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Editors' Picks 2019

Each year the Five Books Editors pick their best reads of the year. Editing jobs at Five Books involves reading a lot of books, often at speed, sometimes superficially. Here, our editors pick some of those books in 2019 that stood out sufficiently to slow them down and draw them in deep.

Literary editor Stephanie Kelley selects her most memorable reads from 2019, including novels, memoirs essays and letters.  Meanwhile, Five Books founder and editor-in-chief Sophie Roell chooses the best children’s books of 2019 in collaboration with her children, recommending Philip Pullman and Sophie Cleverly, among others.

Our deputy editor Cal Flyn also guides us through the highlights of her year, picking out the wide range of fiction and non-fiction that grabbed her attention. Some of her choices are widely acclaimed and award winning; others are hidden gems. She also lists the books she’s looking forward to reading in 2020.

    Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019, recommended by Stephanie Kelley

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019 - The Dolphin Letters, 1970-1979 Elizabeth Hardwick and Robert Lowell (ed. Saskia Hamilton)

    1

    The Dolphin Letters, 1970-1979
    Elizabeth Hardwick and Robert Lowell (ed. Saskia Hamilton)

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019 - Veronica by Mary Gaitskill

    2

    Veronica
    by Mary Gaitskill

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019 - Life with Picasso by Carlton Lake & Françoise Gilot

    3

    Life with Picasso
    by Carlton Lake & Françoise Gilot

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019 - Nobody's Looking at You: Essays by Janet Malcolm

    4

    Nobody's Looking at You: Essays
    by Janet Malcolm

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019 - How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell

    5

    How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
    by Jenny Odell

  • Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019 - The Dolphin Letters, 1970-1979 Elizabeth Hardwick and Robert Lowell (ed. Saskia Hamilton)
  • Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019 - Veronica by Mary Gaitskill
  • Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019 - Life with Picasso by Carlton Lake & Françoise Gilot
  • Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019 - Nobody's Looking at You: Essays by Janet Malcolm
  • Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019 - How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell

Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019, recommended by Stephanie Kelley

Looking for captivating, eccentric novels, essays and letters to read at the turn of the new year? Five Books literary editor Stephanie Kelley shares favorites from her year in reading—new and old.

Editors’ Picks: Favorite Books of 2019, recommended by Stephanie Kelley

    Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books, recommended by Sophie Roell

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books - The Secret Commonwealth: The Book of Dust Volume 2 by Philip Pullman

    1

    The Secret Commonwealth: The Book of Dust Volume 2
    by Philip Pullman

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books - The Last Secret (Scarlet and Ivy, Book 6) by Sophie Cleverly

    2

    The Last Secret (Scarlet and Ivy, Book 6)
    by Sophie Cleverly

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books - Winter in Wartime by Jan Terlouw & Laura Watkinson (translator)

    3

    Winter in Wartime
    by Jan Terlouw & Laura Watkinson (translator)

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books - The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell

    4

    The Good Thieves
    by Katherine Rundell

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books - The Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams

    5

    The Beast of Buckingham Palace
    by David Walliams

  • Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books - The Secret Commonwealth: The Book of Dust Volume 2 by Philip Pullman
  • Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books - The Last Secret (Scarlet and Ivy, Book 6) by Sophie Cleverly
  • Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books - Winter in Wartime by Jan Terlouw & Laura Watkinson (translator)
  • Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books - The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell
  • Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books - The Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams

Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books, recommended by Sophie Roell

Five Books editor Sophie Roell selects the best children’s books of 2019, after intense discussions with her family about which books should make the list.

Editors’ Picks: Children’s Books, recommended by Sophie Roell

    Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019, recommended by Cal Flyn

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - This is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill

    1

    This is Pleasure
    by Mary Gaitskill

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - Homing: On Pigeons, Dwellings and Why We Return by Jon Day

    2

    Homing: On Pigeons, Dwellings and Why We Return
    by Jon Day

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane

    3

    Underland: A Deep Time Journey
    by Robert Macfarlane

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

    4

    My Sister, the Serial Killer
    by Oyinkan Braithwaite

  • Read
    Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - Supper Club: A Novel by Lara Williams

    5

    Supper Club: A Novel
    by Lara Williams

  • Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - This is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill
  • Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - Homing: On Pigeons, Dwellings and Why We Return by Jon Day
  • Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane
  • Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
  • Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019 - Supper Club: A Novel by Lara Williams

Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019, recommended by Cal Flyn

Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn reflects on a year of spectacularly rich literary output, highlighting notable new books from Mary Gaitskill and Robert Macfarlane, as well as sparkling debuts that mark the arrival of exciting new literary voices in 2019.

Editors’ Picks: Notable Books of 2019, recommended by Cal Flyn

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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