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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The Best Books We Read Last Year