2019, in Books

Again that time of the year when I try to cram in as much reading as possible in the last week of the year, and still attempt to spend time with my family and friends (I plan my India visits to be in December, mostly). Also the time of the year when I look back at the books I read and plan on the themes for next year's reading.   

Per my Year in Books stats that Goodreads gives, I've finished reading 71 books in 2019, with an average of 296 pages per book. 

Though I am pretty pleased with these stats (let's face it, I love numbers), especially given how often we traveled this year, and the frequent binges on Netflix that I've been on (thank you, Jane The Virgin and Breaking Bad!), the fact is - I read in numbers because I aspire to have at least 10% of my overall books read in an year as takeaways - books I can think of fondly or recommend or re-read. If I have met this goal, I rate the year as a productive one. Turns out, this year has been good :-) 

Here is the list of books I read in 2019 that have stayed with me through the year, and maybe beyond, in the order of when I finished reading them. 

1. Haruki Murakami's Killing Commendatore - As a self-diagnosed Murakami nerd, it wasn't a surprise that I loved this book, but this is truly a well written book. To be honest, there are a few plot holes when I thought to think about this later, but I loved how gripping the entire book was and the detailed portrayal of all the protagonists.
2. South of the Border, West of the Sun by Murakami - After reading Killing Commendatore, I wanted more of Murakami, and picked up this one. Absolutely loved reading this love story!
3. Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee - Discovering Lee with Pachinko was a pleasure, and I am very glad for that coz Lee is definitely one of my favorite authors. I love her narration of multi-generational families weaving other protagonists as she goes on with the lead's story arc - this is exactly what she does in this book too. Almost six months since I read this book, I find myself sometimes thinking of Casey Han and Ella Shim, and wishing I still had more of this book to read. By now, Lee has also made me want to write like her, and for this, I am grateful.
4. Around the World in 80 Trees by Jonatha Drori - This book is one of the best books I read this year. I savored this book for more than an year, reading about one tree at once and taking in all the information and illustrations. This book also makes for a great gift to others, especially nature lovers.
5. In Exile from the Land of Snows by John F. Avedon - One of the saddest and difficult books I will ever read, I could feel my stomach lurch or my tears roll down as I read on, chapter after chapter, night after night. I could not put the book down, because I was on a quest to know how bad it was for the Tibetans from the Chinese, and I could not continue reading because it was taking a lot from me. In spite of these feelings, I will strongly recommend this book for anyone seeking to know the truth about Tibet, and a lot of information on Tibetan medicine, mysticism,  CCP's tactics to take over Tibet in all.
6. Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams - This book is on the list for a couple of reasons - I picked it up as I headed on my trip to Peru, and this book had some details on history which gave me more context on Cusco and Machu Picchu. I was also hiking up the Inca Trail, so through Adams' elaborate hikes with his guide I learnt a lot about the Inca trail system and the ruins that we had missed on our hike. I'd also gift this book to any hiker friend preparing to go on the Inca trail. 
7. Nick Hornby's The Pollysyllabic Spree and More Baths, Less Talking - I discovered that I love Hornby's writing, and these books were brilliant reads - not too heavy to make me go spirals figuring out the subject of the essays, not too light to be filed under guilty reads. 
8. The Royal Road to Romance by Richard Halliburton - Halliburton was a reco that I am glad I took. A true globe-trotter back before travel for pleasure wasn't even a thing, Halliburton had adventures in exotic places, which though look unbelievable also are inspiring. I loved reading what Halliburton had to say about the places he visited - I've even filed away a few to my Must-Travel list. 
9. The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar by Matt Simon - Another brilliant non-fiction read with tonnes of information about the animal kingdom, I think I will get my own copy soon!
10. The Ministry of Pain by Dubravka Ugrešić - Ugrešić was a great discovery for me, and she opened me to the pains of refugees fleeing the Baltic war. Their homesickness and yearning for the motherland and language tugged at my heartstrings. This is a must read for anyone who loves their mother tongue and native literature.  
11. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - This one gets a strong reco from me, purely for the joy it brought to my heart through the entire duration of reading it. I loved every protagonist in this book! This also makes for a great gift for young adults, especially the ones that like to read. 
12. New York, Life in the Big City by Will Eisner - Eisner is a genius in his trade, and now I know why. I had to resist the urge to run my fingers through the drawings because that is how expressive they were all. 
13. Educated by Tara Westover - This memoir talks about the author's incredible life and journey from a survivalist family to being a history scholar in Cambridge. This book is filled with many incredulous titbits about the Westover family, but the ones that stuck with me are how the author first discovered Holocaust, Feminism and the Civil Rights Movement. 
14. An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine - Reading a Lebanese author was a first for me, but that's not why this book is on this list. This book is written for a book and literature lover, and the Lebanese civil war and Aaliya's experiences as she lives through it all and translates one new book every year is the perfect backdrop for her to reminisce about the books and authors she likes. Must read if you love books :-) 

Some of the things I want to do next year are - 

1. Try to re-read some of my favorites. I have been thinking about this for years, I sometimes read a chapter or two that I love and remember from these books and I tell myself that I want to read the book soon, but I never get back to it. The reason is partly because I forget, and because there are always a lot of books checked out from the library and I am in a hurry to return them and so have to finish reading them, but another reason is the numbers game - I want to get a good no. of books read in a given year, for myself. So in 2020, I want to still maintain a decent number of books read (am thinking of a goal of 60 books), but also to reread a few favorites. If I give up on binge watching TV series and give the otherwise planned 60-90 min every evening to books, then this should be doable.
2. I want to revisit the theme to read books set in difference countries. I learnt a great deal when I did the 50 books from 50 countries challenge a few years ago, and I want to pick up something similar, but with a smaller target in 2020. 
3. There is this 52 books in 52 weeks challenge that I came across on Goodreads and this looks interesting, so I might follow this as much as I can. 

How has your 2019 been, reading-wise? Got any interesting recommendations for me? :-)