Books I Read in 2019

Here it is, my once a year blog post. This year I read 38 books. I always aim for 52 books, but life happens.
I read more non fiction last year than I ever had in a year. I prefer fiction, but sometimes a really great non fiction book lands in your lap and you can’t pass it up! Most of the non fiction books were memoirs, and they were all insightful, heartbreaking, and beautifully written.

I usually do a star rating system similar to Goodreads. 1 star = crap, 5 stars = phenomenal

I’m going to mix it up by using genres this year, along with star ratings.

I hope you find a book you enjoy from my list.

And as always,

Happy Reading!

Fiction

5 Stars

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (Tom Hanks does the Audio version of the books and it's beautiful.)

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

After the Flood by Kassandra Montag

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell 

The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain 


4 Stars

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood  (This was very good, but I loved The Handmaid's Tale More.)

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (The Netflix Series is really good too!)

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones

The Lightkeeper's Daughter by Jean Pendziwol 

Watching You by Lisa Jewell 

The Island of Sea Woman by Lisa See

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Good Riddance by Elinor Lipman

One Day in December by Josie Silver

3 Stars

The Cactus by Sarah Haywood

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall

The Farm by Joanne Ramos

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

Classics

Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery 

(5 stars)

Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery 

(4 Stars)

Anne of The Island by L.M. Montgomery 

(3 Stars)

Non Fiction 

Memoirs

Leaving the Witness by Amber Scorah 

(5 stars)

Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl 

(5 stars)

The Less People Know About Us by Axton Betz-Hamilton 

(4 stars)

Unshattered by Carol Decker 

(4 stars)

God Land by Lyz Lenz

(4 stars)

The Size of Everything by Erin Cole

(4 stars)

Tasting Grace by Melissa d'Arabian

(4 stars)

Historical Non Fiction

The Library Book by Susan Orlean 

(4 stars) 

Self Help\Spiritual Guidance

Beholding and Becoming: The Act of Everyday Worship by Ruth Chou Simons 

(5 Stars) 

Introverted Mom by Jamie Martin

(4 stars)

Imperfect Courage by Jessica Honegger

(4 stars)

The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith 

(4 Stars)

Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

(3 stars)

Hobbies\Crafts\Gardening

The Pottery Gardener by Arthur Parkinson 

(5 Stars)

Books I Read in 2018

Hello! It's my once a year blog post! 😊  This year, as I do every year, I make a goal to read 52 books. This year I went above and beyond and read 56 books! I probably could've read more but I took the month of December off to watch Hallmark Christmas movies.
This is the first year in a long time, I didn't have a book that I absolutely loved. I really enjoyed a lot of books, but none of them wowed me. I also read quite a few okay books, and a couple boring books that did nothing for me.

I use the Goodreads star system to rate my books.  5 stars being the best, 1 being the worst.

5 Stars:

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
The Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein
Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Forever by Heather Harpham
What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Caroline: Little House, Revisited by Sarah Miller
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Educated by Tara Westover
The Sun Does Shine: How I found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton
Inspired: Rachel Held Evans
Clock Dance by Anne Tyler
Vox by Christina Dalcher

4 Stars:

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Outlander #1 by Diana Gabaldon
Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin
Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston
Orphan Train by Cristina Baker Kline
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandal
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao
There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather by Linda Akeson McGurk
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth
Varina by Charles Frazier
West by Carys Davies
The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman
Still Me by JoJo Moyes
The Girl who Smiles Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

3 Stars:

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Tangerine by Christine Mangan
I'll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy
The Husband Hour by Jamie Brenner
You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld
The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle
Ghosted by Rosie Walsh
Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy
All We Ever Wanted by Emily Griffin
Whiskey in  Tea Cup by Reese Witherspoon
A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia Puigcerver

2 Stars:

Marriage Vacation by Pauline Turner (If you watch the show, Younger, it's the book from the show.)

Books I Read in 2017

This year of reading was especially exciting because I hit my goal of reading 52 books! I read a lot of great books, many pretty good books, some just okay books and a couple of duds.  I usually have one book I read that stands out as the best of the year, but this year I didn't read anything that was so amazing that I had to share with the world. But I did read 14 books that I really enjoyed!

I am going to do my usual Goodreads star ratings of books. 5 being the best, 1 being the worst. 

5 Stars 

On Turpentine Lane by Elinor Lipman

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich

Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan 

The Polygamist's Daughter by Anna LeBaron*

The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner*

*These books were written by cousins. They didn't know each other until their books were published! They write about the same family, but from different perspectives. 

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett 

We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 

Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown

Just Breath by Leanne Waterworth (I went to college with Leanne!!)

4 Stars

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

Of Mess and Moxie by Jen Hatmaker

Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? Alyssa Mastromonaco 

You Can't Touch my Hair by Phoebe Robinson 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian 

How to Be Here by Rob Bell

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline

Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo

The Windfall by Diksha Basu

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis 

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

My Not so Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella 

The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell

Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout 

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking 

A Glorious Freedom: Older Women Leading Extraordinary Lives by Lisa Congdon 

The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy

Still Christian by David P. Gushee

All the Real Indians Died off: And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans
by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

3 Stars (this is a bit controversial because I have some books on this list that people raved about and loved, but I thought they were, Meh. Sorry, not sorry)

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance 

The Leavers by Lisa Ko

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck 

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

My Husband's Wife by Jane Corry

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lepena 

The Mothers by Brit Bennett 

The Forever Summer by Jamie Brenner

Vinegar Hill by A. Manette Ansay 

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

2 Stars

The Marvelous Misadventures of Ingrid Winter by J.S. Drangsholt

Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam

1 Star

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo 

Happy Reading in 2018! 

Books I Read in 2016

Happy New Year!!! Last night was the first time in a really long time I stayed up until midnight. I was watching the Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix. I had just finished two months of watching the Gilmore Girls series. It was strange going from 2007 Gilmores to 2016 Gilmores. But that could be a whole different blog post.

Books! My goal, as always, is to read 52 books. I read 39. I almost finished my 40th book, but really I was only half way through, so I couldn't count that. But 39 is pretty good! Considering I pretty much took November & December off from reading so I could watch GG. And I only read 16 books in 2015 So I would say, I did a pretty good job of reading books.

I think this year I will list my books by the Goodreads star method. And I'll highlight a few of my favorites.


5 Stars:
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi ****** My favorite book this year! 
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld **** I loved this modern day take on Pride & Prejudice! 

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalinithi
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
FatherMotherGod: My Journey out of Christian Science by Lucia Greenhouse
Today will be Different by Maria Semple
The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah

4 Stars:
Love Warrior: A Memoir by Glennon Doyle Melton
All the Pretty Things by Edie Wadsworth
The Lake House by Kate Morton
Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
For the Love by Jen Hatmaker
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
We Never asked for Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler
She's Got Issues by Nicole Unice
The Children by Ann Leary
The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman
The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

3 Stars:
Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen
The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
If you Left by Ashley Prentis Norton
The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
Life and Other Near-Death Experiences by Camille Pagen
One of the Boys by Daniel Margariel
Wildflower by Drew Barrymore
After You by JoJo Moyes
Invisible Ellen by Shari Shattuck
Falling by Jane Green
The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner
Like Family by Paula Mclain
The Life Changing Magic Art of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Mischling by Affinity Konar
Wreckage by Emily Bleeker

2 Stars:
First Comes Love by Emily Giffin
In Twenty Years by Allison Scotch


Happy Reading in 2017!!

Someone is 4!

My not so little Deacon is 4 years old! I'm really having trouble with this one, because he was always my little guy. But now he is a big dude, going to preschool and totally into collecting Pokemon cards! We just love this happy, independent, smart, and silly guy so much!

9 Books

Heeeyyyy
I have about 8 weeks left until the end of the year and I'm determined to read 8 books, 9 if I can be productive.
The problem is, I've jumped on the Gilmore Girls bandwagon. I've never watched and it's not really my favorite show ever, but now I'm sucked in.  This puts a slight glitch in my reading plan, but I'll dedicate time each night to reading. Promise.

1. Today Will be Different, Maria Semple

2. To the Bright Edge of the World, Eowyn Ivey

3. This was Not the Plan, Christina Alger

4. The Light Between Oceans, M.L. Stedman

5. The One-in-a-Million Boy, Monica Wood

6. The Wangs Vs. The World, Jade Chang

7. Hag-Seed, Margaret Atwood

8. The Mothers, Brit Bennett

9. Love Warrior, Glennon Doyle Melton

I already have three books lined up that I'm going to read after the New Year.

Commonwealth, Ann Patchett
The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
A Good Time for Truth: Race in Minnesota

plus the other 200+ book on my Kindle and in my book bin.

Summer Reading List

I know I don't blog any more. I'm just not into it as much as I used to be. But in the effort to be productive in writing on my blog and talk about books and reading, I'm compiling my list of summer reading.

I have so many books to read, and so little time. July is almost here and I have two months to get through this list.

The Veins of the Ocean
Before the Fall
& Sons
Tell the Wolves I'm Home
The Girls
The Forgotten Garden
The Assistants
Truly Madly Guilty
LaRose
The Knockoff
The Weekenders
Vinegar Girl
Simply Tuesday
Eligible
Starvation Heights
All the Light We Cannot See
The Shoemaker's Wife
Small Great Things
The Beach House
Saving Abby
About the Night
Falling Together
Heir to the Glimmering World
Inside the O'Briens
At the Water's Edge
The Boston Girl
If You Left
Results May Vary
Miller's Valley
Before I Go to Sleep
The Book of Speculation
Everybody Rise
Barkskins (This is a really long epic novel, so this might turn into an Autumn book)

So there you go. I'm hoping to read each one, but I'm not holding my breath either. I just love books and wish I could read a book a day.