Books I Read in 2019

Posting this a little late because it was a busy January.

I was honestly surprised to see that I actually read fewer physical books this year than last year! I suppose it’s because I did so much reading for school in the first half of 2019 (several books, none of which I included in this list) so I slowed down in the second half. But still, ya know? Excuses, excuses. I still believe that audiobooks are just as legitimate as print editions, but the imbalance represented here is a bit embarrassing. Audio files aren’t going to clear my shelves of unread books. I am proud to say that I cancelled my Audible subscription at the end of last year. I do, however, still have some unused credits on my account.

This year, I continued my journey through Stephen King’s fictional town of Castle Rock with Cujo, The Dark Half, The Sun Dog, Elevation, and The Dead Zone (although, I would learn, only about 10 percent of this one takes place in CR). I read four non-fiction books, one audio lecture, three short audiobooks, one graphic novel, two novellas, and 10 novels. I loved all four of the non-fiction books I read and they will stick with me. I would say my favorite fiction books were There There and Foundation. I really didn’t like Dune (read below). I’m looking forward to my year in books 2020.

Look, this is my second year posting about my previous year’s reading list and I gotta be honest, I’m mostly doing this for me. When I look back years from now, I want to remember what I read in what year and how it impacted me. I post this online and on social media because it pushes me to be bold and honest. I’m not trying to get a bunch of attention by posting online, but keeping it cooped up on my laptop seems silly. I’m also secretly hoping for a few good conversations out of this. So if you can relate to any of my commentary or you’ve read one of the books I have, lemme know!

Real Actual Physical Books

1. Cujo, Stephen King: King crafts a detailed thriller over a few days in which a woman and her child are trapped by an enormous rabid dog. The level of detail is what makes it so creepy.
2. There There, Tommy Orange: What a beautifully intricate novel of characters tracing lines across time and place. Orange is honest and real. Painful truths and indigenous excellence all rolled into a well-crafted story.
3. Foundation, Isaac Asimov: Good sci-fi picks at questions of morality and philosophy by examining the friction between science, technology, society, culture, law, and human frailty and fallibility. Asimov does this expertly and concisely. It makes sense, but I’m still amazed to think that he wrote Foundation only a few years after the end of World War II. I can’t wait to read more by him.
4. Prophetic Lament, Soong-Chan Rah: Technically, I didn’t finish this book until a few days into 2020. But man, a lot of the ideas in this book were heavy so I needed to take breaks every few chapters. Essentially, the white American Christian church (of which I am a member) must do a better job of lamenting, hearing the other, and caring about more than just saving individual souls.

Electronic

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling: It was fun re-reading this childhood favorite. I think I read this book nine times in my youth. This time around I noticed how well the story is structured and how well Rowling turns a phrase or moves the characters with ease to keep a quick pace.
2. Dark Matter, Blake Crouch: Macro superposition and alternate timelines made this story interesting. The writing is cheesy and the love story felt hollow, unrealistic. But the rapid fire pace drove the plot forward and kept me flipping through the pages. It also benefited from a lull in my schedule that permitted me to focus on it for a couple days.
3. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates: The writing is so powerful. I highlighted most of the book. Interesting that Coates equates the body with the “soul,” making any violation of the body a spiritual offense. In his view, the history of America is full of offenses against black bodies; it was founded upon them. I don’t disagree.
4. The Gunslinger Born, Stephen King: A graphic novel, my first in the gunslinger saga. It’s kinda corny, but undeniably fun because of its western appeal. I’m looking forward to falling into the SK multiverse.
5. Elevation (novella), Stephen King: A wonderful story about respecting others. King returns to Castle Rock with a sad/funny situation.
6. The Sun Dog (short story/novella), Stephen King: What a strange little story about a cursed camera. Reminded me of Say Cheese and Die by R.L. Stine. Funny justice against a usurer (I learned a new word!).

Audiobooks

1. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho: Great storytelling. Jeremy Irons was a great reader. It’s a very inspiring and motivating tale, but the message about following your heart requires a bit of naïveté. The world is not “for you.” I think this idea that, “when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” is a bit dangerous to put in the minds of young readers. However, the themes of having a dream, doing what you love, pursuing your goals, and not giving up are admirable. I mostly enjoyed the historical and biblical references throughout the story.
2. Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari: OMG this book is so eye opening. Harari reviews our history in the context of communication, trust, religion, capitalism, and more. A stellar look back at human history. I will definitely read it again.
3. The Dispatcher, John Scalzi: (Free short from Audible.) Very interesting and fast paced sci-fi mystery. What if the only way to die was of natural causes?
4. The Dark Half, Stephen King: Not his best, but still gripping tension and realistic characters. A dark character from a writer’s thriller novels comes to life and threatens to…kill him? Odd choice.
5. Zero G, Dan Wells: (Free short from Audible.) Young reader sci-fi novel about a kid on a journey to a new planet. He learns bravery, trust, and strategic thinking. Fun and dorky.
6. Rosewater, Tade Thompson: Incredible sci-fi steeped in biology and botany. It’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers spread out over decades. Some of the storylines felt unnecessary.
7. The Story of Human Language, John McWhorter: This is actually a lecture series, not a book. It was fun to revisit the world of historical linguistics, which I got a taste of in my undergraduate studies nearly 10 years ago.
8. Dune, Frank Herbert: (Simul-read in physical form.) Honestly, I don’t understand why this is such a beloved classic. Some of the philosophical ideas in the chapter prologues (presented as excerpts from fictional pieces of in-world literature) were thought provoking, but overall the author sounded like someone who wants to sound profound but is truly speaking out of ignorance. It’s a white savior story with zero conflict between the hero and the indigenous people. The writing is terrible. The narrator relies too much on characters’ inner monologue. The science was lacking. The characters were dull, flat, basic. I just don’t get it. I am hoping the movie later this year will take what is interesting about this story and make it a worthwhile film.
9. Moneyball, Michael Lewis: (Simul-read in digital form.) I freaking loved this book. I learned a lot about baseball. Found the origins of statistical analysis to be one of the most interesting aspects of the story.
10. Peter Pan, James Barrie: (Free short from Audible.) I didn’t care for it. Too fanciful will little to no redeeming qualities. Similar in nature to Alice in Wonderland. What’s the point?
11. The Dead Zone, Stephen King: Another one down in the list of King stories that take place in Castle Rock, however only about 10 percent of this story is set there. I liked the story, which wrestles with some of the difficult, practical implications inherent in the question, “If you could go back in time and kill Hitler, would you?” How? When? What are the other options? Would you get away with it? Could you deal with being the only one to know the evils avoided? The characters were quite charming, although I felt like some of the decisions Johnny made were a bit inconsistent with who he is. I also like that it’s not quite as gory as some of King’s other writings.

Books I Gave Up On or Otherwise Didn’t Finish

1. The Cuckoo’s Calling, Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling): (digital) It dragged and dragged and dragged. I didn’t care about the characters or the story at all.
2. Killing Floor, Lee Child: (digital) A ridiculous portrait of masculine fantasy. I was rolling my eyes every other page. Too bad, because it had an interesting set-up and plotline. It was a good mystery with quick-paced story-telling that kept me reading, but the book was due back to the library and it didn’t feel worth re-borrowing because the first person narrator/protagonist was such an unbearably buff macho tough guy.
3. Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann: (print edition) I honestly don’t know why I haven’t finished this book yet! I’ve started it twice. It’s embarrassing because I freakin’ love it. And it was a gift from a friend from like two years ago! It’s so good it’s intimidating. I’m afraid to read it and forget it, so I end up never getting past half-way. But this year, 2020, I will read it all the way through! (Update: February 19, 2020 — I finished Killers of the Flower Moon and I’m just outraged. Great investigative storytelling, though.)