Best books of 2019

I love reading more than almost anything else on Planet Earth.

Is it something my parents did to me? Group reading was a mainstay activity in my house growing up—each of us nestled into a different part of the living room, silently turning papers and resisting the urge to read things out loud to one another (warning: no one else ever likes it as much as you do).

Is it part of my native personality? That too, I think. I’m a nerd, a seeker, a reformer. I wanted to make books as soon as I could read them—craving to be part of that sacred cycle of writers and readers.

In any case, here’s the best stuff I read in 2019 in case you’re gift-giving (make the extra effort to get to a local bookstore!) and/or have a special pocket of off-time coming up where you can snuggle up in a blanket and get lost in someone else’s words for awhile…

Best novel: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

I wanted to read this again as soon as I was finished—a feeling I rarely have. Vuong is a poet, so it’s best to let the language and the images wash over you, rather than being in a linear state of mind.

Best poetry collection: The Carrying by Ada Limon

I’ve fallen so in love with this poet. I’m devouring everything she’s written, but it started with this book. Her work is good for everyone, because it’s about everything, but I really appreciate her treatment of being a woman who is not a mother and what that feels like, in particular.

Best nonfiction: Ghosts in the Schoolyard by Eve Ewing

I read at least two-dozen books about education and equity this year, as that’s what I’m writing about, and this is the one that I couldn’t get out of my head. Ewing, also a poet (apparently I’ve got a thing for them), writes about a school closing in her hometown of Chicago and manages to raise important socio-political issues while not losing the deep spiritual and emotional thread.

Best old book worth re-visiting: The Hidden Wound by Wendell Berry

Speaking of Chicago, I stumbled on this during a rare hour along in a used bookstore in Chicago (shout out to Open Books!) and was overwhelmed with how good and prescient it is about race in America, despite having been written many decades ago. I’ve always loved Wendell Berry, but I didn’t realize he had this kind of range.

Best children’s book: Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

The best book I know, aimed at kids or otherwise, on what anti-capitalist, communal generosity as a renewable resource actually feels like.

Best magazine you’ve maybe never heard of: The Sun

Full of gorgeous personal essays, and one fascinating in-depth interview, it’s totally worth a subscription.

(If you don’t follow me on Instagram, you might not know that I often obsessively and quirkily document my reading of the print New York Times on Sundays. That’s today. If you want to follow me, I’m at @courtwrites. I’ve been surprised by how many people tell me they are into it?!)