What I read in 2019 & looking ahead to 2020

I’ve been using Goodreads to track the books I’ve read and make annual reading goals for seven years now.

My reading goal for 2019 was 35 books, and I actually read 37 (apparently that total means more than 11,700 pages read!).

Given this, my goal for 2020 will be 40. If I’m able to hit this number, it will tie the amount of books I read in 2015, which is the average number of books I have read annually since I began tracking my books when I got my Kindle in 2010.

In 2020, I will also endeavour to review more of the books I read, so expect to see some of those posts here. I find when I read a book and enjoy it, I tend to remember that for a short amount of time, so I think taking the time to write up a little review on my blog will help me remember why I liked a book (or not).

That said, here are the highlights (and lowlights) of the books I read in 2019 (a full list is below, should you be interested).

Best Book: Love Lives Here by Amanda Jette Knox

It was hard for me to pick my top book of the year. I knew a lot about Knox’s family before I read her book, but the honesty expressed in her book was refreshing and I still felt as though I was discovering her family for the first time when I read her book. I hope to be half the mother and wife that Knox has been. My book club is discussing this one next month, and I can’t wait.

Worst Book: Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

Overhyped. Over-dramatic. Unbelievable.

Funniest Book: We Should All Be Mirandas by Chelsea Fairless and Lauren Garroni

The book was just as hilarious as the Instagram account the two authors run (Every Outfit on Sex and the City). It was a great ode to Miranda Hobbes. I couldn’t finish the Sex and the City sequel by Candace Bushnell, but was excited to devour this one.

Book I’d recommend to others: Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen by Brian Raftery

This one is here instead of Knox’s book because I didn’t want to list the same book twice. I also want to put a caveat here that I am full into ’90s nostalgia right now, which may have biased this pick, but it was a great look back at a year where I lived at the movie theatre.

Best Chicklit book: The Accidental Life Swap by Jennifer Joyce AND How to Hack a Heartbreak by Kristin Rockaway

I know it seems silly to tie a category like Chicklit, but I really enjoyed both these books. I read The Accidental Life Swap in under a day and laughed out loud at a few parts. I can’t remember the last time I was on holidays and carried my Kindle with me all day just to keep reading. I also was so pleasantly surprised with Rockaway’s book. It also kept me going back for more and I finished it in two days — when I wasn’t on holidays. Sometimes the books that are the most escapist really are the most fun.

Best Book by Someone I know: Before the Lights Go Out by Sean Fitz-Gerald

Nice guy, great book. I enjoyed the information Fitz-Gerald also presented on the decline of hockey among kids in Canada. As a parent of a kid who isn’t in hockey, and who doesn’t know how to even skate yet, I was shocked to learn I’m actually not the exception I thought I was, I might actually be the rule. I’d definitely read more on the decline of Canada’s game, potential reasons why and if there’s any chance of turning that around.

Those are my tops (and bottoms) from 2019, I’d be curious to hear yours as well to potentially add to my 2020 reading list.

.gr_grid_container { /* customize grid container div here. eg: width: 500px; */ } .gr_grid_book_container { /* customize book cover container div here */ float: left; width: 98px; height: 160px; padding: 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; }