Best Books of 2019

One of my 2019 New Year’s resolutions was to read four books a month. I finished the year having read 52 books. It was an assortment of fiction, non-fiction, business, biography, audible and paper. I highly recommend the resolution if you’re still searching for something to take on in 2020.

Here is a short list of my favorites:

HEAVY: AN AMERICAN MEMIOR By Kiese Laymon
Memoir
Best book of the year. I listened to it on audible and as soon as it was over, I started it again and bought it in paper form. The author’s story is raw, profound and gut wrenching. His writing is poetic and fierce. The story will not leave you once the book is over.

DOPESICK By Beth Macy
Non-Fiction
If you have any interest in learning more about the opioid crisis (you should), this is a must read. I was shocked and horrified by the true accounts of how this national emergency was born and grows in communities across the country.

MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION By Ottessa Moshfegh
Fiction
Loved this book! Very readable coming of age story about a woman in NYC who attempts to sleep for an entire year.

DAVID & GOLIATH By Malcolm Gladwell
Non Fiction
Great book for small business up against an 800 pound gorilla

EXCELLENCE WINS By Horst Schulze
This is now required reading for all of our hotel managers. This is the essence of customer service and can be applied to any industry.

WHEN THINGS FALL APART By Pema Chodron
Non Fiction
A how to live your life book. I’ll read this book every year for the rest of my life and gift it to friends and family.

JUST MERCY By Bryan Stevenson
Non Fiction
This should be required reading of every American. Bryan Stevenson’s quest to guarantee justice for all reminded me of how much one person with a mission can accomplish.

CHERRY By Nico Walker
Fiction
Both hilarious and dark, this semi-autobiographical drug-fueled book about a soldier’s PTSD is a page turner.

Shop these titles at your local bookstore, hopefully you still have one. 

Happy New Year!