Books I Read in 2019
The books read during 2019 have become to blur in my mind with the books I read in 2018, as I kept thinking certain titles were part of this list only to discover that they were from a previous year. It was a year that was almost a 50/50 split between work reading and pleasure reading, though there are a few cases in which this crossed over as part of my work search has been to find a rom com to adapt so in some instances I searched for and read titles that were of interest to me. Below are all of the book pictures I took throughout the year to document my reading journey. The titles that I did not photograph, and which are represented solely by their cover pictures, were read as pdfs on my iPad or as printed pdfs. I didn’t think they would photograph as well, and often, those titles were for work submissions. My printed copy of Kingdom of Lies was a bit of a sight as I color coded much of the book in order to understand the key figures of cybersecurity and the terminology. While not a book that was a personal favorite, I do think it was an important read in terms of understanding that world and how it impacts our day to day lives. If there are any titles that you wish to know more about, please let me know as I would be happy to discuss.
I tend to set reading goals each year and this year went for a number that felt like a challenge and also more approachable: 35 titles. In the past, I went with 50 books but never got close to reading that many and would often feel bad about not reaching my goal. Until this point, the most I had read in a year, while keeping track of my numbers on goodreads was thirty-one (my 2018 total). Two days before New Year’s Day, I reached my goal and finished by thirty-fifth book of the year. I feel good about reaching my goal and am also excited for the whole new round of books I get to enjoy this year. I’ve taken a bit of a step back for 2020 as I want to focus more on reading larger titles and also spend more of my time working on other projects, though as a reader at heart, I will always want to sit down with a book and would never want to stop reading.
ABOVE TITLES
I’ll Have What She’s Having: How Nora Ephron’s Three Iconic Films Save The Romantic Comedy by Erin Carlson, I Found You by Lisa Jewell, The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker, The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon, Kingdom of Lies: Unnerving Adventures in The World of Cybercrime by Kate Fazzini // Felicity by Mary Oliver, Paddington at St. Paul’s by Michael Bond, Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins, Rumple Buttercup: A Story of Bananas, Belonging, and Being Yourself by Matthew Gubler, Sixty: A Diary of My Sixty-First Year by Ian Brown // Rough Magic by Lara Prior Palmer, Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, When You Read This by Mary Adkins, Winter by Ali Smith, The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker // The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo, All Adults Here by Emma Straub (to be published in 2020), The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy, The Lifespan of a Fact by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, Gordon Farrell, The Salt Path by Raynor Winn // Sara Berman’s Closet by Maira Kalman, Alex Kalman, Exhalation by Ted Chiang, The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, Stephen Snyder (Translator), Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, The Library Book by Susan Orlean // Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy, A Room with a View by E.M. Forster, Spring by Ali Smith, Across The Universe (Book 1) by Beth Revis, Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams // The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz, The Witches of New York by Ami McKay, Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, Matilda by Roald Dahl, Infused: Adventures in Tea by Henrietta Lovell
SOME STATS
Out of the 35 books — 18 were read for work. 3 were book club selections (there are a handful that I started for book club but didn’t fully finish and therefore, didn’t count). 8 were non-fiction. 8 were sci-fi/fantasy. 1 book was read as an audio-book. The longest book was The Witches of New York at 545 pages followed by Most Fun We Ever Had at 533 pages, and the shortest was Paddington at St Paul’s at 35 pages. It took me the longest to read The Library Book which I read from January to September. I attended book events for three of these titles (Rumple Buttercup, Paddington, and Infused). My other book event book from the year is currently sitting with the cookbooks and is all about apples. I started eight books which I did not finish though I want to go back and finish four.
MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR
These are the books that have stayed with me, that I enjoyed the most, and those titles that I have recommended to friends to read immediately. This is all extremely subjective, as there are titles not on this list that I also enjoyed but just not as much, or I enjoyed at the time but it hasn’t had the same staying power post-reading. I used to be very hesitant to give books five stars. I am not sure why exactly except to say that sometimes I question what makes a book five stars and whether or not any book can live up to those high expectations. On the other side, there is the opinion that why not award books that high accolade if it exists, and if the book was enjoyed. The stars in this game could potentially change but right now these are my thoughts. The books are listed in order read, rather than in a ranking position.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
These titles are books that I thoroughly enjoyed and wish to talk about but haven’t made the above list. (Which I am not second guessing.) These are titles I would still recommend to people, and have on some occasions, and think are worth a read.
