Being on vacation and flying to get to vacation—whether you're going to laze on the beach for days or zip around Southeast Asia on the back of a moped—are some of the only long, interrupted times we have these days to read. So, as you prep for your OOO for 2020, we tapped Jynne Dilling Martin, Riverhead Books' associate publisher, and Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation, to give you a rundown of the best books they read in 2019 for a little literary packing list info.

Find a full transcript of the episode and links to all of the books we mentioned here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-best-books-we-read-last-year-women-who-travel-podcast

While many other books were discussed, here are the 11 favorites we suggested in this episode:


Vernon Subutex 1 by Virginie Despentes


The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom


Severance by Ling Ma


The Library Book by Susan Orlean


Normal People by Sally Rooney


Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk


Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman


Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner


Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips


How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang


Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi


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