I read much less this year mostly on purpose, but I still had a very enjoyable year of books. Thank you books!!! This year I tried to read more fiction; next year I think I might go back to a 2:1 balance of fiction / non fiction.

2019 in books:

Cream:

Here are my favorite books of 2019, each with a short description / selling point:

If you are interested in what it means for us to all be butlers, and the difficulty and importance of picking what to contribute to, then read The Remains of the Day.
If you are interested in a one tournament arc martial arts shounen with really great art and really fantastic characters then read Kengan Ashura.
If you are interested in the enormity and the littleness of life or if you are in the mood to be tremendously sad then read A Little Life.
If you are interested in the importance of shadows and obscurity in art and aesthetics and miso soup then read In Praise of Shadows.
If you are interested in the legend of Achilles from the perspective of a lover and not the hero then read The Song of Achilles.
If you are interested in a nuanced and varied set of perspectives on tragedy and horror from perspectives not often heard or a specific slice of the Japanese psyche then read Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche.
If you are interested in a very fun and funny set of essays about aging and life in general written in a very charming and dry way then read I Feel Bad About My Neck.
If you are interested in nature and spirituality then read Mushishi. The anime is also very good.
If you are interested in your place as a working person in society and individuality balanced against societal expectations then read Convenience Store Woman.
If you are interested in the soulless aspect of tech and the wholesome aspect of bread then read Sourdough.
If you are interested in the best detective novel I’ve ever read then read The Devotion of Suspect X. Seriously this is my “recommend to anyone” book of the year.
If you are interested in what makes a great city and how to make a great city, then read The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Who knew city planning was so interesting?!
If you are interested in feminism and socialism and women’s rights in more egalitarian societies then read Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence.
If you are interested in the smartest collection of essays I’ve ever read about modern life (we live in a society) then read Trick Mirror. Jia I admire you so much and I want to be your friend.
If you are interested in Marxist Leninist theory (more specifically the progression of communism and the withering of the state) then read State and Revolution.
If you are interested in the comforting and redemptive nature of food then read Kitchen. Most enticing katsudon description ever.
If you are interested in the power of friendship and love, or a beautiful journey of the mind, body, and soul to the afterlife, then read 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World.
If you are interested in a very real, interesting, and funny autobiographical account of the life and love of a Taiwanese woman in the Sahara desert then read 撒哈拉的故事.
If you are interested in a history of America from the perspective of the people or one of the finest defenses of socialism or one of the most brutal takedowns of the idealized America then read A People’s History of the United States.