Book List: Books Read in 2019

Every January, I make a list of the books I read the past year. I usually read a 100+ and 2019 was the same. I read 104 books in 2019. Some were very short; some were very long. A few seemed longer than they were.

I'm trying to be less stingy about giving five stars. I've always reserved five for classics or a very few all-time favorites. I'm going start giving five stars for books I really enjoyed and would recommend generally; four for books I liked and would recommend to people who enjoy that type of book; three if I was lukewarm on it or if liked it personally, but wouldn't think of recommending it; two if I didn't like it; and one if I really didn't like it.

MY LIST OF 2019 BOOKS, IN THE ORDER I READ THEM

Educated by Tara Westover ⭐⭐⭐

The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, Book I) by Paul Scott ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Year of the French by Thomas Flanagan ⭐⭐⭐

The Day of the Scorpion (The Raj Quartet, Book II) by Paul Scott ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Year of Living Kindly: Choices That Will Change Your Life and the World Around You by Donna Cameron (my interview with Donna Cameron is here) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books by Karen Swallow Prior ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Towers of Silence (The Raj Quartet, Book III) by Paul Scott ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Henri, le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat by William Bradon ⭐⭐⭐

Slam by Nick Hornby ⭐⭐⭐ ½ 

The Girl from Oto by Amy Maroney (my interview with Amy Maroney is here) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Shame of Losing by Sarah Cannon (my interview with Sarah Cannon is here) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

An Affair with a House by Bunny Williams ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Tenth Man by Graham Greene ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Friend of My Springtime by Willa Cather ⭐⭐

Licking Flames: Tales of a Half-Assed Hussy by Diana Kirk (my interview with Diana Kirk is here) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Division of Spoils (The Raj Quartet, Book IV) by Paul Scott ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mark Hampton on Decorating by Mark Hampton ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

In the Woods by Tana French ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Staying On by Paul Scott (Booker Prize winner) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Blood, Salt, Water by Denise Mina ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tatiana by Martin Cruz Smith ⭐⭐⭐

Queen of Spades by Michael Shou-Yung Shum ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Headlong by Michael Frayn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Vengeance by Benjamin Black ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Robineau Look by Kathleen Moore Knight ⭐⭐⭐½ 

I'd Rather Be Reading: A Library of Art for Book Lovers by Guinevere De La Mare⭐⭐⭐⭐

Agents and Patients by Anthony Powell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson ⭐⭐⭐

Collected Poems: 1944-1979 (NYRB Poets) by Kingley Amis (including A Case of Samples, Poems 1946-1956 and A Look Round the Estate, Poems 1957-67) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Woman of Means by Peter Taylor ⭐⭐⭐½ 

Someone by Alice McDermott ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Poorhouse Fair by John Updike ⭐⭐⭐½ 

A Man of Property (The Forsyte Saga, Book I) by John Galsworthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In Chancery (The Forsyte Saga, Book II) by John Galsworthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Girl, 20 by Kingsley Amis ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante ⭐⭐

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis--and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance by Ben Sasse ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ 

To Let (The Forsyte Saga, Book III) by John Galsworthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Imitation Game by Ian McEwan ⭐⭐⭐

Wise Virgin by A. N. Wilson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Best of Friends by Joanna Trollope ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Sight for Sore Eyes by Ruth Rendell ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Uneasy Money by P. G. Wodehouse ⭐⭐⭐½ 

The Quiller Memorandum by Adam Hall ⭐⭐⭐½ 

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lila by Marilynne Robinson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold John le Carre ⭐⭐⭐

Set in Darkness by Ian Rankin ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Backwards in High Heels: The Impossible Art of Being Female by Tania Kindersley ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

There There by Tommy Orange ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lady Into Fox by David Garnett (James Tait Black Memorial Prize Winner) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery by Kyril Bonfiglioli ⭐⭐⭐

Conquests and Cultures: An International History by Thomas Sowell ⭐⭐⭐

Trove: A Woman's Search for Truth and Buried Treasure by Sandra A. Miller ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Power by Naomi Alderman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Something Special by Iris Murdoch ⭐⭐⭐

Dirty Friends by Morris Lurie ⭐⭐⭐

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Gift of a Letter: Giving the Gift of Ourselves -- Add Richness and Grace to Your Life Through the Art of Letter-writing by Alexandra Stoddard ⭐⭐⭐½ 

Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene Brown ⭐⭐⭐⭐

And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman ⭐⭐⭐½ 

Do the Windows Open? by Julie Hecht ⭐⭐⭐

The Dying Animal by Philip Roth ⭐⭐⭐½ 

Big Sky by Kate Atkinson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Little Book of Lykke: Secrets of the World’s Happiest People by Meik Wiking ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke ⭐⭐⭐

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Small Room by May Sarton ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Heart-Keeper by Françoise Sagan ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Abbess of Crewe by Muriel Spark ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Levels of Life by Julian Barnes ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Gourmands' Way: Six Americans in Paris and the Birth of a New Gastronomy by Justin Spring ⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's Hard to Be Hip Over Thirty and Other Tragedies of Married Life by Judith Viorst ⭐⭐⭐

The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

First Love by Joyce Carol Oates ⭐⭐⭐

The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mira's Way by Amy Maroney ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Birds of Wonder by Cynthia Robinson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Cat Abroad by Peter Gethers ⭐⭐⭐½ 

Rash by Lisa Kusel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Suitable Vengeance by Elizabeth George ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A. J. Jacobs ⭐⭐⭐½ 

Milkman by Anna Burns ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Professor's House by Willa Cather ⭐⭐⭐½ 

Shattered by Dick Francis ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Hunter by John Lescroart ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Before Lunch by Angella Thirkell ⭐⭐⭐½ 

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Final Verdict by Sheldon Siegel ⭐⭐⭐½

The Secret of Clouds by Alyson Richman

The Adults by Caroline Hulse ⭐⭐⭐⭐



NOTE

I usually link to amazon because I know I like to have a link to a book when I want more information about it and amazon is a clearinghouse of information. But I know some people dislike amazon. Please don't take offence. Feel free to find books and information wherever you chose.

Review: A Place in the World by Amy Maroney

A Place in the World by Amy Maroney (2019)

A Place in the World wraps up Amy Maroney's historical fiction series about a female Renaissance artist and the modern-day art historian on her trail. The story throughout the series moves between Mira, the Renaissance artist, to her modern-day counterpart, art historian Zari Durrell. Most of the action of Mira’s story takes place in the Pyrenees, along the pilgrim’s route of Camino de Santiago.

Mira was born into dangerous circumstances and her mother named her Miramonde, "one who sees the world." Growing up, she became known as Mira and set out to fulfill the promise of her name. She makes an admirable heroine, overcoming obstacles, dangers, and heartbreak that would challenge the most formidable spirit. Zari shares the same impulsive, curious nature and strong moral compass. The dual story line works well.

The series was inspired by a 500-year-old portrait of a mysterious woman at Oxford University attributed to female artist Caterina van Hemessen. Maroney wove historical research about women artists during the Renaissance with an adventure story to shine a light on these lost artists of the 16th Century. The books also explore the technical world of art conservation, which has evolved to the point where we can see beneath layers of paint and discover truths that have been buried for centuries.

In this last book, Maroney brings Mira and Zari’s adventure to a satisfying close. Like the first two books, A Girl from Oto and Mira’s Way, A Place in the World is fast-paced and the writing seems effortless. Maroney’s Miramonde series is storytelling at its best.


NOTES

Read my Rose City Reader interview with Amy Maroney here. Amy talks about her books, female artists, and what drew her to historical fiction. She also gives a list of her favorite authors and recent favorite books.

From the Publisher's Description:

1505: Pregnant and reunited with the love of her life, artist Mira survives a harrowing journey to the city of her dreams. But Bayonne is nothing like she imagined. Navigating a dangerous world ruled by merchants and bishops, she struggles to reignite her painting career. When an old enemy rises from the shadows, Mira’s life is thrown into chaos all over again—and she is faced with a shattering decision.

2016: Scholar Zari seizes the chance to return to Europe as a consultant for an art dealer. Overwhelmed by her job, she has little time to hunt for clues about Mira. But when art experts embrace a theory that Mira’s paintings are the work of a famous man, Zari must act. Racing against time, she travels to a windswept corner of Spain. What she discovers there solves the puzzle of Mira forever—and unlocks the secrets of Zari’s own past.

A thrilling tale of obsession, mystery, and intrigue, this mesmerizing saga will stay with you long after you read the last page.

Review: Celibate by Maria Giura

Celibate by Maria Giura, from Apprentice House Press (2019)

When she was a young woman, Maria Giura fell in love with a Catholic priest. In her new memoir, Celibate, Giura writes about their complicated, angry relationship and how it led her to finally find her true calling.

In working through her history with Father Infanzi, Giura writes about how she began to appreciate that neither partner in their relationship was all right or all wrong; everyone brings emotional wounds from youth into adult relationships. Unlike what she felt at the time, Giura came to understand that she was not a victim of circumstance or even God’s will, but that she had choices.

Writing her book – and figuring out the real truth about her relationship with the priest, her mother, others close to her, even her relationship with God – helped Giura grow up and leave behind a lot of anger. Giura tells her story with guts and grace.

Recommended for readers interested in stories about personal relationships, mother/daughter relationships, faith, the Catholic Church, and Italian American families.

NOTES

Read my Rose City Reader interview with Maria Giura here. Maria talked about her book, writing, and upcoming projects. She also gave a list of her favorite contemporary and classic memoirs by women dealing with crises of faith. It's worth checking out!

Publisher's Description:

When twenty-eight-year-old Maria Giura fell in love with Catholic priest Father James Infanzi, she had no idea how needy and angry they both were nor how complicated their attraction would become.

His attention seemed to fill the void left by her fractured family, but he also seemed to be a sign for her to finally face the celibate vocation she'd been running from ever since she first felt God's call. Celibate focuses on her ten-year struggle to let go of this priest, to heal from her childhood, and to finally embrace her true calling. Fiercely honest and tender, this memoir is ultimately a story about surrender, forgiveness, and facing one's deepest needs.

Book Review: Parentshift: Ten Universal Truths that Will Change the Way You Raise Your Kids

Parentshift: Ten Universal Truths that Will Change the Way You Raise Your Kids by Ty and Linda Hatfield and Wendy Thomas Russell from Brown Paper Press. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Parentshift offers a paradigm shift for parents looking for a different parenting style for raising kids. The authors looked at how American parents usually fall into two categories -- controlling or permissive. Controlling parents tend to set too many limits, place unreasonably high expectations, and fail to demonstrate enough empathy with their kids. Permissive parents go the other way by tending to be weak limit and boundary setters, expecting too little, and being empathetic to the fault of treating their children’s problems as their own.

This book teaches a distinct parenting style that the authors describe as heart-centered. Heart-centered parents set strong limits and boundaries, know how to genuinely empathize with their kids, and have high and reasonable expectations of them. The authors show how these skills are associated with children who are kind, confident, compassionate, capable, resilient, and healthy.

They also explain why most adults need to learn this parenting style because most were not raised in a heart-centered way themselves. That’s why they describe it as a paradigm shift and call the book Parentshift.

The book is not about being a "perfect" parent. It is structured as a practical guidebook, with explanations of each of the ten basic "truths" followed by common-sense exercises for how to apply the lessons in real life. It is not aimed at solving one particular problem or navigating one particular age. In fact, much of the book’s advice applies to getting along with adults as much as it does with parenting. Parentshift aims to help parents identify and address virtually any challenge at any age, although it probably would be most helpful for parents, grandparents, caregivers, and teachers of children around age three to five.


OTHER REVIEWS

Midwest Book Reviews
Foreword Reviews

If you would like your review of ParentShift listed here, leave me a comment with your link and I will add it.

Book Review: Trove by Sandra A. Miller

Trove: A Woman's Search for Truth and Buried Treasure by Sandra A. Miller, from Brown Paper Press

As a child, Sandra A. Miller gathered treasure. Stray buttons, pretty stones, even paper clips caught her magpie eye and found their way to her shoebox treasure chests. She carried her scavenger hunting habits into adulthood, finding herself one day, sometime in her forties, digging for pirate treasure in Brooklyn with a sexy man named David.

But Trove is memoir, not fiction. So reality nudges in to explain that the “pirate treasure” was buried by a couple of entrepreneurial puppeteers as a marketing stunt. Miller lives in Boston, a five-hour drive from Brooklyn, where her two kids wonder why their mom is not home with them. And her husband is getting exasperated with her buddy David now that this armchair treasure hunt has turned into an actual road trip. Is she searching for buried treasure or running away?

Miller explores these ideas and how her search for treasure has always been “an instinct born of yearning.” Her parents were volatile, often angry with each other and their two daughters, although always happy and popular with outsiders. Her father died when she was 19, before she felt a connection between them. Now Miller’s elderly mother is reaching her end, having never connected with Miller’s children or shown Miller motherly love.

Miller summed up her feelings like this:

Maybe it had to do with growing up lonely in a middle-class, Catholic family, being a fiery young girl forced to endure a home life as empty as that hollowed-out tree stump, with no promise of treasure underneath. And maybe that girl grew into a passionate woman who still obsessively believed her only chance for happiness was buried in some unknowable place.

The narrative flows effortlessly with a casual style that is introspective but never maudlin. Just when it was starting to feel exasperating that she didn’t tell her husband exactly what was on her mind, Miller brought her story to a conclusion most satisfyingly, even with a bit of a twist.

All in all, Trove is an excellent memoir. It would make a good book club pick. I would recommend it in particular for sandwich generation readers, women facing middle age, and those dealing with aging parents.


NOTES

This review will appear in the October 2019 edition of Midwest Book Review.