a place for us, by fatima farheen mirza (this book was fabulous - the story of a muslim-american family with three children, told from different points of view within the family over a 25-ish year span. you revisit events and see them from different perspectives. you see the impact of gender and expectations and birth order and the immigrant experience. i LOVED this book and the characters in it, and it made me want to read other books that sarah jessica parker is promoting through her new imprint with hogarth press.)
year of yes, by shonda rhimes (i don't often buy "self help"-ish books, but this one seemed like a good one to bring into my 2019. it was a super easy read and i loved her story. not too much in terms of take aways (i had no huge "aha!" moments while reading it), but i enjoyed it. it would be a perfect read for an airplane or on vacation.)
queenie, by candice carty-williams (my newest book of the month club selection, set in london with a main character who is jamaican-british. she's going through a rough patch - both of her own making and of things outside her control - so parts of the book are hard to read because you are watching the main character be self-destructive. but she was so vividly brought to life as a character that i enjoyed this story and the journey she went on. don't rush out to buy it, but i give it a thumbs up.)
dead wake, by erik larson (i listened to the audiobook of this, which is about the sinking of lusitania. you get the story in alternate chapters from onboard the boat, on board the u-boat that ended up sinking it, and in the british intelligence office that had cracked the german code and was monitoring u-boats in the english channel. i was fascinated by all the details in this story. erik larson is really great at his job as a writer of narrative nonfiction. big thumbs up, and i would recommend this even if you don't think you care about the lusitania!)
the terrible, by yrsa daley-ward (i read this in one day, on the yoga retreat i went on at the end of march. i loved daley-ward's book of poetry called bone, and this is a poetry-prose memoir of her childhood. i LOVE memoirs and this one did not disappoint. a fascinating look into a different word, and crazy to imagine that she has become as successful as she has with the obstacles she's had to overcome. love her work, and i would LOVE to see her read or speak in person.)
