My Favorite Books in 2019

2019 has been a great year in terms of dedicating time to my reading and seeking new ideas through it.

Here are my favorite books:

Work / Psychology:

1. David Epstein - Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World (this one was by far my favorite in this category)

2. Jonathan Haidt - The Happiness Hypothesis (many truth-bombs backed by research in psychology)

3. Liz Fosslien & Mollie West Duffy - No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions At Work (a great handbook for managers or managers of managers)

4. Angela Duckworth - Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (here's what I previously wrote about this book)

5. Jennifer Eberhardt - Biased Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do (for understanding racial bias in the United States)

6. Steven Johnson - Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most

7. Adam Grant - Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World

8. Lori Gottlieb - Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

9. Malcolm Gladwell - Talking To Strangers (for Gladwell's superb writing, not as much for the key message)

General Interest:

1. Beth Macy - Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America (on the opioid epidemic)

2. Tara Westover - Educated: A Memoir (a story about a homeschooled girl escaping a fundamentalist cult)

3. J.D. Vance - Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (more about this book and Educated in my review here)

4. Michelle Obama - Becoming

5. Jonathan Haidt - The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion (how and why people choose sides)

6. Laurentino Gomes - Escravidão Vol. 1 (on slavery in Brazil)

7. Asne Seierstad - Two Sisters (about Norwegian Somali sisters who joined Isis in Syria)

8. Jon Ronson - So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed (Social media shaming can destroy people's lives)

9. Rachel Louise Snyder - No Visible Bruises (investigating the domestic violence epidemic)

10. Masha Gessen - The Future Is History (Putin's Russia)

Fiction:

1. Martha Batalha - A Vida Invisível da Euridice Gusmao (The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao)

2. Amor Towles - A Gentleman in Moscow

3. Leila Slimani - Lullaby

4. Candice Cartie-Williams - Queenie

5. Etaf Rum - A Woman Is No Man

6. Oyinkan Braithwaite - My Sister, the Serial Killer

7. Colson Whitehead - The Nickel Boys

8. Delia Owens - Where the Crawdads Sing

* I get a small commission from Amazon if you purchase via the links provided. I don't recommend books that I didn't like.