deal about the family and their life in America after fleeing Austria during World War II. They did a tremendous amount of traveling as a family, singing and doing ministry work, and then they built a music camp near their home in Vermont.
Favorite new (to me) author: Kate DiCamillo
I had never heard of Kate DiCamillo until watching an author talk by one of my favorites, Ann Patchett, late last year. Ann tells the backstory of her new novel The Dutch House and during that shares a story about meeting Kate and reading her entire backlist of work. Two of the books mentioned caught my interest - Because of Winn Dixie and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I read both of them - Winn Dixie twice - and loved them.
Author I fell in love with: Tembi Locke author of From Scratch
Author I fell in love with: Tembi Locke author of From Scratch
This book is a bit of everything that I love -- it's a beautifully written memoir that features an inspiring love story, love of food (with recipes), Italy (and a pretty special Sicilian mama), finding ones family through adoption (figuratively and literally), and also tackles the pretty serious topic of processing grief and the loss of a spouse/lover/father. Tembe's book is being turned into a limited series for Netflix starting Zoe Saldana. Can't wait!
Author who surprised me: Dean Koontz author of A Big Little Life
Author who surprised me: Dean Koontz author of A Big Little Life
Dean Koontz probably falls into sci-fi, horror, thriller categories -- genres I don't typically read but I did recognize his name when I saw A Big Little Life in my parents' library when I was home for the holidays. The book is the story of Trixie, Dean and Gerda Koontz's first dog - a Golden Retriever and medically-retired service dog. Trixie - a suspected angel on earth - changed their lives in so many ways and I loved her story. Definitely worth checking out for all those pet-lovers out there.
Book that was the most striking or author who took biggest risk: Julie Powell for Cleaving
There are probably more people who have seen the film Julie and Julia starting Meryl Streep and Amy Adams (a movie I love!) than have read the books that the movie is based on - Julie and Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme. I have actually read both books and I know for those who read Julie's first book, Cleaving was probably a bit of a shock to the system. It is another memoir, that happens in the years following the success of Julie and Julia. Her marriage is in trouble; she's in an extra-marital affair; she decides she wants to learn how to butcher and finds a shop north of New York City where she can apprentice during the week. The book is as raw as the animals she is learning to butcher. It feels like she is being split open and she shares all of it on the page. The book is beautiful written but if you are expecting another Julie and Julia -- you are in for a surprise. I think it's Liz Gilbert who says, 'Write the book you need to write.' Not the one that's safe. Not the one that's going to be more commercial but the one that you need to write for your soul. And that's exactly what Julie did. Brava.
Book with the best backstory: Lara Prescott for The Secrets We Kept
Follow this link to watch a brief video where Lara tells the story behind The Secrets We Kept. I loved the fact that she was named after Lara from Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago. As an adult and aspiring novelist, her father sends her an article about CIA records being declassified that describe how the novel was used by Americans during the Cold War. This sets her on the journey to writing her first novel. Very good read.
Looking over the books I read in 2019 there were some common themes. I read some biographies related to the Presidential race. Pete Buttigieg’s Shortest Way Home, Kamala Harris’ The Truths We Hold, and Elizabeth Warren’s A Fighting Chance. I plan on reading Andrew Yang's book this year.
As I'm currently living in Italy it seems only appropriate that some of my reading was focused on Italy. 2019 reading included Dianne Hales’ La Bella Lingua, Justine van der Leon’s Marcus of Umbria, Elizabeth Minchilli’s Eating Rome, Sheryl Ness’ Love in a Tuscan Kitchen, and Tembi Locke’s From Scratch. On the To Be Read (TBR) pile for 2020 is Hales' new release La Passione and Frances Mayes' new book See You in the Piazza.
So far I'm off to a bit of a slow start in the reading departing but I have already finished my first book for the Book Riot Read Harder 2020 Challenge. I read The English Assassin by Daniel Silva for 'Read a mystery where the victim(s) is not a woman.'
I recently started following Whitney Conard @theunreadshelf on Instagram and I really like her challenges and focus on helping book lovers tackle their TBR piles. First step -- find out how many unread books you actually have on your shelves. Well I did my tally tonight and we are at 153. I say 'we' because a few of those are Tom's books but realistically only about 5. This year I'll see if I can take a dozen or so books off the list. Wish me luck!
Happy Reading Everyone and Happy New Year!! Or Buon Anno as they say here in Italy.
Book that was the most striking or author who took biggest risk: Julie Powell for Cleaving
There are probably more people who have seen the film Julie and Julia starting Meryl Streep and Amy Adams (a movie I love!) than have read the books that the movie is based on - Julie and Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme. I have actually read both books and I know for those who read Julie's first book, Cleaving was probably a bit of a shock to the system. It is another memoir, that happens in the years following the success of Julie and Julia. Her marriage is in trouble; she's in an extra-marital affair; she decides she wants to learn how to butcher and finds a shop north of New York City where she can apprentice during the week. The book is as raw as the animals she is learning to butcher. It feels like she is being split open and she shares all of it on the page. The book is beautiful written but if you are expecting another Julie and Julia -- you are in for a surprise. I think it's Liz Gilbert who says, 'Write the book you need to write.' Not the one that's safe. Not the one that's going to be more commercial but the one that you need to write for your soul. And that's exactly what Julie did. Brava.
Book with the best backstory: Lara Prescott for The Secrets We Kept
Follow this link to watch a brief video where Lara tells the story behind The Secrets We Kept. I loved the fact that she was named after Lara from Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago. As an adult and aspiring novelist, her father sends her an article about CIA records being declassified that describe how the novel was used by Americans during the Cold War. This sets her on the journey to writing her first novel. Very good read.
Looking over the books I read in 2019 there were some common themes. I read some biographies related to the Presidential race. Pete Buttigieg’s Shortest Way Home, Kamala Harris’ The Truths We Hold, and Elizabeth Warren’s A Fighting Chance. I plan on reading Andrew Yang's book this year.
As I'm currently living in Italy it seems only appropriate that some of my reading was focused on Italy. 2019 reading included Dianne Hales’ La Bella Lingua, Justine van der Leon’s Marcus of Umbria, Elizabeth Minchilli’s Eating Rome, Sheryl Ness’ Love in a Tuscan Kitchen, and Tembi Locke’s From Scratch. On the To Be Read (TBR) pile for 2020 is Hales' new release La Passione and Frances Mayes' new book See You in the Piazza.
So far I'm off to a bit of a slow start in the reading departing but I have already finished my first book for the Book Riot Read Harder 2020 Challenge. I read The English Assassin by Daniel Silva for 'Read a mystery where the victim(s) is not a woman.'
I recently started following Whitney Conard @theunreadshelf on Instagram and I really like her challenges and focus on helping book lovers tackle their TBR piles. First step -- find out how many unread books you actually have on your shelves. Well I did my tally tonight and we are at 153. I say 'we' because a few of those are Tom's books but realistically only about 5. This year I'll see if I can take a dozen or so books off the list. Wish me luck!
Happy Reading Everyone and Happy New Year!! Or Buon Anno as they say here in Italy.
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