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