2019: My year in books

Another reading year has come and gone! Here’s a look back at the highlights of my year in books:

Thank you, Goodreads, for letting me know that I’m probably good at other things besides reading! Funny, last year, I read 202 out of 170 books… so I’m slowly increasing? Or probably just throwing in a lot more shorter works into my reading mix.  

Goodreads stats as of 12/31/2019:

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the most popular book I read this year? Color me shocked! Who would have thought that a book from 1890 would have close to a million readers in 2019?

According to my average rating, I’ve been pretty successful this year when it comes to choosing book that appeal to me. Kind of crazy, but for the second year in a row, my average rating was 4.1 stars.

Star rating used most often: 4 stars (87 total)
Star rating used least often: 2 stars (6 total — and I didn’t give any books only 1-star. I think if I thought that little of a book, I just DNFd.)
DNFs: 4 – Between not getting into a book or just not being the right book at the right time, I officially put aside 4 books that I’d started… although I know there are several more that I put down within a page or two, and just didn’t even count.

Highest rated on Goodreads:

Apparently everyone loved this book!

First and Last:

Neither my first nor my last reviews of the year were for books I’d consider favorites… but then again, I didn’t get around (yet) to writing up reviews for the two books I just finished… so I guess they’ll have to just wait to be the first for 2020!

Reading highlights:

Complete series: I read three series start-to-finish this year:

  • Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (8 books)
  • Beka Cooper by Tamora Pierce (3 books)
  • The Beauty graphic novels by Jeremy Haun (5 books)

New sequels or books in ongoing (or finished) series:

So many great new additions to stories I love! Including…

Stellar historical fiction:

Enthralling re-reads: Books that stand up superbly to a 2nd (or 3rd…) reading:

Great graphic novels:

Fun and light contemporary fiction:

Weird, creepy, disturbing, otherworldly:

Fantastic fantasy:

Story/essay collections:

A quartet of classics:

Aaaaaaand… I’m stopping now before I end up including every single book I read in 2019!

Eye-candy covers:

Let me just take a minute to appreciate some of the most beautiful and/or eye-catching covers from my reading this year… because who doesn’t love a great looking book?

 

Goodbye, 2019!

It’s been a blast… and now it’s time to look forward to all the wonderful books I’ve yet to read.

Wishing everyone a very happy 2020, full of good cheer, good health, and great reading!

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books I Read In 2019

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Favorite Books I Read In 2019.

According to my Goodreads records for 2019, I gave a five-star rating to 63 books in 2019! So how am I supposed to narrow my list down to just ten?

Quick answer: I can’t. So, for this week’s Top 10 Tuesday, I’m sharing my 15 favorite books for 2019! (Review links are included where available — click through if you want to know more about any of these EXCELLENT books…)

  1. Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Reid Jenkins (review)
  2. Circe by Madeline Miller (review)
  3. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C. A. Fletcher (review)
  4. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (review)
  5. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal — a re-read, but I loved it all over again, so it belongs on this list! (review)
  6. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (review)
  7. Our War by Craig DiLouie (review)
  8. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See (review)
  9. The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne — my final 5-star read of the year! No review yet, but I loved this book!!
  10. The Salt Path by Raynor Winn (review)
  11. Today We Go Home by Kelli Estes (review)
  12. The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman (review)
  13. Wanderers by Chuck Wendig (review)
  14. Recursion by Blake Crouch (review)
  15. The Beka Cooper trilogy by Tamora Pierce (review)

And wait, there’s more! After posting, I realized that I left off another book that was definitely a favorite book of 2019, and I just couldn’t let it go!

16. The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (review) — I’m not sure how I missed this amazing book when I put my list together! Whew, I feel better now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What were your favorite books of 2019? Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!