Because I read more books this year than I had in any recent year, paring down my list of the year’s favorites was much harder than usual. I always try to reduce the list of 10 best and 5 honorable mentions, but this year I couldn’t decide which should be the final title to get moved from best to honorable mention. I therefore present 11 best and 4 honorable mentions, although the differences between the two groups are indeed very slight.
As always, these are the best books I read this year, regardless of when they were published. They’re listed alphabetically by author’s last name.
Best
Crouch, Blake. Recursion: A Novel
Franklin, Ruth. Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life
Harper, Jane. The Lost Man
Kim, Angie. Miracle Creek
Lippman, Laura. Lady in the Lake
Michaelides, Alex. The Silent Patient
Obama, Michelle. Becoming
Quinn, Kate. The Alice Network
Reid, Taylor Jenkins. Daisy Jones & The Six
Turton, Stuart. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad
Honorable Mention
Berney, Lou. November Road
Dugoni, Robert. My Sister’s Grave
Kushner, Rachel. The Mars Room
McTiernan, Dervla. The Ruin
You can find links to lists of the best books I read each year from 1996 to 2019 on the Year’s Best Books page.
© 2019 by Mary Daniels Brown
