Sunday, January 19, 2020

Best Books Read in 2019


Finally, here it is--I know you've all been waiting--my wrap-up of my 2019 reading year and picks for my favorite books! I'm a bit late because I read a lot of books in December, so it took me a while to catch up on all the reviews.

First, I'll share some stats and fun facts about my 2019 reading year, then my top picks, and finally, my Top 10 (or whatever) lists in each category. I read some outstanding books last year, so these were tough choices! You can see a complete list, with links to reviews, of all the books I've read in recent years on my Book Reviews page.

Stats and Facts

NOTE: the numbers in ( )  are my 2018 stats, for comparison.
Total Books Read in 2019 = 87 (88)

Adult Fiction = 50 (45)
Nonfiction = 14 (17)
Teen/YA = 12 (15)
Middle-Grade = 12 (10)
Graphic Novel/Memoir = 15 (11)
Audiobooks = 27 (28)
(note that categories overlap)

Women authors = 54 = 62% (43 = 49%)
Diverse books = 37 = 43% (22 = 25%)
From My Own Shelves = 45 = 52% (33 = 38%)

You can also see how I did on my 2019 Reading Challenges.

Top Picks - Best of the Best

Best Adult Novel
(loved it so much in April, I am re-reading it next month!)


Best Nonfiction
The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea
(powerful, moving true story, especially on audio)


Best Memoir
Becoming by Michelle Obama
(moving, powerful, warm, and funny & great on audio) 
 
 
Best Teen/YA
Threatened by Eliot Schrefer  
(wonderful novel and inspired me to read Jane Goodall's memoir)


Best Middle-Grade
 Remarkables by Margaret Peterson Haddix
(unique premise & in-depth characters)
 

  Best Graphic Novel
Old Souls by Brian MacDonald and Les McClaine
(compelling, chilling story about reincarnation)


Best Audio Book
Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt 
(warm, funny memoir about grief, family, and moving forward)
 

Top Ten (or whatever) Lists of 2019
(each list is in no particular order, and some books appear on more than one list)

Top 11 Novels
The Likeness by Tana French
My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee 
The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
True Grit by Charles Portis
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead   
Plus Honorable Mentions to these 3 which were re-reads 2019 and are STILL on my Best Of list!
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Top 8 Nonfiction Books
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea
Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt
An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography by Paul Rusesabagina, with Tom Zoellner
Vincent and Theo by Deborah Heiligman

Top 5 Teen/YA Books
Grimoire Noir by Vera Greentea and Yana Bogatch  
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
Threatened by Eliot Schrefer
Vincent and Theo by Deborah Heiligman

Top 5 Middle-Grade Books
Guts by Raina Telgemeier
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Remarkables by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Stargazing by Jen Wang
Sunny Rolls the Dice by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm   
     

Top 5 Graphic Novels/Memoirs
Grimoire Noir by Vera Greentea and Yana Bogatch
Guts by Raina Telgemeier  
Old Souls by Brian MacDonald and Les McClaine
Stargazing by Jen Wang
 
Top 10 Audio Books
Becoming by Michelle Obama  
The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh
The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea
Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
Remarkables by Margaret Peterson Haddix
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
Vincent and Theo by Deborah Heiligman
The Widows by Jess Montgomery        
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Friday, January 17, 2020

Books Read in December & 2019 Challenges Wrap-Up

One of the beautiful holiday displays at Longwood Gardens
I was just working on my 2019 reading wrap-up post (yes, a bit late, I know) and realized I never summarized December! So, here we go - I also included a wrap-up of my 2019 reading challenges below.

I December, I finished the following books:

  • Sunny Rolls the Dice by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (PA) - middle-grade graphic novel
  • Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt (DC, NY) - memoir on audio
  • The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (NY) - adult fiction


  • The Seventh Voyage by Jon J. Muth - graphic novel
  • The Census by Jesse Ball - adult fiction on audio
  • Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (UK) - classic adult fiction

  • Remarkables by Margaret Peterson Haddix (PA) - middle grade fiction on audio


Wow, another BIG reading month for me, with 13 books finished - no wonder I am behind on reviews! (Reviews at the links, where available.) Four of the books I read were quick graphic novels, which explains why I was able to read so many in one month. You can also tell that I carried over a few from Nonfiction November. Of the 13 total, three were nonfiction and the other ten were fiction, nine books were for adults, three were middle-grade, and one was a teen/YA book. I listened to three books on audio ... and those were my three favorites! Becoming and Making Toast were both immersive, warm, funny, powerful memoirs, read by the authors - both highly recommended.

Progress and Wrap-Up of 2019 Reading Challenges:
This is my favorite part of my monthly summary - updating my Reading Challenges. Here, I also include my end-of-year wrap-up for each challenge. The above link will take you to my challenge page, for more information, lists of books read for each, and links to the challenges.
Mount TBR Reading Challenge - Eight books were from my own shelves last month (!), bringing me up to (drumroll...) 45 TBR books read in 2019! (I don't count audios). My goal was at least 36, so I surpassed that. So, then, why are my shelves still full?
Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - December was Last Chance, a book you've been meaning to read all year, so Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward certainly fits. I met the Monthly Motif Challenge every month except November.
Back to the Classics Challenge - Just under the wire, I squeezed in one more classic, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, finished late on 12/31! My goal was to read 6 classics, but in 2019, I only read 4 classics, so I will try again this year.
Monthly Keyword Challenge - Another big zero for this one in December, and a major fail for the year. I only managed to read a book with one of the monthly key words twice all year, in September and October. I guess this one was not a good choice for the way that I read.
Nonfiction Reading Challenge 2019 - I read three more nonfiction books in December, for a total of fourteen for the year. My goal was 15, but I think that's pretty close and quite good for me, since I tend to focus on fiction.
Diversity Reading Challenge - I added another five books in December that had diverse authors, characters, or themes. In all, I read 37 diverse books in 2019. My goal was 25, so that was a big win!
Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - I added Tanzania and two more books set in the UK in December. In 2019, I read 23 books set in 17 different countries. In 2018, I read 31 international books, so my reading was a bit more domestic last year, but I hit some places that I knew very little about it.
2019 Literary Escapes Challenge - I added no new states in December, but I read books set in 28 different states in 2019, which was slightly better than 2018, when I read in 25 different states.

Finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month. I filled in 21 squares in December:




Bingo spaces filled:
Becoming - library book
Through a Window - photographs, set in a foreign country
The Woman I Was Before - kissing, crime
Sunny Rolls the Dice - play games, in a series
Making Toast - audio book
The Nest - gift, debut novel
Are You Listening? - kindness
Stargazing - free book
Sing, Unburied, Sing - red cover, bad habit
The Seventh Voyage - read a physical book
Census - not in a series
Mrs. Dalloway - shelf love, classic
Remarkables - mystery, tree on the cover
Free Space

What was your favorite book read in December?   

Next up: my full 2019 Book Wrap-Up! 
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