A little late, but still worth noting--a dozen favorites from last year and a few extra mentions. Every year I think maybe this is the year where it will be slim pickings in terms of really stand out reads, but then every year I manage to make a list of more than ten titles that, for me anyway, stood out just a little bit (or maybe a lot) above the rest.
Ten favorite books. Eight novels and then two nonfiction in the order that I read them.
Spring of Love by Celia Dale -- She is one of my good new finds. Not only a Virago Modern Classic, but an author who should not have been relegated to the forgotten. Domestic suspense of the best kind and a book worth rereading (and I have two or three of her other books in my shelves, too).
Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro -- A different kind of war story, one about history and memory and mothers and daughters. This is a story where not much happens, but if you read between the lines it is about so much more than what is visible at the surface. I have loved the books I have read by him and this is a reminder to pick up more of his work.
Freya by Anthony Quinn -- Quinn is a favorite author--another somewhat new discovery. Freya appears in an earlier novel but here she is center stage. A remarkable woman of the twentieth century--this chunky novel is one I loved losing myself in. She never failed to surprise me--human, flawed, but still entirely admirable. She shows up in another later book, which I am curious about and hope to read this year.
All She Was Worth by Miyuke Miyabe -- The premise of this mystery/thriller sounds like it might be on the boring side--the crime of identity theft, but it was actually, curiously, really good. Aside from the fact that the characters were really interesting (the detective and his family and another man who aided him in the solving of the crime), the bits that made this really intriguing were how credit and banking and identity are handled in Japanese society.
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan -- This story of a female diver in WWII NYC was already really interesting, but hearing Egan speak and share the inspiration and how she researched and wrote the book made the reading experience even richer. I had read Egan years ago and I plan on returning to her work again.
The Old Capital by Yasunari Kawabata -- Kawabata won the Nobel Prize and this book specifically was named in relation to the award. It felt to me, a very Japanese novel, as it is set in Kyoto and is about cultural traditions of a time and place known mostly in memory.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett --This was a great reading experience--one that matched the hype that preceded it. I forgot what a great storyteller Patchett is. The story of a family and the turmoil and turbulence no family is immune from. It is woven together quite seamlessly moving across time and space and that has remained with me months later.
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie -- My first book by Adichie but definitely not my last. She is another superlative storyteller. I love books like this. It was at times painful to read, yet I could never turn away. A mark of a good storyteller--even with those characters that I railed against, I could never entirely condemn them. But those I loved I felt were truly remarkable.
*****
Just So Happens by Fumio Obata -- I love graphic novels like this. As a matter of fact it is thanks to this that I plan on reading one each month this year. The storytelling was quite spare, but it is real talent to tell a rich story in the way Obata does and the illustrations were perfection.
Nisei Daughter by Monica Stone -- A biography of about a Japanese-American family at a time when they were not welcomed very warmly in this country. It read like a novel. It was totally engrossing and I learned so much about a bit of history I should really know more about. Highly recommended (as are all my favorites of this year).
*****
A few honorable mentions.
Kinsey Millhone! I read nine Sue Grafton mysteries last year, from G through O! I plan on finishing the series this year. I can't stay away too long from Kinsey's adventures!
I enjoyed finally meeting Inspector Wexford and want to go back and read more, and maybe even start a reread of my favorite Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine books.
I finished the Maisie Dobbs series last year and so have read all (save the one WWI novels she wrote) of Jaqueline Winspear's books. I have heard she sis taking a break this year so nothing more until 2021--so long to wait--I wonder how things will progress?!
There were a few books which I was quite underwhelmed by to be honest, most notably (and I feel like I should not even mention this) Normal People by Sally Rooney. Maybe I will just put that down to being the wrong audience at the wrong time.
The good reads, happily, far outweighed the not so good.
It is interesting that so many books that ended up being particularly memorable are those that I read as part of my big reading project--Reading Japan. I still have a stack of books I will keep reading from (what theme will I pick this year?). Japanese Literature/Japanese-American Literature really resonated for me.
Now to lots of new discoveries in 2020!