2019 BOOKLIST
I read more in 2019 than I usually do. Part of it must have been the fact that I have been “returning to myself” - rediscovering the things that bring me joy and pursuing them. I read before bed, before work, before dinner, and all the times in between. I have stacks of books in my room, precarious pillars threatening to trip anyone who dares enter.
Part of it may also be that I travelled more than ever, and in a more sustainable way - which means I wasn’t too tired to read on airplanes. And gosh, did I read in transit. On planes, in trains, and tucked into the corners of large automobiles. I didn’t list every book I read this year but here are a few, and the story of how these stories arrived to me and made their way into my heart.
Shoutout to the Spanjer sisters (always) who first inspired me, and to the merry band of fellow “book travelers” who have since begun to gift me with their own lists!
Poor Liana has been trying to get me to read this for an age. She even bought me my own copy. Perhaps she’s even bought me two. But I’m beginning to learn that we arrive at things exactly as we need them. I found Gilead to be a book that needed to be read with attention and in quiet. It also sounds all the more beautiful when read aloud. I ended the year as I began it, attempting to be brave, and I used the words of the elderly pastor character in the book to help me summit one particularly difficult but beautiful conversation.
The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir, Samantha J. Power
I was gifted this book by a kindred spirit who flew it to me and handed it over in a third place that neither of us call home. Samantha Power has been a bit of a North Star for me in my own journey to be an outspoken advocate of human rights. I appreciated her candor and learning more about the way in that certain personalities and processes have shaped certain policies and events that I’ve only heard from a news or policy perspective before.
The Irrational Season, Madeleine L’Engel
I have tried and only gotten part of the way through this book several times in the last five years, but finally I made it through and it was worth the wait. Again, we arrive at things exactly as we need them. I copied so many bits out. Madeleine was a writer far before her time. She articulates what she has learned and bits of her life and theology with insight, humility, and humour. I would have very much liked to have her as my neighbour or friend. Perhaps in heaven, I will get my wish.
Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good, Steve Garber
This is yet the third book on this list that my former professor has been offering to lend me for years. I even kept it for a year before returning it, unread. Once again this year has taught me that we come to things exactly when we need them. For so many reasons, this book was a gift to my soul. It is gently written, with the wisdom of a fellow traveler who knows what it is like to wrestle with the most important question that will face us here on earth: “Can I know the world, truly know it, and still love it?” I also read the stories of some of my friends, stories lived in the last few years, between the lines and pages. I was proud and grateful for their faithful persistence “in a long direction.” I lent it to a friend and she wondered if I too felt a bit like crying, a bit known by this author we’ve never met. The answer is yes. Perhaps one day, I will get to meet this gentle traveller who loves stories and people and persists in “loving the world with his eyes wide open.”
This was a random book that I picked up from the library. It will keep you on your toes and the ending is entirely unexpected. It takes place between America, England, and Pakistan and is best read on the plane and train as I did.
And Then There Were Nuns: Adventures In Cloistered Life, Jane Christmas
This book is a scream. Lent to me by my roommate and read in the shoulder hours and the weekends, I devoured this true story of a woman discerning becoming an Anglican nun. If you want to laugh and see some of your inside thoughts gently put to paper, I recommend it.
The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery, Ian Morgan-Cron
I came absolutely kicking and screaming to the enneagram. Just ask my friend Ben. But I did appreciate the humourous, kind, and accessible way that this book taught me how to come better face to face with my own shortcoming and longings, and perhaps understand those I love a little better too.
The Hope That Remains: Canadian Survivors of the Rwandan Genocide, Christine Magill
This is a must-read series of short essays for every Canadian. These are our neighbours. Their stories are now here for us to bear witness to.
The Weight of Ink, Rachel Kadish
I remember being up almost all of one night, sick and in pain. The only thing to do in the wee hours before dawn was read. This is a story of women and men, of love and longing, of the power of knowledge and the hunger for the written word. It is a story of love and sacrifice and faithfulness in all of its forms. I highly recommend it!
The Shell Collector, Anthony Doerr
My friend Bethany recommended this little beautiful packet of essays to me. I particularly enjoyed the one about the whale heart. Want to know what I am talking about? Get the book!
I anticipated this being a gruesome and difficult book to read, but I finished it for book club one sunny July day and thought what a gift it was. It’s one of the most gentle and beautiful stories I have ever read. It asks us to think about the tension between justice and forgiveness, forgiving and forgetting, collective identity and agency. A must-read! I’ll never forget something like 15 women cramming around my living room to engage these important questions, together.
By Chance Alone: A Remarkable True Story of Courage and Survival at Auschwitz, Max Eisen
I once met Max at 1:00am in Poland, the day after thousands of us walked between Auschwitz and Birkenau to mark Yom Hashoah. This is another story that all Canadians need to read. Max is a gifted memory keeper, story teller, and truth speaker.
I didn’t realize that Paul Farmer was a real person until my friend Bev texted me to excitedly tell me she had met him in person. I am forever grateful for learning about his life and legacy in transforming the global health conversation re: MDR TB. More than that, I’m in awe of Paul’s concept of “the long defeat”...also known as working for each other’s flourishing despite the odds.
The Lady's Confession, George MacDonald
Almost five years ago, my friend Emma mailed me this book from the woods of Oregon because she knew I loved Macdonald and might need one of my favourite authors to feel less alone. She was right. I read this in Paris and on the plane back. I loved it, particularly for its reminder that “those who travel in the dark do not know how much ground they cover.” (Paraphrased.)
The Second Mountain, David Brooks
I read this book with a friend over the month of April and we discussed each chapter as we went, save one. This is to say I read it on planes, in hotel rooms, in lobbeys and airplane lounges, and appreciated the experience of reading someone else’s journey alongside another co-creative journeyer.
The Pianist of Yarmouk, Aeham Ahmad
One day, my cousin was standing at St. Pancreas Station and crept closer to listen as an extraordinary young man played a classical piece on the public piano. When he finished, he saw her watching and held her hand. He had just come from recording with the BBC. Then he told her his story. Needless to say, she went directly to the bookstore and bought it. I borrowed it while on my first English adventure. It kept me company on the train to Oxford and back. I read it in pubs and on trains and platforms, and it kept me company while lost. It’s riveting, heart breaking, and beautiful all at once.
I marked the coming of 2019 in the airplane back from BC to Ottawa. The captain led us in a countdown and I also began the new year in tears. I was reading the story of Hannah More, the woman who would become a hero of sorts for me over the next year. I had no idea how much of her story would resonate with mine. I’m hesitant to recommend it. She was deeply flawed and I feel a bit naked reading her story as we share so many faults. We also share so many loves and I equally want as many people as possible to know her to make up for the 200 years she was lost to history.
A Place for Us, Fatima Farheen Mirza
This is a gorgeous, heart-rending story of what it is like to be torn between two worlds. To attempt to live in one culture while embedded in one entirely different. It is a story of choiceless choices, of choosing who and what we serve. It is a story of family, fidelity, and tradition that bends us until, sometimes, we break.
Man Is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion, Abraham Joshua Heschel
One of the deepest delights of my last year was participating in a Jewish/Christian bookclub. We read the work of Rabbi Heschel who restored me to awe and wonder, and also to myself.
Let Her Fly: A Father's Journey, Ziauddin Yousafzai
I am ashamed to say that I have not read Malala’s own words but rather those of her father. The way that he loves his daughter and his wife brought tears to my eyes and made me resolve to “lift as I rise” a little better each day.
Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life, Tish Harrison Warren
This was a beautiful read that I got together to discuss with two women that I deeply love and admire. I laughed until I cried, appreciated their honesty, and left our lunch determined to dedicate a little more of my daily rhythm to becoming more a little more like them.
