I read more books in 2019 than I have in any single year of my adult life. By quite a lot. In fact, it probably rivaled the number of books I read between leaving college and the end of 2018. I read enough that I could make make top 5 lists of series, novels, and shorter fiction I read in 2019.
Most of what I read this year is fantasy, but I did also read some science fiction and other forms of speculative fiction. Specifically, I read much of Brandon Sanderson’s work this year, so you will see him pop up a few times in these lists.
Here are the Top 5 Novels I read in 2019:
Novels
To qualify for this list, a book had to not be part of a qualifying series for the series list. That being said, only one of the five books on this list is wholly standalone, without any connections, tie-ins, or intended sequels. What can I say, I like long-form storytelling.
I also included a couple of classic novels I read this year in an Honorable Mentions section at the end, so that I didn’t have to consider their “classic” status when deciding on a top 5.
5. Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson
Warbreaker is one of the standalone novels in Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere fantasy universe (though it will likely get a sequel at some point). In it, Sanderson pulls off something that is not easy to do: tell a secondary world fantasy story, complete with worldbuilding, elaborate magic systems, a complete plot, and full character arcs, in a single novel.
It follows the stories of two sisters, princesses. The older one had been promised as a bride to the God-King of a neighboring kingdom as a baby, but her father, unable to part with his favorite child, sends his youngest daughter in her stead. These two young women must then adjust to missions that they never prepared for: the younger to serve as a bride to the terrible God-King, and the older to strike out on her own and attempt to rescue her sister.
If you are looking for a fantasy read, but aren’t sure if you want to commit to a series, this is a great book to read. It is also great as an introduction to Brandon Sanderson as an author.
4. Black Leopard, Red Wolf, by Marlon James
This book was a difficult one to read. It was dense, and strange, and expected the reader to do all the work of understanding what was going on. Still, it made me want to understand, to explore, to experience this strange nightmarish world.
In this book, we listen to the story of Tracker (the titular Red Wolf) as he recounts his life to an Inquisitor from his jail cell. What the Inquisitor wants to know is what happened to a child that Tracker was hired to find. We get that answer in the first lines: “The child is dead. There is nothing left to know.” But what happened to the child isn’t really what this book is about. It is about family and disappointment, grief and guilt.
This is not a book I can recommend generally. It is violent and disturbing. It requires a lot of emotional and intellectual work to read. But if none of those things put you off from reading it, I would love to have someone to discuss it with.
3. The Power, by Naomi Alderman
What would the world look like if some piece of biology changed, turning women into the physically dominant sex?
This is the question asked by The Power. What makes it especially interesting is that the whole book is written as a historical fiction by a scholar thousands of years in the future, but the narrative is in our own near future. This is made more interesting by the fact that the scholar is a male scholar who is questioned and condescended to by his female colleague over the historical accuracy of his depictions of gender roles in the past.
In the main story (the one that takes place in our near future), women develop the ability to emit an electric current from their bodies. This puts them in the position of being physically dominant over men. We watch as this has huge repercussions on societies around the world, causing upheaval and a complete restructuring of the social order.
There are parts of this book that can be a little hard to read, but it is a powerful piece of fiction, so I would definitely recommend it.
2. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, by Hank Green
Most of the books I read in 2019 were set in worlds not our own, whether they be fantasy worlds where magic is real, planets other than Earth, or Earth itself, but with some radical difference that makes it only somewhat resemble the place we live.
A few, however, were books about the strange coming in and changing our world, or about us changing our world in strange ways. And none of these captured our current modern world more than An Absolutely Remarkable Thing.
In it, April May, our Millennial protagonist, stumbles onto a strange metal statue on a New York street corner. She immediately calls up her friend so they can make a video with the statue, which they name Carl. The video goes viral, but no one knows where Carl, or the other sixty-three identical Carls that appeared simultaneously around the world, came from.
This story explores the impact, both good and bad, of the social internet. It looks at how communities can be formed, but also the psychological toll it can take. It illustrates how information is more accessible than ever, but how misinformation can spread just as fast. In a world where social media is the single biggest influencer of politics and discourse, this book feels important. It may not be as technically proficient as some of the other books on this list (it is Hank Green’s debut novel), but it is one I recommend for just about everyone.
1. The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, is a classic speculative fiction book that is currently three seasons into its television adaptation.
This past fall, thirty-four years after The Handmaid’s Tale was published, Margaret Atwood released a sequel, The Testaments. And it is amazing.
Set quite a few years after the first book, and following three characters who are not Offred, The Testaments gives us a much more in-depth look into this dystopian world. The scope is bigger, the style is different, and it is a different type of story, but there is no doubt that we are back in the horrifying theocratic state of Gilead. And one of the POV characters is Aunt Lydia.
Atwood’s handling of Aunt Lydia, of her internal debates and rationalizations, of her backstory, is some of the best character work I’ve ever read. It sparked an intense debate between my wife and me about what makes a person bad, versus just amoral.
I am going to commit a little bit of blasphemy here and say that I actually like The Testaments better than The Handmaid’s Tale, though of course The Testaments does stand on the shoulders of the first book.
(Oh, and if you like audiobooks, this one has an amazing voice cast.)
Classic Honorable Mentions
The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
So, I have a confession to make. I did not read this book until 2019, after being two seasons deep into the show. But I finally pulled it out of the TBR pile and read it.
Let me just say that Margaret Atwood is a master of the first-person narrative. She captures the essence of Offred secretly recording her story on a cassette tape without notes. The narrative voice and the external voice feel consistent, like they are coming from the same person, and that person is Offred.
This book is fantastic, and if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it.
Serious question: Why is this book not part of the standard high school English canon?
I reviewed this book in my ‘But What About The Book?’ series, where I compare books to their popular film or television adaptations. You can check that out here.
Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton
Another classic I read this year for an entry in my ‘But What About The Book?’ series was Jurassic Park, and it was a lot of fun. If you like the movie, I would recommend the book. It is not without it’s flaws, but overall, I think that it actually makes for a better story than the movie.
You can check out my comparison between the book and the movie here.
You can check out my Top 5 series list here. Next week, I’ll be putting up my list of the top 5 shorter fiction pieces I read in 2019.
Have you read any of the novels on my list?
What did you think of them?
And what was your favorite book you read in 2019?
Let me know in the comments down below!