As a Member of the Education and Labor Committee, I believe passionately in promoting literacy and the power of reading for all ages in all communities. My mother instilled my love of reading as a child, which was further cultivated by my teachers in school. No matter how busy the days are, I try to read for 30 minutes every night before going to bed. And each year, I love sharing my annual reading list. Thank you to all of the passionate NY-21 readers for asking me throughout the year what I’m reading and for sharing their favorites with me!
TOP FIVE OF 2019
The Tattooist of Auschwitzby Heather Morris
Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Rebornby Daniel Gordis
Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolutionby Todd Purdum
The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Weddingby Jennifer Robson
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBIby David Grann
COMPLETE 2019 READING LIST
The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Homeby Denise Kiernan
Ashley’s War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefieldby Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBIby David Grann
The Paris Seamstressby Natasha Lester
The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in Americaby Oren Cass
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel, by Gail Honeyman
The Days of Abandonmentby Elena Ferrante
The Return of the Soldier, by Rebecca West
The White Darknessby David Grann
Troubling Loveby Elena Ferrante
The Envoy: From Kabul to the White House, My Journey Through a Turbulent Worldby Zalmay Khalilzad
There Thereby Tommy Orange
Who Thought This Was A Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work at the White Houseby Alyssa Mastromonaco
The Cast: A Novelby Amy Blumenfeld
The Other Einstein: A Novelby Marie Benedict
Mostly Sunny: How I Learned to Keep Smiling Through the Rainest Daysby Janice Dean
The Tattooist of Auschwitz: A Novelby Heather Morris
The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living: A Novelby Louise Miller
The House at Tyneford: A Novelby Natasha Solomons
Nothing Like the Sunby Anthony Burgess
Letters from Paris, by Juliet Blackwell
Fiercombe Manor, A Novelby Kate Riordan
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Loveby Dani Shapiro
Inseparable: The Original Siamese Twins and Their Rendezvous with American Historyby Yunte Huang
The First Wave: The D-Day Warriors Who Led The Way to Victory in World War IIby Alex Kershaw
The Road to Characterby David Brooks
The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Unby Anna Fifield
Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contemptby Arthur Brooks
Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israelby Matti Friedman
Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Presentby Michael Oren
Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Rebornby Daniel Gordis
American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trumpby Tim Alberta
Rutka’s Notebook: January-April 1943by Rutka Laskier
The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes The Worldby Melinda Gates
Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceilingby Amy Chozick
The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Weddingby Jennifer Robson
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Mattersby Priya Parker
Enter Helen: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Womanby Brooke Hauser
The Haunting of Maddy Clareby Simone St. James
The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angelsby Jon Meacham
Not Just Jane: Rediscovering Seven Amazing Women Writers Who Transformed British Literatureby Shelley DeWees
Political Tribes: Group Instincts and the Fate of Nationsby Amy Chua
The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciationsby John McCain and Mark Salter
The Hellfire Clubby Jake Tapper
Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolutionby Todd Purdum
Impeachment: An American Historyby Jeffrey Engel, Jon Meacham, Timothy Naftali and Peter Baker
