×
Subscribe

Subscribe Today

26 Issues

In addition to receiving 26 issues of The Independent Kansas City’s Journal of Society, your subscription will include our annual publication, the Charitable Events Calendar and a subscription to our e-newsletter, The Insider. Questions about your current subscription? Contact Laura Gabriel at 816-471-2800.

Rachel’s Reads – December 2019

As the year wraps up and there are gifts to be wrapped, I thought it would be fun to continue the tradition started last year to share a few of my favorite books of the year. These were books published in 2019 and several have made it into my giving list. I hope that there will be something to add to everyone’s winter wish list!

Switching it up from last year, I decided to have poetry be its own category rather than forcing it to fit in the non-fiction category. Below are a few of my favorites because, as always, it was hard for me to narrow it down.


Fiction
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn MuirBlack Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

Nonfiction
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays by Esmé Weijun Wang
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells

Poetry
The Crazy Bunch by Willie Perdomo
The Octopus Museum by Brenda Shaughnessy
The Tradition by Jericho Brown

As usual, there are many books that I didn’t get to this year, and after the wonderful response from our subscribers last year with their favorite books, I would love to continue that tradition as well. Please email me or comment on the online with your favorites. I look forward to sharing a list of our subscribers’ choices for the best books of 2019 in my January column.

Happy Reading! 

RACHEL LEWIS FALCON

Rachel became the publisher of The Independent in March of 2017 and then married her husband Jake in May. Their goldendoodle Einstein joined the family in 2019. Rachel is an avid reader and loves to share book recommendations. (Don’t miss her column, Rachel’s Reads in the Magazine!) She can always be found with a book nearby, especially while traveling (another of her favorite things).

Bailey Pianalto Photography

Ad

Features

Rachel’s Reads – June 2024

It’s often been said that literature helps us find the words for that which we already know. That is especially true when it comes to love. To me, it feels…

Rachel’s Reads – May 2024

Book clubs provide more than just thought-provoking discussions of books. They provide connection, camaraderie, and an enriching experience for readers. Interested in the advent of fully digital book clubs, I…

Rachel’s Reads – April 2024

Not surprisingly, books are my favorite gift to give. I love giving books because they aren’t just presents. They can be stories of adventure or romance, a way to try…

Rachel’s Reads – March 2024

This Women’s History Month, we reached out to women in the community to find our their favorite reads. I’m excited to share their responses below. Kathy Donovan I am a…