Thread by @SpeasySpice

GATHER ROUND, CHILDREN!

It's that time again: Old Crone Rebecca's yearly thread of her BEST BOOKS OF 2019!

As always, each book will have a blurb, a cover image, buy links from @justonemorepage if possible, and a @librofm link if I particularly enjoyed the audiobook!

@justonemorepage @librofm Just a rundown of how this is all gonna work:

I'm going through all of my fave 2019 releases, probably taking a snack break, and then going through all my fave books I read that did NOT come out in 2019!

Also I will inevitably be interrupted, so have patience, friends!

@justonemorepage @librofm THE RECKLESS OATH WE MADE by @bryngreenwood: My favorite book of the year. Utterly unique, impossible to describe, absolutely gorgeous. Gritty Kansas noir meets a medieval fairy tale, and when I was done I wanted to start it over again immediately.

📚: tinyurl.com/rdccrg3

@justonemorepage @librofm @bryngreenwood @PutnamBooks SAY NOTHING: A TRUE STORY OF MURDER & MEMORY IN NORTHERN IRELAND by @praddenkeefe: A stunning work of NF, weaving intimate character studies & investigation into the wider tapestry of the Troubles. Audio is also phenomenal!

📚: tinyurl.com/qpo5dqn
🎧: tinyurl.com/txvqzy5

@justonemorepage @librofm @bryngreenwood @PutnamBooks @praddenkeefe @doubledaybooks DON'T DATE ROSA SANTOS by @Nina_Writes: In the Heights + Gilmore Girls + Practical Magic + Stardew Valley + Nina's own magic = this absolute treasure of a book. It sparkles and delights, and I can't say enough wonderful things about it.

📚: tinyurl.com/tp7lmas

NORMAL PEOPLE by Sally Rooney (@HogarthBooks): An incredibly nuanced, intelligent, and affecting examination of love, class, gender, modernity, growing up, and growing apart. I adored it.

📚: tinyurl.com/ub9xoem
🎧: tinyurl.com/ukxq4uw

DAISY JONES & THE SIX by @tjenkinsreid: This is a gorgeous, dishy, profound book about the astronomic rise and fall of a Fleetwood Mac-esque rock band. Unexpected and well-crafted, and an A+ audiobook.

📚: tinyurl.com/yx6rkhu9
🎧: tinyurl.com/vmtge4q

BRAZEN AND THE BEAST by @sarahmaclean (@avonbooks): Book 1 of this series was my fave book of 2018, & Book 2 may be even better. Hattie & Whit are absolute gifts, and I cannot WAIT for Book 3. Come for the story, stay for the innovative use of a mast.

📚: tinyurl.com/qpcq5c4

THE RIGHT SWIPE by @AlishaRai (@avonbooks): An absolute treasure of a modern love story. I love the characters, I love the plot, I love the love, it is so fresh and wonderful, READ IT NOW Y'ALL.

📚: tinyurl.com/qkkdtr7

CALL DOWN THE HAWK by @mstiefvater (@Scholastic): This continuation of the Lynch brothers' stories was everything I could have wanted and a lot of real dark weird stuff I didn't know I wanted. Alexa, play A Stór Mo Chroí.

📚: tinyurl.com/v3zf64y

RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE by @casey_mcquiston (@StMartinsPress): The First Son of the US and the Prince of Wales fall in love and WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT FROM ME. No book has made me wish more that The West Wing was gayer. It is an exquisite book.

📚: tinyurl.com/y3nmtwgc

THE BEHOLDER by @brightlyanna (@harperteen): Sometimes your friend and co-worker writes a book, and then SOMETIMES your friend and co-worker writes a magical, lush, and romantic fairytale that sweeps you away. *Heart eyes forever.* #TeamTorden

📚: tinyurl.com/sh4tfb6

KING OF SCARS by @LBardugo (@ImprintReads): My fave stories are the ones that ask the tough questions: How does a king keep his throne once he's fought so hard to win it? How do we deal w/ the monsters that remain? KoS does this to perfection.

📚: tinyurl.com/tz53y7f

WITH THE FIRE ON HIGH by @AcevedoWrites (@harperteen): Sweet, tart, bitter, rich, sour, smooth - all the words for how amazing food can taste or smell can be used for how good this book is. It's a gorgeous thing to behold.

📚: tinyurl.com/typ69zm
🎧: tinyurl.com/v7k4zge

WELL MET by @jaydee_ell (@BerkleyRomance): WHAT AN UNMITIGATED DELIGHT. RomCom at the RennFaire, complete with snarky humor, delicious romance, and a stellar pirate-to-wench ratio. Getchur wench on and pick this one up immediately.

📚: tinyurl.com/wblvw4b

GODS OF JADE AND SHADOW by @silviamg (@DelReyBooks): Mayan mythology mixes with Jazz Age Mexico in this stellar book with an otherworldly battle of life and death between treacherous gods, hungry ghosts, and quick-talking demons. Utterly amazing.

📚: tinyurl.com/y4yhfcss

STAR WARS: ALPHABET SQUADRON by Alexander Freed (@DelReyStarWars): GIVE ME ALL OF THE COMPLICATED MESSY RELUCTANT STAR WARS HEROINES, I CANNOT HAVE ENOUGH OF THEM. (Bonus cameo from Hera Syndulla, my queen.)

📚: tinyurl.com/txapk4m

DRAGON PEARL by @deuceofgears (@HachetteKids): Space opera + Korean mythology = *heart eyes*. A fab adventure across the galaxy with Min, a clever & resourceful girl who is actually a fox spirit and can shapeshift!

📚: tinyurl.com/wrqqfgw
🎧: tinyurl.com/vdzwbjz

GHOST WALL by Sarah Moss (@fsgbooks): Sarah Moss writes like no one else I've read, and in this book she deftly weaves together threads of history, power, gender, and obsession into a stunning work that envelops you from the very first page.

📚: tinyurl.com/tsdkw2z

WICKED SAINTS by @glitzandshadows (@WednesdayBooks): Like your medieval fantasies populated by gods + monsters, soaked in blood magic, & dripping some mad Slavic energy? THIS IS YOUR BOOK. It's like a mix of Bardugo/#TheWitcher/its own dark magic.

📚: tinyurl.com/s2qua59

THE AUSTEN PLAYBOOK by @_LucyParker (@CarinaPress): West End darling + a sharp-tongued critic who's been lambasting her performances + a rambling country estate + a live-TV Jane Austen murder mystery mashup = EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER WANTED. SO GOOD.

📚: tinyurl.com/wd8fpd4

GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN by @TaliaHibbert (@avonbooks): This lovely book kicked me out of a nasty reading slump, & I gobbled it up quicker than anything. It's sweet, emotional, SEXY AF, & incredibly truthful in its storytelling. I can't wait for more.

📚: tinyurl.com/sd2b8c4

WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE CASTLE by @emilyterrible: A short, sharp, bloody shock of a graphic novel, and an arresting slice of spine-tingling twistiness and horror. An utter delight.

📚: tinyurl.com/qulv7rx

THE PARAGON HOTEL by @LyndsayFaye (@PutnamBooks): A gangster moll w/ a gunshot wound hops the train to Oregon to outrun the Mafia & falls into a mystery in a segregated city ready to blow. Lyndsay is one of my fave writers, and this one is WONDERFUL.

📚: tinyurl.com/vzrd8lo

THE BECKONING SHADOW by @Katharyn_Blair (@KTegenBooks): A dreamy mix of X-Men and Fight Club, this book totally caught me by surprise and took some really unexpected turns that I thoroughly enjoyed. I cannot WAIT for her next book!

📚: tinyurl.com/wgc52qh

MIDNIGHT IN CHERNOBYL by @HigginbothamA (@simonschuster): A fascinating and readable descent into the causes, events, and repercussions of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that humanizes all of those affected.

📚: tinyurl.com/uxumxuu
🎧: tinyurl.com/tu9dq9q

LOST CHILDREN ARCHIVE by @ValeriaLuiselli (@AAKnopf): A blended family's road trip across America tangles into the refugee crisis at the US-Mexico border in heartbreaking artifacts: maps, photographs, and sound recordings.

📚: tinyurl.com/t6rfplj
🎧: tinyurl.com/rdxw34v

INLAND by Téa Obreht (@randomhouse): A parched and haunting tale set amidst the painted vistas and scrabbly deserts of the American West. Lyrical and suspenseful, it's a worthy successor to The Tiger's Wife.

📚: tinyurl.com/v96y9pt

ALL THE WALLS OF BELFAST by @sarahjoydrop (@TurnerPub): A raw, affecting love story between two teenagers in post-conflict Belfast whose entire lives have built them to be at odds with one another.

📚: tinyurl.com/vzstgh3

WHEN WE LEFT CUBA by @ChanelCleeton (@BerkleyRomance): A sweeping romance, a thrilling spy story, a lush portrait of mid-century Miami and Washington, DC, and an unforgettable heroine in Beatriz Perez. Highly recommend!

📚: tinyurl.com/uwo4mvv

THE TRIAL OF LIZZIE BORDEN by Cara Robertson (@simonschuster): One of the most infamous American murder trials goes under the microscope.. Opinions may differ, but I believe LIZZIE WAS GUILTY AND NOTHING CAN CHANGE MY MIND.

📚: tinyurl.com/tum2dgu
🎧: tinyurl.com/vzwazmb

SOUTHERN LADY CODE by @WhatIDoAllDay (@doubledaybooks): Helen Ellis' writing is already "full-on-cackle-in-public-places" funny, but just imagine how much funnier it is when you hear her read it on audio. :D

📚: tinyurl.com/w4azxrj
🎧: tinyurl.com/w9mclpl

QUEEN OF THE SEA by @dmeconis (@Candlewick): A beautifully-drawn and enchanting graphic novel about a young girl on a windswept island who becomes entangled in a political battle between an exiled queen and her captors. Absolutely wonderful.

📚: tinyurl.com/vmuhynz

THE WEIGHT OF THE STARS by @KaylaAncrum (@ImprintReads): Queer girls, space feels, ennui, a connection to The Wicker King that will make you scream a lot. No one writes like Kayla and I am always astounded by the words she fills her pages with.

📚: tinyurl.com/szo2ahb

THE BEAST OF BESWICK by @AmalieHoward (@entangledpub): A sexy, emotional historical twist on Beauty and the Beast with an educated smart-tongued heroine and a scarred hero who starts chugging that Respect Women Juice and I enjoyed it VERY MUCH.

📚: tinyurl.com/unatqz6

GRAVITY by @sarahdeming (@MakeMeAWorld / @randomhousekids): A young boxer sets her sights on the Rio Olympics and learns to fight for what she wants and what really matters. Packs a punch, literally and metaphorically, and I don't even regret the pun.

📚: tinyurl.com/rx7okxx

OKAY, those are all of the books I read this year that came out in 2019 - I'm gonna take a quick dinner break, and then come back and tell y'all about all the BACKLIST books I read this year!

Alright, y'all.

Dinner: Acquired
Goodreads: Open
TweetDeck: Prepared
Best Books of 2019 Thread: HAPPENING

HUNGER MAKES THE WOLF by @katsudonburi (@angryrobotbooks): A one-eyed lady gunslinger who magics fire out of her hands leads a mercenary biker gang in outer space against some corrupt corporate capitalist trash LITERALLY WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT FROM ME.

📚: tinyurl.com/yb7c5j92

RAFE: A BUFF MALE NANNY by
@RdotSpoon: This is literally what it says on the cover, and what a delightful confection of a buff male nanny who communicates like a grown adult it is. Highly recommend, it is fabulous.

📚: tinyurl.com/w4cgp7e

MILKMAN by Anna Burns (@GraywolfPress): This book is a masterpiece. Set amidst the Troubles but still eerily universal, it's such torrent of language that I couldn't help but sink into the audiobook and let it wash over me.

📚: tinyurl.com/quba65m
🎧: tinyurl.com/wgqyo29

PULP by @robin_talley: Two queer teens, one today and one in 1950s DC during McCarthy's Lavender Scare, discover love, community, and legacy through the power of words and mid-century lesbian pulp novels. Big-heartedly wonderful.

📚: tinyurl.com/qn9aoc6

NORROWAY, VOL. 1 by @KitandCatComics (@ImageComics): A lovely graphic novel retelling of the Scottish fairtyale Black Bull of Norroway with gorgeous art, a smart sense of humor, and unexpected twists and turns in the story.

📚: tinyurl.com/ra3d9ks

THE GIRL WITH THE RED BALLOON by @Bibliogato: A modern teenager finds herself trapped in 1980s Berlin by way of a mysterious red balloon. A uniquely wonderful book, that also made me buy like three more books about Cold War Berlin. So good.

📚: tinyurl.com/qsjka8v

PRETTY FACE & MAKING UP by @_LucyParker (@CarinaPress): This series is my fave contemp romance series right now. The dialogue is snappy, the characters well crafted, the theatre flavor accurate, and I can't get enough.

📚PF: tinyurl.com/yx6oxtf3
📚MU: tinyurl.com/yx5fu3z6

RUSH, OH! by Shirley Barrett: A historical coming-of-age novel about a young woman in a whaling community in Australia whose whalers have a special and symbiotic relationship with a pod of orcas. Charming and unexpected.

📚: tinyurl.com/tblz3o4

STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT II: INFERNO SQUAD by @ChristieGolden (@DelReyStarWars): Remember what I said before about my love for complicated messy reluctant SW heroines? YUP SAME HERE.

Also Iden Versio is forever linked with @chaosbria in my mind now :D

📚: tinyurl.com/wtxzu9o

THE TRAUMA CLEANER by @delasarah (@StMartinsPress): A gorgeous, heartrending, & ultimately hopeful biography of an extraordinary woman. It's unlike anything I've ever read, and I would recommend it to everyone.

📙: tinyurl.com/y2aspzk2
🎧: tinyurl.com/y2gtr9tp

EMERGENCY CONTACT by @choitotheworld: I somehow missed this when it first came out, but let me tell y'all this book seems pretty chill and lulls you in very gently and then punches you in the heart a bunch. I loved it.

📚: tinyurl.com/yx442mhs
🎧: tinyurl.com/wvkr56l

A NATURAL HISTORY OF DRAGONS by @swan_tower (@torbooks): The first in a series of fantasy novels of manners, written as the memoirs of a respected lady adventurer, explorer, and draconologist. Positively delightful.

📚: tinyurl.com/tl3ncd9

STAR DUST by @AuthorEmmaBarry & Genevieve Turner: A lovely recent divorcee and mother-of-two claims her independence and moves into her own house...right next door to a hotshot NASA astronaut in 1960s Houston. IT IS SO GREAT.

📚: tinyurl.com/uqpc638

FORTUNE FAVORS THE WICKED by @TheresaRomain (@KensingtonBooks): A worldwise ex-courtesan and a blind Navy veteran team up to look for missing treasure and it is an absolutely lovely love story. Highly recommend it.

📚: tinyurl.com/vvy9xpd

COUNTING ON A COUNTESS by Eva Leigh/@Zoe_Archer (@avonbooks): A rake needs to marry to get his inheritance. An impoverished lady needs a noble marriage to protect her smuggling operation. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED ME TO SAY, IT IS A DELIGHT!

📚: tinyurl.com/rz7mjd4

HEROINE COMPLEX by @sarahkuhn (@dawbooks): I feel like I am the last person on earth to read this book, but if you haven't, let me tell you it is a snappy, snarky, sexy romp through a superhero-laden San Francisco, and it is GREAT FUN.

📚: tinyurl.com/u62lwjw

DREAMER'S POOL by Juliet Marillier (@AceRocBooks): I was in the mood for some lush, old-school high fantasy this year, and Juliet Marillier's books feel like pulling on an old cozy favorite sweater. A gorgeous start to a series.

📚: tinyurl.com/rmjaoc4

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA by @natphilbrick (@PenguinBooks): Again, I feel like the last person in the world to read this, but it is really a masterful work of nonfiction. Extra points for a great audiobook.

📚: tinyurl.com/uz43jy3
🎧: tinyurl.com/wffaplo

THE DARK IS RISING by Susan Cooper (@SimonKIDS): I got married on Midwinter's Day, and I needed something comforting and familiar to listen to in the stressful days leading up to it. And this was absolutely perfection.

📚: tinyurl.com/vvelbao
🎧: tinyurl.com/sn5buwd

And those are all of Old Crone Rebecca's Best Books of 2019!

2019 was a weird year, full of ups and downs, but there were some absolutely amazing books that came out this year, and I hope you all read as many of them as strike your fancy!

I’ve included buy links from @justonemorepage wherever possible, @librofm if I listened to it on audio, but pls support your own bookstore if that’s closer/easier for you!

And if purchasing books isn’t in the cards, utilize your libraries!

Love you all, chickadees, Happy 2020.

@justonemorepage @librofm [Also @threadreaderapp i know you're busy, but if you could unroll this at some point, that would be rad]