As always, I wait until after the new year to create this list so that I can include every single book I’ve read through the 31st. Some years I choose the list by genre, while other years I pay no heed to genre; I just select titles that have immensely entertained, moved or blown me away with their orginality and/or writing. This year I chose the latter.
Overall, 2019 was a fabulous year in books. Many debut authors made their mark and I discovered several veteran authors that were new to me. Again, there were a plethora of domestic, phsychological, crime and mystery thrillers, as well as a continued increase of both WWI and WWII historical fiction to hit the shelves. I’ve also noticed that rom-coms and spectrum fiction are gaining in popularity.
I rounded out the year with 129 books read. Honestly, I was shocked at that number; I felt as if I had very little time to read this year. Perhaps it was the audio books that tipped the scale for me. For the record, I do not make reading goals or resolutions. (I always get asked that question.)
The new year is filled with even more literary promise. Of the ten 2020 releases I’ve read so far, I think it’s going to be a great year; I was quite impressed by the fresh voices, compelling storylines and excellent writing.
My Best of 2019
A Bend in the Stars by Rachel Barenbaum
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain 2020
Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera
Chariot on the Mountain by Jack Ford
Circe by Madeline Miller – AUDIO
Feast Your Eyes by Myla Goldberg
Finding Dorothy by Eliazabeth Letts
Gateway to the Moon by Mary Morris
Good Talk by Mira Jacob
Haunting Paris by Mamta Chaudhry
If You Want to Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais
In Another Time by Jillian Cantor
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Williams
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves
The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare 2020
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
The Nine by Jeanne Blasberg
The Secret of Clouds by Alyson Richman
The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
The Two Lila Bennetts by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke
The Unbreakables by Lisa Barr
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
The Wide Circumference of Love by Marita Golden
The Wildlands by Abby Geni
The Wives by Tarryn Fisher
The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
This is Not How it Ends by Rochelle Weinstein 2020
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley 2020
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