Here’s What Our Readers Loved in 2019
To wrap up the year, we asked our fans what their favourite reads were in 2019 and what made them tick. Check out some of the recommendations below.
If you haven’t read them, be sure to add them into your “What to Read in 2020” book list!
1. How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee
Why our fan recommends it:
“A heartbreaking story with well-developed characters that you feel a kinship for. The book is unforgettable. I didn’t want it to end!” — Dhanashri
Why we recommend it too:
How We Disappeared takes an unflinching look at wartime Singapore, and tries to capture local voices and culture in a naturalistic manner (with references to local lore and speech rhythms). Shifting between three voices — a teenage Wang Di, 75-year-old Wang Di and her grandson Kevin — the story takes off as different characters and different perspectives try to uncover the dark secrets that followed through from the war.
Get the book here: Physical Copy, eBook, Audiobook
2. Balance is a Crock, Sleep is for the Weak: An Indispensable Guide to Surviving Working Motherhood by Amy Eschliman and Leigh Oshirak
Why our fan recommends it:
“(The book) was filled with good advice on how to navigate motherhood and a career with a massive dose of humour. Best thing was that the title was available as an eBook so one could read it while carrying a baby!” — Deborah
Why we recommend it too:
While there many instructional manuals and self-help books out there for mums and mums-to-be that are earnest in preparing the working woman for the realities of motherhood, this book is a refreshing breather from those no-nonsense titles. It is unabashedly funny and most importantly, real.
With chapters like “You are not Your Husband’s Mother! And Other Time-Sucking Obligations” and “Congratulations. Now, Where Do I Slot “Baby” in Outlook?”, it feels like…finally, a book out there actually gets it.
Get the book here: eBook
3. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Why our fan recommends it:
“I love this book and would recommend it to introverts, ambiverts and extroverts. Non-fiction books like this always helps to provide me some serenity and peace, whilst gaining knowledge on psychology.” — Sebast
Why we recommend it too:
Libraries are quiet places, so naturally we would recommend it.
Lack of noise aside, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking sheds light on how introverts navigate a world that places importance in speaking out and how the quality of introversion can lead to success. Backed by facts, figures and case studies, the book does more than make introverts feel better about themselves. It also helps extroverts understand their introverted peers, and how to interact with a friend or a co-worker who might want to pen down their thoughts alone than sit in the middle of a brainstorm.
Get the book here: Physical Copy, Audiobook
4. Familiar Things by Hwang Sok-Yong
Why our fan recommends it:
“This is a book that made a deep impression on me as it told the story of impoverished children who live on a landfill site whose families have to forage for useable materials in order to make a living. It’s a deep read that resonated on many levels, and made me reflect on how our society is organised which also relates to how the world organised itself in light of developed nations shipping off their own recycling and waste products to developing countries.” — Jiaxin
Why we recommend it too:
Familiar Things examines a familiar conundrum — that as a country progresses and attains economic success, there will always be consequences for rapid development.
Read this for a sobering look at how the waste from our everyday lives have dire effects on people lagging behind economically. The book explores this via the lens of two young boys in a Korean landfill site named “Flower Island”. Life seemed idyllic at first through the free-spiritedness of the young boys, but their naiveté amidst the effects of capitalism makes the difference between the success and consequence of development even more apparent.
Get the book here: Physical Copy, eBook
5. Normal People by Sally Rooney
Why our fan recommends it:
“It was a good and complex, yet agonising read. The emotions I felt during the course of reading this was crazy! This is not a typical love story, but more of one that explores the complexity of interpersonal relationships between people and how emotions and mental health come into play.” — Bernice
Why we recommend it too:
It is to be expected that a story that explores the relationship of a boy and a girl (and eventually man and woman) would use language that is romantic and flowery. But Sally Rooney’s language in Normal People is direct and plain. This forces the reader to focus on the complexities of the characters, which anchors the story. Amidst the will-they-won’t-they tussle between the two main characters, there are cogent observations on class differences and how these might inevitably affect interpersonal relationships.
Get the book here: Physical Copy, eBook, Audiobook
All books featured are available via the NLB Mobile app or at our public libraries.
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Text by
Fadzeera Fadzully
National Library Board
