The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Time to Make a New Reading List

      Nothing makes me happier this time of year than cozying up with a book and a blanket near the fireplace. You can bet my holiday wish-list is riddled with good reads, but I am always looking to expand my horizons. Please share your favorite works for my 2020 list!

In exchange for your thoughtful recommendations, here are the five literary masterpieces I enjoyed most in 2019:

5. The Declaration of Independence by The Founding Fathers

           The Declaration of Independence isn’t a book, but it is a literary masterpiece. Admittedly, I have not read the old DoI since middle school, so I set aside time to brush up on our fine nation’s historical documents, including the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Of the three, the DoI gets my highest endorsement. The piece feels eerily prescient of modern times and serves as a perfect reminder that the people who created our government were making it up as they went along, just like the rest of us.

4. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

           Based on the Toltec tradition of thought, the four agreements are simple and meaningful rules by which one may live a happy life. For anyone in 2020, the concept of mitote will be ever-relatable, but I won’t spoil the best parts of the book for you.

           You may be thinking “eh, sounds like self-help philosophy,” and to some extent you are right, but The Four Agreements is a fast and easy text to help clear your mind and improve your attitude for the new year.

3. The Shining by Stephen King

           I have an aversion to horror, and as such, had never seen the film or read the book. With both now proudly checked off my list, I can confidently recommend all 447 pages of King’s spooky and twisted text. It is riveting, true literature.

You can take a pass on the movie, in all honesty.

2. Exhalation by Ted Chiang           

           I’m a sucker for short stories, and Ted Chiang’s compilation is renowned. Exhalation thoughtfully explores technology, mortality, culture and time; it's like Black Mirror but less jarring, and in writing.

If you only have time to read one thing this year, spend 25 minutes reading the first story featured in the Exhalation anthology: “The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate.”

1.    Word Slut by Amanda Montell (audiobook)

           If you spoke to me in 2019, you’ve heard of Word Slut. Full of fun facts and helpful tips to uncode our language and communication habits from generations of subliminal gender bias…what could possibly be more entertaining?

In all seriousness, download the audiobook. Narrated by witty, stylish Amanda Montell herself, it will teach you things you never expected about your speech and yourself. While the book has undeniably feminist vibes, I especially recommend it for men. 

           If you are interested in any of these, please message me. I am happy to loan out my own copies! Excited to hear which great books the users of LinkedIn read this year.