Best of 2019Like this list

17 items

1. 1. In the Dream House

   a Memoir

   Machado, Carmen Maria,

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   My most anticipated book of 2019 surpassed my expectations (and they were pretty high). The way Machado tells her story by playing with form allows it to sneak up on you and swallow you whole.

2. 2. Ghost Wall

   Moss, Sarah,

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   Moss gives us a chilling look at the cost of reliving "the good old days". I blazed through it in one breathless sitting.

3. 3. The Need

   a Novel

   Phillips, Helen, 1981-

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   The less you know about this book, the better. It starts with an adrenaline rush and then drops you in a totally unexpected, very weird, but fascinating place.

4. 4. 1919

   Poems

   Ewing, Eve L.,

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5. 5. Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea

   Stories

   Pinsker, Sarah,

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   The plots of these stories are fascinating and fresh but the complex characters were what really stuck with me.

6. 6. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?

   Big Questions From Tiny Mortals About Death

   Doughty, Caitlin,

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   You might not want to admit it, but you definitely want to know the answers the these questions. Are you drinking dead people in your water? Will Fluffy sample your corpse?

7. 7. Lost Children Archive

   a Novel

   Luiselli, Valeria, 1983-

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   Luiselli perfectly captures the pervasive feeling of the world falling apart and what we do to preserve the things that matter to us. This is a beautiful, multi-layered story that would be perfect for book clubs.

8. 8. Gideon the Ninth

   Muir, Tamsyn,

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   My inner goth cried tears of joy throughout this locked room murder mystery filled with skeletons and queer necromancers.

9. 9. A People's Future of the United States

   Speculative Fiction From 25 Extraordinary Writers

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   Our marginalized communities have already survived and thrived during some pretty bleak times. Who better to speculate on our uncertain future than them?

10. 10. Magic for Liars

    Gailey, Sarah,

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    This spoke to the part of my heart that always hoped for that letter from Hogwarts. What if you knew magic existed but just didn't have it?

11. 11. Mostly Dead Things

    a Novel

    Arnett, Kristen N.,

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    I love reading about people who don't quite have their lives together. I sometimes wanted to shake Jessa-Lynn out of frustration, but who hasn't deserved a good shake once or twice in their lives?

12. 12. Middlewest. Book 1

    Young, Skottie,

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    I picked this comic up for the art but got sucked in by the adventure. Also, there's a snarky talking fox sidekick.

13. 13. How We Fight for Our Lives

    a Memoir

    Jones, Saeed,

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    It feels like a bold move to write a memoir when you're still so young, but Jones's writing has an urgency that the world needs right now.

14. 14. When I Arrived at the Castle

    Carroll, Emily,

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    Carroll's distinctive art is a perfect companion for her almost-fable. It took a couple reads to sink in, but I loved it even more the second time around.

15. 15. The Twisted Ones

    Kingfisher, T.,

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    This is a suspenseful folk horror that went somewhere I never would've expected. There's also a really great dog friend that makes it out alive and well!

16. 16. How to Hide An Empire

    a History of the Greater United States

    Immerwahr, Daniel, 1980-

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    I thought a history book this thick would be impossibly dry, but it was truly eye-opening. There's so much history here that goes untaught, to our future's great detriment.

17. 17. False Bingo

    Stories

    Jemc, Jac, 1983-

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    Jemc expertly subverts our expectations with each story. The last line of more than one story made me actually shout in surprise.