Favorite Books Read In 2019

A back dated post from my old website (RIP hacked/dead alexmanderson.com url).

I know I’m not going to be the only person who looks back on 2019 as a dividing line in their life. The pandemic in 2020 is the obvious line, but looking back for myself, 2019 was the end and beginning of many new chapters (sorry).

At the begining of 2019 Didi and I were in our early 30’s living in an appartment in Seattle.

At the end of 2019 we married and traveled easily on a plane for the last time (unbeknownst to us) to Hawaii for our honeymoon.

2020 is when the pandemic happened and at the end of the year Didi found out she was pregnant.

2021 was one of pregnancy and early baby Augie.

2022 mostly revolved around Augie and keeping him away from all the sickos.

Also in 2022 we moved away from Seattle to Port Townsend and somehow I turned 35.

Now as I am writing this post I can see 2019 was the last time I would live normally in Seattle, commuting daily to-and-from work on a bus, as a non-married, childless individual.

All of that is just to say that when I look back at the books I read during 2019 it feels like I’m looking back at books read from a decade ago, in a different life.

Something else I’m sure I will be saying as I continue going backwards in time is that my memories of the books themselves becomes more and more hazy. I swear I was paying attention at the time, but now, other than general plot points I can’t remember anything. So for my rankings I’m mostly just going with how I remember feeling about them at the time and ones that have sat with me well over the years. But also I’m sure a reread of any would alter my thinking.

Ranked below in descending order are 14 of the 32 titles I read and enjoyed the most in 2019.

Favorite Books Read In 2019