It’s that time of year again: my humble brag of a list where I record all the books I read in the past year. Much to my surprise, I was able to read the most amount of books I’ve ever read, with my total coming to 104. I set my goodreads goal at 75, so I wasn’t aiming too high, as this is (generally) my motto for life; aim low and you’ll always be pleased with the results! It’s worked for me so far…
Continuing with my reading strategy of 2018, I was able to fit in significantly more reading than I ever have, which I’m quite proud of; all those early mornings are worth it! I also have the tome Ducks, Newburyport on the go, which I’l most likely be reading over the next month or so, so that didn’t make it on the list for 2019. Once again I completed the Short Story Advent Calendar, but didn’t make a daily post about it because I found it too stressful in previous years-December is busy enough with two young kids, ammiright?
This past year also marked the death of Smokey, the beloved ‘model’ in most of my book pictures, including the cover photo on this post. You’ll notice 2019 begins with lots of pictures of her posing next to my books, but this comes to an end shortly after April. I love the idea of her living on in this blog, and I truly appreciated everyone’s kind comments when she passed. As I think about what’s in store for my blog in 2020, I can’t help that worry it’s a bit strange or confusing to my new readers that there’s a cat in my logo, but no sign of cats further to that. If you have any suggestions about this conundrum, dear reader, please let me know.
Thank you to everyone who follows along in my reading journey on this blog, I SO appreciate those who visit regularly and comment, I’ve come to think of you all as close friends! And to those who drop in every once in awhile, you are always welcome anytime you like, please join us as often as you can. I’m wishing you all lots of cozy reading time with a hot cuppa and a sweet little chocolate treat for the year 2020.
My Favourite Book of the Year: Autopsy of a Boring Wife by Marie-Renee Lavoie
My Least Favourite Book of the Year: Lampedusa by Steven Price
The Book I Recommended Most: Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Most Popular 2019 Review posted: Homes, A Refugee Story by Abu Bakr Al Rabeeah and Winnie Yeung
Below is the full list of books I’ve read, with links to my reviews if available. Some books I don’t review on this blog because I’ve read them for a specific organization/event, or had the review published in a separate media outlet. So without further ado…
- Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh
- the sun and her flowers by Rupi Kaur
- Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
- Homes by Abu Bakr Al Rabeeah and Winnie Yeung
- This Accident of Being Lost by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
- The Boy on the Beach by Tima Kurdi
- The Stranger on the Ice by Bernadette Calonego
- Land Mammals and Sea Creatures by Jen Neale
- Little Green by Tish Cohen
- House of Dreams, The Life of L.M. Montgomery by Liz Rosenberg, illustrations by Julie Morstad
- Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
- The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
- The Homecoming by Andrew Pyper
- Our Animal Hearts by Dania Tomlinson
- The Spy and the Traitor by Ben MacIntyre
- Once More With Feeling by Meira Cook
- The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley
- The Unforgotten by Laura Powell
- There, There by Tommy Orange
- Transcription by Kate Atkinson
- Nobody Cares by Anne T. Donahue
- Heat Wave by Maureen Jennings
- The Western Alienation Merit Badge by Nancy Jo Cullen
- Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller
- Dear Evelyn by Kathy Page
- The Last by Hanna Jameson
- The Strays by Emily Bitto
- The Plotters by Un-Su Kim
- The Last Resort by Marissa Stapley
- The Amateurs by Liz Harmer
- Do This For Me by Eliza Kennedy
- I’m Fine and Neither Are You by Camille Pagan
- To Me You Seem Giant by Greg Rhyno
- A Good Enough Mother by Bev Thomas
- Self-Help by Al Snow
- What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About-Edited by Michele Filgate
- French Exit by Patrick deWitt
- The Huntress by Kate Quinn
- Lipstick Voodoo by Kristi Charish
- Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
- Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam
- The Storm by Arif Anwar
- Alice & Oliver by Charles Bock
- Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
- Dream Sequence by Adam Foulds
- Stay Up With Hugo Best by Erin Somers
- There’s a Word For That by Sloane Tanen
- Love and Ruin by Paula McLain
- The Starter Wife by Nina Laurin
- Autopsy of a Boring Wife by Marie-Renee Lavoie
- Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
- Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- You Belong to Me by Colin Harrison
- Vantage Point by Scott Thornley
- The Art of Being Lewis by Daniel Goodwin
- Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig
- The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron
- Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay
- The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie
- Sleepless Night by Margriet de Moor
- Social Misconduct by S.J. Maher
- The Home for Wayward Parrots by Darusha Wehm
- Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
- Every Little Piece of Me by Amy Jones
- Aria by Nazanine Hozar
- Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
- The World that We Knew by Alice Hoffman
- High School by Tegan and Sara
- I’ll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie
- Lampedusa by Steven Price
- The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
- Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta
- The Institute by Stephen King
- The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
- Toil & Trouble by Augusten Burroughs
- No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen
- Daughter of Family G by Ami McKay
- Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty
- Attraction by Ruby Porter
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
- I Become a Delight to my Enemies by Sara Peters
- The Waiting Hours by Shandi Mitchell
- Bellini and the Sphinx by Tony Bellotto
- A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Evardsson
- The Enchanted Hour by Meghan Cox Gurdon
- The Moment Before Drowning by James Brydon
- Agnes, Murderess by Sarah Leavitt
- Reproduction by Ian Williams
- Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles
- The Innocents by Michael Crummey
- Dual Citizens by Alix Ohlin
- Calgary Through the Eyes of Writers by Shaun Hunter
- The Reality Bubble by Ziya Tong
- White Elephant by Trish Harnetiaux
- 24/6 by Tiffany Shlain
- Elegance by Megan Hess
- Chasing Painted Horses by Drew Hayden Taylor
- The Jackass Whisperer by Scott & Alison Stratten
- From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle
- The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan*
- Tiny Lights for Travellers by Naomi K. Lewis*
- The Vagina Bible by Dr. Jen Gunter*
- The Help by Helen Phillips*
- Clifford by Harold R. Johnson*
*Review to Come!
So how did your year of reading go? Were you surprised with how much you managed to read or do you hope to fit in more next year? Tell me below in the comments!!!
Really love your reviews! Can’t imagine how you read so much in a year, but never mind, it’s not a competition and there are always so many good books out there! Really helpful to follow your blog. Thanks! Answer to the logo problem…might be kinda obvious…get another cat? 🙂 Will never replace Smokey but might usher in a new chapter in your reading life. Who knows? Cheers, Joanne
Thanks so much for your kind words Joanne! And your advice is good, I’m sure we will get another cat soon, when our kids are a bit older and they won’t pull its tail 🙂
Happy New Year! Hopefully lots of good reading ahead 🙂
Thank you and ditto to you!
Way to go, Anne! I’ve just put a few things on hold at the library after reading through your list!
Nice! Hopefully you feel the same way about them haha
Your full list of books read/reviewed made me realize that you are probably the #1 blogger recommending me books that I then actually pick up and read. You’re so cool!
Also, I’m glad waking up early has worked out for you. I tried it, setting my clock back an extra 30 minutes. I failed, Anne. I failed so hard, lol.
Oh wow that is enormously high praise Melanie, thanks so much, that made my week I think. And not everyone is a morning person, so don’t feel bad about not being able to wake up earlier, it’s a strategy that doesn’t work for everyone. Plus, you probably stay up way later than me!
Sorry I didn’t like White Elephant. That’s not to say I didn’t have loads of fun giggling while reading it, though. 😀
Well done! I don’t know how you manage it when you have two little ones to wrangle, but I’m impressed! Haha – I’m a bit concerned about Lampedusa being your least favourite book, since I’m kinda hoping to snag a copy when it comes over here later this spring… I’m sure Karissa liked it! 😜 Have a great New Year, filled with bookish delight and perhaps some Turkish Delight! 😀
Well, now you have to read Lampedusa – we need to know which camp you fall into! 😉
Haha – I shall be the casting vote… 😉
I’m doomed! haha
I seem to be in the minority re: Lampedusa so I’m sure you’ll like it. Strangely, I don’t like Turksih Delight, but my husband loves it! We can’t get Cadbury’s Turkish Delight here in Canada so I buy him Big Turks instead (it’s just a generic chocolate bar)
104 is amazing! I’m lower than usual this year, but is not too surprising… I’ve had a very busy Fall!
I don’t think your cat logo seems strange at all!
Here’s to another good reading year!!
Thanks Naomi!
I agree, I don’t think you need to worry about your cat logo either.
What a great year of reading you had. I may not have easy or immediate access to the Canadian titles you feature, but I love hearing about them.
thanks Laila!
We have so many books in common and I appreciate the fact that we sometimes have different takes on characters or plotlines but often share general responses (well, except for the odd book *coughs in Lampedusa’s direction*). I’m in the camp of “let the kitty reign” in your logo. Maybe from a marketability perspective, you could get some stock silhouettes of cats if you would like a more generic element to reinforce the theme in the meantime, if it’s niggling you from that pov, but from a “just here to talk books” perspective, I think it’s a lovely little, quiet tribute that doesn’t require anything else. Good luck with your 2020 reading: it seems to be off to a great start! (Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the Harold Johnson – I like his stuff a lot.)
Thanks so much for your kind words, I’m glad we were able to connect online too, having bookish friends makes reading that much more enjoyable 🙂
People seem to all like the idea of me keeping the cat logo, and because it’s easier that way anyway, I’ll do just that!