Lauren's Best Books of 2019
My mom and I at The Last Book Store in Los Angeles
I'm taking inspiration from Obama and releasing my favorite books of 2019. For the first time, I analyzed my annual reading:
I read 20 books.
40% of my books were fiction.
65% of my books were written by people of color and 50% written by women.
My top genre of the year was sci-fi written by black women. I read five books in this genre.
80% of my books were borrowed from the library digitally, or my husband, and I torrented one.
Reading for pleasure: opening up your heart and mind
I devoured these books. You can binge anyone of these books on a hibernating weekend.
Lilith's Brood (Xenogenesis #1-3) by Octavia E. Butler
Octavia Butler, the first sci-fi author to win a MacArthur genius grant, is a black woman. She creates new possibilities for our future with social justice and collaboration at the center of her work.
In this trilogy, humans destroyed the earth in a global war, and an alien race, Okanali, saves the survivors. The Okanali are superior to humans with full-bodied intelligence, communicating through touch. They think they must save humans from themselves. They see humans as fatally flawed because humans are highly intelligent animals that are hierarchical, meaning they are doomed to destroy each other. As the Okanali try to "civilize" the humans, they rebel. What unfolds is an evergreen story about what it means to be human.
Rain of Gold by Victor Villaseñor
Rain of Gold is my favorite book of all time. This time I read it in Spanish. Fun fact, if you read in a different language on your Kindle, you can install different language dictionaries and easily translate a word by clicking on it.
It's the true story of the author's parents following them from their hometowns in Mexico to their life in the US. The book reads like fiction seeing the families survive the devastation of the Mexican Revolution and their extreme journey North. But it's also a story of resilience and deep love between family.
I see my dad in Juan, the macho, hot-bloodied patriarch who will kill or die for his honor and his family. Understanding where Juan is coming from helped me better understand my dad. Great stories help us better understand ourselves and the world around us.
I wish there were a reality show that just followed around Michelle Obama. Almost every woman I know who read this book saw themselves in Michelle. We all felt like we are just like her. Her ability to be vulnerable and show the humanness behind her outward perfection makes her so loveable.
Parable of the Sower (Earthseed #1) by Octavia E. Butler
Another Octavia Butler book that is a hauntingly-real depiction of the post-climate disaster we are currently moving towards. It takes place in the 2020s. At this time, people will steal and kill for essential resources like water and food. There is a total breakdown of American society, and most people are illiterate. Much of this book is depressing, but I felt hope for the resiliency of humans and the desire to build community even under deep despair. I was left with faith that we will figure things out and adapt even under the worst circumstances.
The protagonist is a young, black woman named Lauren, who brings people together through her unyielding faith in people's goodness. The key message of the book is adaptation, embracing change rather than resisting it.
The Rosie Result (Don Tillman #3) by Graeme Simsion
This is the third book in The Rosie series, which is the RomCom of books. It is a moving family story of a geneticist with undiagnosed Aspergers who is taking a leave of absence from work while his wife focuses on her career.
In this book, they are challenged by their son integrating himself into a new school. The dad takes a methodological approach to help his son succeed with fitting in, while at the same time having to confront the cost of putting societal expectations on his son. This book is a hilarious, emotional, quick read, perfect for when you want the experience of watching TV without watching TV.
Reading to charge your creativity & up your production
My 2019 theme was all about putting my work out there and being seen. I recently admitted that I am an artist and started sharing my work publicly. These books were all guiding me and giving me the courage to start sharing, even though I lacked confidence in my abilities.
I think Marie is one of the most accessible business-life coach types out there. She finds the right balance of being a powerful businesswoman, with a bit of woo-woo embodiment practices, with a layer of playfulness.
In this book, Marie teaches her life philosophy that "Everything is Figueroutable" from starting a business to navigating cancer treatment. What I love about this book is that it is action-oriented. Each chapter has motivating stories, followed by exercises to envision what you want to create and break down overwhelming goals into bite-sized chunks. Marie says insights without action are worthless. Since this book prioritizes applying the information and gives you tools to do that, you get tangible benefits in moving forward any dream or tough situation in your life.
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
This book, written by Eat, Pray, Love author Liz Gilbert is about her journey being a writer and having the courage to keep creating in the face of uncomfortable uncertainty. She talks about creativity as magic and how to tune into it. I enjoyed the key principles, but I didn't think that it needed to be a full book. I wrote a book summary here so others could get the key takeaways.
Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon
Kleon makes a strong case for sharing your work publically no matter what stage you are in. He talks about the beauty of being an amateur, which comes from the french word lover, where you do something just for the love of it. When you are an amateur, you can take chances and experiment with little to lose. He recommends the best way to get started is to commit to learning something and then sharing the learning journey publically.
This book gave me the courage to start blogging, making my Instagram public, and actively tweeting about what I'm learning.
Reading out of my comfort zone
Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier by Neil deGrasse Tyson
I read two NDT books this year because I realize I am clueless about space and a lot of basic science.
This book is about the politics of space. So much scientific progress was born out of the US government's financial investment in the Space Race. That investment benefited many fields, not just aeronautics. But that funding wasn't for the greatness of getting a person on the moon; it was to ensure the US military dominance over the Soviet Union. Without that political climate, we aren't going to be investing in space anytime soon. Americans spend more every year on lip balm than we do on space.
Since landing on the moon, our investment not just in space, but science as a whole, has dwindled. We have to import scientists. Now, most graduate students in the US in science and engineering programs are foreign-born. NDT has a brilliant line that every year, China graduates 500,000 scientifically literate people, and the US graduates 500,000 lawyers. NDT equates the lack of scientific literacy in our country to the rise of fake news and the disbelief in climate change.
Reading for practical life skills
I read the original version of this book when I was straight out of college. With its guidance, I was able to live off $35K in San Francisco in 2012, while having money for fun nights out and saving for a trip to NYC and Brazil. A decade later, I read the new edition.
This book makes finances fun and it’s the best finance education for young people or anyone confused about credit scores and retirement accounts. What is revolutionary about this book is the idea of not depriving yourself and pinching pennies. Instead, decide what you value and spent guilt-free in the areas that matter to you and cut back on the things that don't. The truth is that being good at finances is boring. You just need to automate your savings, bill payments, and retirement and then wait. This book makes it super easy with an action plan to follow.
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