Most Underrated Gems of 2019

Underrated Gems of 2019

 

I actually struggled to put this list together this year, but for a good reason! A lot of the books I loved this year were the buzzy ones…and, for once, the buzz actually panned out.

So, I had to include some books that you could argue got enough attention to disqualify them from the “underrated” category. But, I included them because I thought they deserved more attention than they actually got…or they got mixed reviews. 

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Most Underrated Gems of 2019

All That You Leave Behind by Erin Lee Carr (my review)
This memoir is a bit of a bit of a mash-up of a grief memoir, an addiction memoir, an early-mid 20’s career memoir, and a father / daughter story and it was a pleasant surprise for me! It was an April Book of the Month pick and Claire Gibson (author of Beyond the Point) recommended it on Ep. 36 of the podcast…but, I haven’t seen it around much other than that!

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Fleishman is in Troubleby Taffy Brodesser-Akner (my review)
I loved the snarky writing, the male perspective on divorce (though, interestingly, written by a woman), and the surprising feminist undercurrent of this “very New York City” novel. Though it’s gotten some critical acclaim (long-listed for the National Book Award and the Carnegie Medal and New York Times Notable Book of 2019), the reaction from regular readers has been decidedly mixed. PS – this is a rare time that I’m landing on the side of the critics.

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Necessary Peopleby Anna Pitoniak (my review)
This mash-up of a toxic friendship and wealthy people behaving badly story set in the New York City media world was a May Book of the Month pick and Grace Atwood (co-host of the Bad on Paper Podcast) shared it on Ep. 24 of the podcast. I thought it was the perfect beach read (though I read it too late to include it in my 2019 Summer Reading Guide), but I haven’t seen it around much.

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Talk to Meby John Kenney (my review)
Talk to Me is a snarky story that’s ultimately about regret…taking place in today’s media world. Kenney’s commentary on today’s brand of journalism is spot-on and pokes fun at pretty much all parties involved. I loved this Brain Candy with substance, but I can only think of 2 other people I saw that read it this year!

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The Body in Questionby Jill Ciment (my review)
This slim novel about what goes on within a jury is a slightly weird book, but I was riveted the entire time and it went to places I never expected. Annie Jones really liked it (and put it on my radar) and it was a Read it Forward Favorite Book of June 2019, but I saw next to nothing around about it otherwise. I did include it in my 2019 Summer Reading Guide, but I’m not sure how many people I was actually able to convince to read it!

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The Currentby Tim Johnston (my review)
Two of my trusted recommendation sources (Susie from Novel Visits and Meredith from the Currently Reading podcast) recommended this small-town literary mystery (a sub-genre that I’ve been loving lately!), but it didn’t get a ton of Instagram love nor have I seen it on many Best Books of 2019 lists (except Amazon’s Best Mysteries / Thrillers of 2019).

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The Editorby Steven Rowley (my review)
The Editor is a marriage of a dysfunctional family novel and a publishing world / literary life novel…with some fun celebrity allure sprinkled on top. It totally worked for me, but I saw some mixed reviews on #bookstagram…and it’s not the kind of book you’ll see on Best Books of the Year lists.

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We Came Here to Forgetby Andrea Dunlop (my review)
I love a good novel featuring a female athlete protagonist and they’re fairly hard to find. This one features an elite skier and, though I hadn’t seen much buzz about it throughout the year, it was recently chosen as a book club by Grace and Becca at the Bad on Paper Podcast!

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What are your favorite underrated gems of 2019?

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Underrated Gems of 2019

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8 Comments

  1. I have a copy of The Current sitting on my shelf. We have similar tastes when it comes to mysteries so am bumping it up on my TBR!

    Posted 12.19.19 Reply
  2. Well, we had absolutely no overlap on this one, though I did consider Necessary People and We Came Here to Forget.

    Posted 12.19.19 Reply
  3. And I haven’t read a single one of them. 🙁

    Posted 12.19.19 Reply
  4. Melissa wrote:

    I DNF’d The Editor because I found the main character too annoying. I tried The Current, but the relationship between the two college women at the very beginning just seemed false, so I didn’t get very far (it certainly might have gotten much better from there and been fabulous after that). I’m reading We Came Here to Forget with a book club next year, so looking forward to that, and Fleishman Is in Trouble is on my TBR as a maybe, I’m kind of torn by the very varied reviews. I’m not sure I read many books published in 2019 that are really “under the radar” — maybe Freefall, but I didn’t like it in any case. I guess there’s a book written by a friend of mine, They All Fall Down, which I thought was a fun And Then There Were None update.

    Posted 12.19.19 Reply
  5. Karen wrote:

    Hi Sarah, You convinced me to read The Body in Question and it was one of my favorite books of the year. Definitely an underrated gem! Also enjoyed We Came Here to Forget and Necessary People.

    Posted 12.19.19 Reply
  6. Jen wrote:

    The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo. I didn’t see much about this book anywhere. My 14 year old found it and gifted it to me for my Bday in July. I hadn’t even heard of it. It is a debut and it is wonderful.

    Posted 12.19.19 Reply
  7. I read and loved The Body in Question and I know lots ( including book groups) of people who have, too. That book and The Current got a lot of good press when they came out. That’s how I heard about them.
    I think that’s the good news. They weren’t completely missed.

    Posted 12.24.19 Reply

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