The Best of Me by David Sedaris

Listening to this audiobook of hand-selected essays from Sedaris’ 27 years of published works is in turns hilarious and heart-breaking. He is just so good. #25wordbookreviews (amzn)

Help Thanks Wow by Anne Lamott

Anne’s audiobooks, which she narrates herself, are always comforting. This one’s not for everyone, but I enjoyed it. Good way to start the new year.

Vic’s Top Ten Books of 2019

2019 was a really solid year for reading. My life was up and down and all over the place and my aggressive goal of reading 80 books kept bringing me back to reading when a lot of the time all I wanted to do was surf the internet. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when surfing the internet is great, but I spent way too much unproductive time on it this year and I was glad to have the reading challenge nagging me back to books, which to me are more satisfying. In all I read 80 books, nearly 30% of which were on audio. My average rating on a 5 point scale was 3.6, which is naturally skewed because I usually don’t bother to finish books I don’t like which means very few 1s or 2s. I managed to stick with my goal of writing a short 25-word book review for most of the year but fell down on that in the last few months. It’s fun to do and a good memory prompt so I’m going to do it again in 2020.

Eighty is the highest goal I’ve ever set for my reading and I’m re-upping it again in 2020. In order to make it in 2019 I had to borrow a giant stack of graphic novels from the library in mid-December, knowing that I could read them faster than regular adult works. This too ended up being a great prompt. One of the books in my top 10 is a graphic novel (Good Talk) and I rated another three graphic novels 4 stars (Hey, Kiddo; The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt; My Brother’s Husband).

So, without further delay, here are my top ten books of 2019:

1. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
2. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
3. Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob
4. The River by Peter Heller
5. Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
6. The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
7. I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution by Emily Nussbaum
8. Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
9. It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying Is Cool Too) by Nora McInerny Purmort
10. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb

I’d love to hear what you enjoyed this year — after all, I’ve got 80 books to read!

Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

I wanted to understand why people are obsessed with true crime. The last chapter helped. It’s still not for me, but I kinda get it. #25wordbookreview (Amzn)

I Like to Watch by Emily Nussbaum

God, was this a great book. I didn’t realize how hungry I was to hear modern television discussed as the art form it really is. #25wordbookreviews (Amzn)

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

A few years ago I tried but couldn’t finish this. Just listened to it the whole way through to confirm it’s a rare Sedaris dud. #25wordbookreviews (link)

Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come by Jessica Pan

This very relatable author commits to overcoming her introversion over a year’s time. It’s basically my life — except I’m NEVER taking improv. Useful and entertaining. #25wordbookreviews (link)

Everybody Died, So I Got a Dog by Emily Dean

Slow start but once everyone did in fact start dying, it was a wonderful book. Perhaps I should stop reading memoirs about death and grief. #25wordbookreviews (link)

Life Will Be the Death of Me by Chelsea Handler

Normally not a Handler fan but I really enjoyed this audiobook where she discusses the death of her young brother and her introduction to therapy. #25wordbookreviews (link)

Eat, Drink, Run by Bryony Gordon

The idea of a fat woman running a marathon while still drinking and smoking lured me in but I stayed for the hilarious, lovely voice. #25wordbookreviews (link)