Books I Read in 2019

Fun, fabulous tale.

Fine, rewarding read. Celebrate Minnesota's Lake Superior shoreline.

Imaginative. Engrossing. Memorable.

Nice collection.

Quite a page turner. Did want to edit the ending a bit.

Gripping tale, well-told!

Wonderful, original little masterwork. Memoir of Smyth's grief over her father's death gracefully combined with reflections on her emotional and intellectual connection to Virginia Woolf and To the Lighthouse. Good read for Woolf fans.

Excellent, moving story for young readers (middle school) about friendship and learning what really matters in life.

Clear, concise, relevant information. Good use of question and answer format.

Poignant, true stories of four young people and their families caught up in the mass exodus of Shanghai Chinese in the face of oncoming Communist forces. Hopefully, "one day such stories may become lessons for historical reflection, not broken paths to be retread."

Well-imagined conversation between the author and her 16-year-old son who recently committed suicide.

"Literature, sensitive as a tuning fork, is an unblinking witness to the light and shade of the world we live in." - Tony Morrison

The Moses of her people, she never lost a passenger.

Focusing on three key figures in the French Revolution, this is historical fiction at its finest!

Williams tells the story of teacher Stoner with profound insight and sensitivity. "The prose was graceful, and its passion was masked by a coolness and clarity of intelligence."

Good read. Funny serious.

Well worth the challenge. Powerful, poetic imagery.

Excellent. Winner, 1988 Newbery Medal

Well-referenced, cogent plea for open, honest discussion of how we Americans ought best deal with our media's "collapsing role as a bulwark of liberty, civil society and republicanism."

Wonderful story. Important read for our children; for all of us.

The incredible story of Witold Pilecki, who voluntarily became a prisoner at Auschwitz, and reported on its horrors. Very well documented with primary sources.

Quite a page turner!

Excellent, irresistible love story. Multiple awards winner.

Interesting layers of stories within stories.

Romance novel in irresistible, fresh new clothes!

Masterpiece. Bakewell has given us a most wonderful way to get to know Montaigne and his Essays. We ought share Montaigne's conviction that "no vision of heaven, no imagined Apocalypse, and no perfectionist fantasy can ever outweigh the tiniest of selves in the real world."

"The Classic that Launched the Environmental Movement"

Wide-ranging exploration.

Wow! Masterfully constructed lesson about trust on multiple levels. How far should the reader trust the story-teller?

Scott may be the William Faulkner of Cross River, Maryland!

On his mother's life and suicide.

Great read.

Magnificent! 2018 winner of the Man Booker International Prize.

Very well done.

Makes some sense.

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