I reached my goal to read fifty-two books for the fifty-two weeks of the year. Hooray! Here is a list of my five favorites, in no particular order:

Being Mortal by Atal Gawande

This is a hard-hitting, detailed look at death and dying, how it affects the sufferer of illness and frailties of old age. It’s a topic most of us would prefer to avoid, but Gawande underlines the reasons we shouldn’t.

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez

A grim story of racial tensions in Texas of the 1930s, but one I couldn’t put down.

Chicana Falsa by Michele Serros

I relate to the late Michele Serros and her writings about Mexican-American cultural identity.

My Antonia by Willa Cather

A tale of the immigrant experience at the turn of the 19th century in Nebraska. It is still relevant to today’s society.

A House of My Own by Sandra Cisneros

There is no other writer like Cisneros. This memoir is written with heart, humor, and poetic sensibility.

Happy New Year, and may it bring you many happy reading experiences.