Slice of Life: Favorite Books of 2019

Our yearly Christmas card includes favorite books, movies, TV, and events for the year. My favorite books for 2019 were An American Marriage by Tayari Jones; They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Steven Scott; The Line Tender by Kate Allen; Baking Day at Grandma's by Anika Denise; and A Boy Like You by Frank Murphy. 

And then because I have a tough time limiting my favorites to five books, I added a note to my book-loving friends with more favorites. And because I consider my fellow slicers and bloggers part of my community of book-loving friends, I'm including that note for each of you. 

Dear book loving friend,

This note was born when I realized that I left A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader off my list of favorite books for the year. If you haven’t read this beautiful book, stop now and request it from your local library. And then I fear that you may have the same response I did, “This is a book that I simply must own.” Even though I’m at that stage in life where I’m trying to get rid of things, once in a while a thing enters my life that I simply must own. This book deserved a place on my shelf and in my heart this year.

Another book I bought for myself this past year was Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver. Every single time I pick it up and read a poem or two or three, the words fill me with wonder. I’ll share three I loved this morning: “Mysteries, Yes” (p. 85), “Praying” (p. 131) and “When I Am Among the Trees” (p. 123).

And three more favorite picture books – The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry; Rise!: From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou by Bethany Hegedus; and A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation by Barry Wittenstein.

Do let me know some of your favorite reads of 2019!

Warm wishes for a wonderful season of joy, light, rest, and of course, some time for reading.