Our 2019 Book List

Books! Books! Books! If there’s one thing we have to talk ourselves out of buying; it is books! The one thing in my repertoire that continues to grow is the books on my bookshelf. I don’t think you can ever have too many books, whether it’s expanding your knowledge on a topic or it’s taking you on an adventure- reading is really the cheapest trip you can take! When we started packing for our move to the UK, the toughest thing for me, was choosing which books would make the trip and which books I would have to give away. The struggle was real. But! You asked and we delivered on the list of books we’re planning on reading this year, or plan to dive back into!

R1’s Picks

After reading and being very impressed with Behold The Dreamers by
Imbolo Mbue, I made a pact with myself, to not only increase the books I’d like to read this year, but I also wanted to concentrate on authors of colour. I want to be sure that I am exploring the highly ignored field of Black and non-white authors out there. It struck me that there are so many diverse stories from so many varied authors from varied backgrounds and I wasn’t doing myself justice if I merely stayed with the mainstream. That being said, I do still have books I’d like to read from mainstream authors, so don’t hate. I just want to expand my horizons, because well, isn’t that the whole point of reading? 😼

Americanah– Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This book was recommeded to me by a friend of mine and if I’m being honest, I had heard of this author after Queen B quoted her in one of her songs- she then blew up. I’ll then admit to the fact that I grumbled about the fact that people were being fickle and only interested because of Beyonce and unfortunately, I fully judged. Anyhow, but after it was recommended I thought, maybe I should give it a chance!

The Wedding Gift– Marlen Suyapa Boden
The cover of the book sold itself to me, I knew that it had to be covering some heavy topic, and when I read the jacket, it was a definite yes. It ticked the box being from an author of colour and I wanted to see how the topic of racism in the storyline would play out.

All The Light We Cannot See– Anthony Doerr:
I will admit that I’m not too sure what this book is about, I bought it second hand this summer for 50p ($1.25) because I’d seen it floating around on lots of Pinterest books to read boards. So it was added to mine, and I’ll admit that I also pick my books by their covers.

Do Not Say We Have Nothing– Madeliene Thien: 
I will admit to “borrowing” this book from my mom, with her permission, 
don’t worry. The cover instantly struck me, but as I read on, I was intrigued by the fact that it’s a Canadian authour and also the main characters are of Asian descent. After reading Crazy, Rich Asians, I realised there was a whole slew of books and authors we’re ignoring, I needed to explore this book.

Becoming Belle– Nuala O’Connor:
If you know me, you know I love a good rebel especially it’s a heroine, so when I spotted this book at Chapters in Montreal, I needed to grab it. Based on a real rebel woman, I was intrigued! Especially as the author is Irish and I hadn’t read a book from an Irish authour since Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt- that book changed my life!

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing– Hank Green:
I was gifted this book and will admit that I hadn’t heard of the book or the author until I unwrapped it, but typically after I did own the book, I then began to see it on many book lists. So clearly I was missing out and my SIL is much cooler than me! Thanks Steph! 😁

The Mistress of Abha– William Newton:
This was another one of my 2nd handbook purchases! I’m trying to reduce my waste and a way of doing that, is to buy 2nd hand and books are a great way to do that! I love that this book wasn’t set in the West so it didn’t take much to pick it up.

R2’s Picks

Okay! So as much as I love reading, I don’t always get to dive right into a book on a daily basis, let alone a weekly one. The bookworm in me suffers, trust me, but Chapters is definitely my bff by the summer lol.

The Outlander Series– Diana Gabaldon:
If you have gotten anything from reading our blog, you know just how much I lllooovvveee this series. Her writing has such a way of transporting me into the world that her characters travel that I feel as if I’ve racked up some air miles myself. I have always loved everything to do with history, just thinking about how I am standing in the same place that so and so stood 40 years prior, where they used that piano which is now seen as a classic and so forth. I love the idea of something old being a memory now, that was once something new to someone in the past. Call me weird, but its the little things that count in life, and if it means that I can travel to the 18th century in a book, and scream to attempt to shield a character from danger 🤔 Who am I hurting?! 😂

The Fault In Our Stars– John Green:
Ah, I love this story. I am very much like Hazel, I do my school work, chill at home and repeat. But I loved how she was able to finally live when Augustus pushes her to step out of the little box that she created for herself. No, I’m not saying that every female needs a male lead in order to help them become more assertive or push oneself to experience life, but sometimes you just need a friend to help you realize your true potential or at least help you find yourself.

To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee:
I read this historical book in grade 7 or 8 of high school. I wish that I could say that I fully understand what went down in this classic book, but I’d be lying. I added it to our list so that I could be held accountable. They say that certain books mean more to us and have different meanings, the older we get. So that’s exactly what I’m hoping, I hope and plan to reread this book so that I can fully grasp what Harper Lee intended for me, as a fellow reader to grasp from one of her masterpieces

Hana’s Suitcase– Karen Levine: 
Ah! I read Hana’s Suitcase in elementary school and I loved it! Not because of what Hana and her family faced, but because of how relatable her life was. She was a little girl like me (at the time), she was determined and curious. I felt her story is told in such a way, that children are able to understand the hardships that she and her family faced, with visual aids, without feeling as if your child is being bombarded with information on such a tragic and horrible reality of mass genocide that may be too much for their little innocent heart and brain to handle. I was fortunate enough to see the play shortly after my class finished the book and it will forever have a place in my heart.

Trendy Picks

I will be the first one to admit that I do not normally pick my books based on what’s hot, I keep an eye out for recommendations just to come across cool every once in a while- lol. It seems like in the last year or so, there have been some really great releases, so here is the list of “trendy” books we’d love to read!

• The Tattooist Of Auschwitz– Heather Morris
• The Clockmaker’s Daughter– Kate Morton
• An American Marriage– Tayari Jones
• China Rich Girlfriend & Rich People Problems– Kevin Kwan
• Circle– Madeline Miller
• Children of Blood and Bone– Tomi Adeyemi
• The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls– Anissa Gray

Do you have books on your reading list? Do we have the same ones? Share with us if you think there are some good ones we’ve missed!
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