This document provides a year-end countdown of reading recommendations for 2019, beginning with 10 translations of works from other languages to English. It then lists 9 fiction books, 8 new journals, 7 non-fiction books, and 6 books focused on their beautiful design. The countdown continues with recommendations for 5 "wild card" titles, 4 short story collections, 3 poetry collections, and notes that 2 staff members published works. It concludes by noting a graphic news report was a compelling read from 2019. The document also provides several "best of" and gift book lists to consider for the end of the year.

1. 2019 YEAR OF READING
COUNT DOWN
If you don’t know the exact moment when the lights
will go out, you might as well read until they do.
—Clive James
from Latest Readings (2015)

2. All books mentioned can be found in the Bonisteel Library.
Links are provided for further exploration for each book.

3. LINK

4. 10 TRANSLATIONS

5. Translated by
Tina Kover from
French (Iran-Paris)
Translated by
Antonia Lloyd-Jones
from Polish
Translated by
Ellen Elias-Bursać &
David Williams
from Croatian (Russia to
Japan, through Balkan
minefields, and American road
trips)
Translated by
David Brookshaw
from Portuguese
(colonialism in Mozambique)
Translated by
Kari Dickson
from Norwegian
LINK LINK
LINK LINK LINK

6. Translated by
Frank Perry
from Swedish
(Spain)
Translated By
Suzanne Jill Levine
& Aviva Kana from
Spanish
THE TAIGA SYNDROME
CRISTINA RIVERA GARZA
Translated from
by Carlos Rojas
from Chinese
Translated by
Linda Coverdale
from French and
Creole
(Martinique)
Translated
by Anthea
Bell from
German
LINK
LINK
LINK
LINK LINK

7. 9 FICTION BOOKS

8. LINK LINK LINK LINK LINK
LINKLINKLINKLINK
LINK
Lannan Foundation reading

9. 8 NEW JOURNALS

10. Ninth Letter
Salt Hill
Lapham’s
Quarterly
Zyzzyva
Gulf Coast
Zoetrope
Black Warrior
McSweeney’s

11. 7 NON FICTION BOOKS

12. LINK LINK LINK LINK
LINK LINK LINK

13. 6 BEAUTIFUL BOOKS

14. LINK
LINK
LINK
Beige Is Not A Color
The Full-Spectrum World of Carlos Mota
Trilogy by Lu Nan

15. LINK
LINK
LINK
Vitamin C: Clay
and Ceramic in
Contemporary
Art
The Architecture of Trees
Cesare Leonardi, Franca Stagi

16. 5 WILD CARD

17. LINK
LINK
LINK
LINK
LINK

18. 4 SHORT STORY
COLLECTIONS

19. LINK
LINKLINK
LINK

20. 3 POETRY
COLLECTIONS

21. LINK
LINK
LINK

22. 2 STAFF WHO HAVE
PUBLISHED

23. LINK LINK

24. 1GRAPHIC NEWS
REPORT

25. Of everything published this year, it’s hard to think of more compelling lines than these,
early in The Mueller Report:
“The president slumped back in his chair and said ‘Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my
Presidency. I’m f—.’”
p. 209 FN504 Hunt-000039 (Hunt 5/17/17 Notes).
WP (illustrated version)

26. Best of the Year Book Lists
The Best Books of 2019 (InsideHook)
Best of 2019: Fiction (Powells)
Our 50 Favorite Books of the Year (Literary Hub)
Best Books of 2019 (The Guardian)
The 10 Best Books of 2019 (Slate)
Top Ten Books of 2019 (The Harvard Crimson)
The Best Books of 2019 (Chicago Tribune)
Maureen Corrigan’s Favorite Books of 2019 (NPR)
The Best Books of 2019 (The New Yorker)
Eight 2019 Books That Deserved the Hype…and Five That Didn’t (Sarah’s Book Shelves)
Best 10 Books Read But Not Necessarily Written in 2019 (A Month of Strong Opinions)
Times Critics’ Top Books of 2019 (The New York Times)
The Best Books of 2019 (GQ)
Best of 2019: Books (KCRW)
The 44 Best-Selling Books of 2019 That You Don’t Want to Miss (Good Housekeeping)
Best of the Year Genre-Specific Book Lists
Best Poetry of 2019 (The Guardian)
The 25 Best Children’s Books of 2019 (The New York Times)
55 of the Best Queer Books of 2019 (Autostraddle)

27. Best of the Decade Book Lists
Here Are the Best Books of the Decade (Essence)
My Seven Favorite Books of the Decade (The Cornell Daily Sun)
Best books of the Decade (Literary Hub)
Book Gift Lists
The 10 Best Books of 2019 for the Bibliophiles on Your List (The Seattle Times)
8 Novels to Give as Holiday Gifts this Year (Books on GIF)
25 Books for Every Reader on Your List (Parade)
43 Novels and Story Collections for the Reader on Your List (Parnassus Books)
Best of the Rest
10 Great Poetry Collections You May Have Missed (Chicago Review of Books)
20 Riveting Wilderness Mystery and Suspense Novels (Modern Mrs. Darcy)
15 Queer Books You Might Have Missed This Year (BuzzFeed)
26 Books on Trees (PBS NewsHour)
11 Cookbooks that Inspired Us in 2019 (Washington Post)
Source: Bidwell Hollow

28. WISHING ALL A READING-
FILLED HOLIDAY!