The 34 Books I Read in 2019

My goal was to read 24 books. Then I quit my job in September and with less stress I read more and watched less Netflix. I also listen to some books on tape and that means I can “read” while cooking, cleaning, driving, etc.

These are the books, and what I thought about each of them:

The following are affiliate links. It means if you decided to buy one of the books, I make a small commission at no additional cost to you and this helps me cover the cost of hosting fees to keep this website going.

1. Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
Genre: Children’s Literature
5 out of 5 stars
I absolutely loved this book. The book deals with divorce and we see how Raymie tries to “fix” things to bring her father back. I fell in love with Raymie and her friends. It is a book about friendship.

2. Meet Cute: Some People Are destined to Meet by Various Authors
Genre: YA
1 out of 5 stars
I was disappointed by this one.

3. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
Genre: Historical Fiction, Magical Realism
1 out of 5 stars
I wanted to like this book, it is a “classic” and highly celebrated but I could not get past the main character being a rapist and murderer. There is also incest and abuse and not enough redemption for me to personally enjoy a story.

4. An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Genre: Science Fiction
4 out of 5 stars
I am not a sci-fi person but I enjoyed this story. I found the ending to be unfinished and wonder if there will be a sequel or if I missed some big revelation.

5. Still Me by Jojo Moyes
Genre: Literary Fiction
3 out of 5 stars
This is the third of a series and other than the rating I have on goodreads I cannot remember anything about it. That says something, right? It wasn’t memorable.

6. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Genre: Children’s Literature
4 out of 5 stars
It is a book about magicians and magical beings. Not like Harry Potter, but a good story nonetheless.

7. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez
Genre: YA
4 out of 5 stars
The main character is hard to like. At the end of the book you learn why she is the way she is and things make sense. I was hoping to find this story relatable as I feel I am not a perfect Mexican daughter, but none of my story and experiences were in this book, and that is okay.

8. Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
Genre: Literary Fiction/YA
5 out of 5 stars
Honest truth, this book is slow and at first confusing. But Markus Zusak writes the most beautiful sentences and I read them again and again simply for the pleasure of it.

9. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Genre: Literary Fiction
5 out of 5 stars
It’s easy to like Eleanor. It is a book about how childhood trauma can affect people years later, and we need others for courage, support, and strength.

10. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman
Genre: Literary Fiction
4 out of 5 stars
Not as good as “A Man Called Ove” but Backman once again writes memorable characters.

11. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Genre: YA
5 out of 5 stars
I learned about black culture (I was ignorant to many things) and got to understand police brutality through the eyes of a black person. This book is important.

12. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Genre: Children’s Literature
4 out of 5 stars
Barnhill crafts beautiful sentences, it is a treat to read. While the book is about magic, she also blends in aspects of magical realism, which I loved!

13. A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs
Genre: YA
4 out of 5 stars
This is the fourth book in a series (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children) and this book takes us a different direction from the previous three. I really like where this is going and I’m waiting for the next book.

14. The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old with Autism by Naoki Higashida
Genre: Memoir
4 out of 5 stars
This book was translated from Japanese and I question how accurate the translation is. I suspect the translators took liberties and painted all people with autism as the same. The book is a great insight into the mind of one person with autism, not all people with autism (as the translation suggests). Great read nonetheless.

15. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
Genre: Literary Fiction
4 out of 5 stars
Confession: I love Moriarty’s writing and have read all her books. This was a fun read.

16. Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
Genre: Children’s Literature
5 out of 5 stars
I loved this book. The Spanish, the family dynamics… I revisited my grandparents (and family) through Merci, and my grandfather had dementia which made the story even more relatable. Well deserved Newberry win!

17. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel: A Modern Retelling of Little Women by Rey Terciero
Genre: Children’s Graphic Novel
4 out of 5 stars
This is a true retelling of a beloved story where we have a blended, bi-racial family in modern day and Jo is keeping a secret from her family, afraid they won’t accept her for who she is. Some parents may have issues with some of the topics discussed based on their child’s age.

18. The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
Genre: Children’s Literature/YA
5 out of 5 stars
I was so ignorant about the partition of India and Pakistan, this book opened up my world to a part of history I didn’t know about.

19. Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo
Genre: Children’s Literature
5 out of 5 stars
The story continues! This is one of Raymie’s friends, and her world is turned upside down. Family is not who you are born into but who you choose (and who chooses you). I loved this book.

20. Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
Genre: YA
4 out of 5 stars
Another book that opened my eyes to other cultures. Cute book.

21. Willa of the Wood by Robert Beatty
Genre: Children’s Literature
4 out of 5 stars
Cute story. Unfortunate there is a big gap between this book and the next one coming out.

22. Ugly by Robert Hoge
Genre: Children’s Lit/Memoir
5 out of 5 stars
This book is good for kids, all kids. The ones who have differences, the ones who feel they don’t fit in, the ones who may be tempted to tease or bully.

23. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Genre: YA
5 out of 5 stars
Retelling of Beauty and the Beast, except our heroine has cerebral palsy and things are not as magical as the Disney version. Second book comes out in a few days and we pre-ordered it.

24. Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
Genre: YA
4 out of 5 stars
The characters feel like real life people. These are your neighbors, your classmates, your coworkers.

25. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Genre: YA
5 out of 5 stars
This was my second time reading it, so it is a favorite YA of mine. Eleanor has a difficult home life, she’s new in school and overweight. Park just wants to fit in, but he likes Eleanor. Swoon.

26. The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (AKA J.K. Rowling)
Genre: Mystery/Literary Fiction
3 out of 5 stars
It is J.K. Rowling so I had to read the book. I was underwhelmed — felt not enough happened.

27. The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Genre: YA
5 out of 5 stars
Second time reading the book. I am a fan of Nicola Yoon’s writing style. Not every immigration story has a happy ending, but you make it work.

28. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
Genre: Mystery/Literary Fiction
4 out of 5 stars
By this second book I thought, “Okay, this is more like the J.K. Rowling I love!”

29. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
Genre: Mystery/Literary Fiction
4 out of 5 stars
By this point, I was committed to the series and invested in the two main characters and renting the BBC series based on the books. I loved that in this book she alternated POV and we got the killer’s first person narrative, not knowing who he was.

30. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
Genre: Mystery/Literary Fiction
4 out of 5 stars
This was J.K. Rowling going back to her Harry Potter way of narrative (except these are not children’s books!)

31. Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo
Genre: Children’s Literature/YA
5 out of 5 stars
The final book of the trilogy. Swoon over these books! My favorite of the year. Beverly is so rough around the edges but you just cheer her on and see all the goodness inside her she tries to hide. Your heart hurts because hers hurts, too. This is a series I will be reading again and again.

32. The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
Genre: Children’s Literature
3 out of 5 stars
I feel conflicted, I listened to the book on tape and didn’t love how the reader interpreted the character. I suspect the main character is autistic (one of many women who are not diagnosed until adulthood?) She also has selective mutism. The book journeys with her as she tries to make sense of the death of her former best friend.

33. Frankly in Love by David Yoon
Genre: YA
4 out of 5 stars
I appreciated learning more about first generation Korean-American kids, growing up with one culture at home and a different one in society. I found the plot predictable. How he incorporated Korean language into the story was beautiful.

34. Educated by Tara Westover
Genre: Memoir
5 out of 5 stars
It is not easy to survive childhood trauma, confront your abusers, and be told you are lying and sinful. But it is possible to work through and create your own path.

Related: The 23 Books I Read in 2018

Here is a breakdown of the books I read this year, in case you are interested: