The State of the Art: Books 2019

It's strange. I certainly didn't have any additional free time this year, but somehow, I managed to pull myself out of the depths of my terrible track record from last year, and finished a decent amount of books. It was probably affected by finally finishing that 1100-page behemoth, but whatever the reason, I'm glad I got to immerse myself in more literature in 2019. A theme tends to emerge in every year, and looking over the titles I read this year, it's fairly clear that 2019's theme is "Anywhere But Here". The books I read tended to embrace the fantastical, the magical, and the faraway. It's pretty obvious I was in no mood to be reading things about our current society.

As ever, it'd be too restrictive to limit the list to only books published this year, so I've included everything I read. Let's get to the ranking!

Only the Strong - Jabari Asim (2015) (A)
Sourdough - Robin Sloan (A)
How Long 'til Black Future Month? - N.K. Jemisin (2018) (A-)
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue - Mackenzi Lee (2017) (A-)

Horrorstör - Grady Hendrix (2014) (B+)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (2007) (B+)
How to Stop Time - Matt Haig (2017) (B+)
The Shepherd's Crown - Terry Pratchett (2015) (B+)

So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y'all Don't Even Know - Retta (2018) (B)
The Immortalists - Chloe Benjamin (2018) (B)
Tales of H.P. Lovecraft - H.P. Lovecraft (collection published in 2000) (B)
The Queen of the Night - Alexander Chee (2016) (B)
The Hunting Party - Lucy Foley (2019) (B)
The Unexpected Heiress - Frank W. Butterfield (2016) (B)
Hour of the Huntress - Dave Gross (2017) (B)
Final Girls - Riley Sager (2017) (B)
Rosalie Lightning - Tom Hart (2016) (B)
Die Volume 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker - Kieron Gillen (2019) (B)

1Q84 - Haruki Murakami (2009) (B-)
Leah on the Offbeat - Becky Albertalli (2018) (B-)
Neither Snow Nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service - Devin Leonard (2016) (B-)
The People We Hate at the Wedding - Grant Ginder (2017) (B-)

Press Start to Play - Edited by Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams (2015) (C)
Get in Trouble - Kelly link (2015) (C)

And the books I abandoned partway through:

Shaker - Scott Frank (2016)
Made to Kill - Adam Christopher (2015)

As to my favorite book of the decade, it's an almost impossible choice; I've read so many amazing titles over the past ten years! Once I sat down to consider which one I've reread the most often, or the one I catch myself thinking about the most, or the one that still captures a magical atmosphere better than any other book I've ever read, one definitely stood out.

The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern, 2011) casts a spell that's impossible to break free from, and makes you feel as if you're actually wandering the winding paths alongside its mysterious characters. If you haven't read it, make sure you do, but with the proviso that you should read it during chilly weather.