As a PCV and just a person who loves books, I read A TON when I have time to do so. I set my Goodreads reading goal at 20 books this year, and ended up around twelve (I never have as much free time as I expected!). Anyway, I just wanted to talk about some of the top five books I read this year.
#1 Although I love and prefer non-fiction, I read a novel and a some short stories this year that really made fall in love fiction again. Jhumpi Lahiri’s Intrepter of Maladies is a really stunning work of fiction. It is a collection of short stories that focuses largely on the Indian experience, mostly in the U.S. but in India as well. As the title implies, it can be a little heavy and frankly heartbreaking at times, but there is little melodrama and the characters have agency over their lives.
#2 Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give, similarly is not a book I would have usually just picked up. However, after glowing reviews from friends, a copy was available and I wanted to give it a shot. It’s classified as young adult literature, but the way Thomas navigates themes of race, class and police brutality is really compelling. It exists as a really powerful coming-of-age story that is honest about the lives of black girls.
#3 Another piece of nonfiction that really moved me this year was Chimamanda Ngozie’s Americanah. Part love story, part coming of age, part race theory this book follows the lives of two teen lovers who move through the world strikingly different ways.
#4 John Soluri’s Banana Cultures was probably the most interesting nonfiction book I’ve read in a while. It explores the growth and changes in the banana industry in Honduras in the 20th century. It focuses on the ways that American banana companies changed the landscape of northern Honduras by buying up land cheaply and installing Hondurans and migrant workers in chemically dangerous, underpaid and temporary work. It talks about the workers movement for labor rights, and about the marketing scheme thought up by companies to sell bananas in the US. It was just really interesting to think about especially in the context of my service in a banana, plantain producing country.
#5 Finally, Jeffrey Sach’s The End Of Poverty makes the case for how society can end extreme poverty in our lifetime. Although the book has been criticised for over-simplifying problems, I think the recommendations are solid and the book is a powerful prescription for extreme poverty based on meeting the needs of individuals and empowering them.
Obviously my book list is huge and never ending so hopefully 2019 brings more time to read!
What were your favorite books this year? And which ones are looking forward to reading in 2019?
Dominique Does 