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A “Good-Sized”
Reading List From 2019
Jack London, as young as age 10, maintained a goal of reading “two good-sized books a week” even when achieving the mark required staying up until 2 o’clock in the morning. Moreover, he had to rise early to deliver newspapers before school.
Later in life, the great novelist read even more voraciously, noting: “There is so much good stuff to read and so little time to do it in.”
More modestly than London, I annually try to find time to read one “good-sized” book a week. Often I fall shy of 52, but this has been a bumper-crop year with my tally at 59 books and 18,035 pages. Below is the best of my “good stuff to read” from 2019.
As usual, historian David McCullough did not disappoint with his latest offering, “The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West.”
As a space/moon/Apollo junkie, I thoroughly enjoyed “The Man Who Knew The Way To The Moon” by Todd Zwillch.
“Behold the Dreamers: A Novel” by Imbolo Mbue is a fresh coming-to-America saga touching on race and immigration, rich vs. poor. Meanwhile, “I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives” by Martin Ganda and Caitlin Alifirenka is an inspiring true story about a boy from Zimbabwe and an All-American girl.
I always enjoy Fredrik Backman’s storytelling and “Beartown” and its sequel “Us Against You” are no exceptions. Both novels are about a hockey town filled with dirty politics and violence, but also loyalty and love.
These two Pulitzer Prize-winners captivated me: “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” by Michael Chabon mixes superheroes and Nazis, the War and NYC, friendship and mystery; while Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch” dives into the art world’s dark underbelly.
My brother is a fly-fisherman who ties his own flies, but such interests are not at all necessary to be enthralled by the true story “The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century” by Kirk Wallace Johnson.
“Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” by Robin Sloan is a fun page-turner filled with mystery and delightful characters.
“The Murmur of Bees” by Sofia Segovia is masterfully told by two narrators from different perspectives.
“The World’s Fastest Man: The Extraordinary Life of Cyclist Major Taylor, America’s First Black Sports Hero” by Michael Kranish is reminiscent of “The Boys In The Boat” except on two wheels with one hero.
“Bridge of Clay” by Markus Zusak merits a five-star review – one for each young brother, including Clay, who live on their own in this tale filled with heart and heartbreak.
Recommended to me by author Judy Blume in her “Books & Books” shop in Key West, “Red at the Bone” by Jacqueline Woodson weaves together the story of one family through the narration of different generations. I am eager to read more of Woodson’s award-winning writing.
Delia Owens’ writing sings, usually sorrowfully, in “Where The Crawdads Sing” with a mystery that holds until the final pages.
“The Nickel Boys: A Novel” by Colson Whitehead is very nearly as remarkable as his Pulitzer-winning “The Underground Railroad: A Novel.”
“The Water Dancer: A Novel” by Ta-Nehisi Coates is another mesmerizing Underground Railroad tale with magical realism added that makes one’s heart weep.
Lastly, perhaps my favorite read all year was “This Tender Land” by William Kent Krueger. A revision of “The Adventures Huckleberry Finn” taking place during the Great Depression, it features three boys who escape a brutal orphan school and go on an odyssey to find “home.” Jack London would surely have enjoyed spending time with these pages.
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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @woodywoodburn. His books are available at www.WoodyWoodburn.com.
Check out my memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and my essay collection “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” …
- Personalized signed copies are available at WoodyWoodburn.com