The Best Books We Read Last Year

Being on vacation and flying to get to vacation—whether you're going to laze on the beach for days or zip around Southeast Asia on the back of a moped—are some of the only long, interrupted times we have these days to read. So, as you prep for your OOO for 2020, we tapped Jynne Dilling Martin, Riverhead Books' associate publisher, and Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation, to give you a rundown of the best books they read in 2019 for a little literary packing list info. Find a full transcript of the episode and links to all of the books we mentioned here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-best-books-we-read-last-year-women-who-travel-podcast While many other books were discussed, here are the 11 favorites we suggested in this episode: Vernon Subutex 1 by Virginie Despentes The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom Severance by Ling Ma The Library Book by Susan Orlean Normal People by Sally Rooney Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.