Wednesday, January 1, 2020

2019 - Year in Books!


This year, for the very first time, I resolved to try to record all the fiction I read on Goodreads.  I’ve always known that I like to read a lot—but what does that really MEAN?  (Besides, I work full time, so clearly I can’t read as much as I did when I was younger.  Right?)

For the Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2019, I made my goal 100 books.  This seemed reasonable—a little less than 2 books per week.  For most of the spring I was right on schedule, maybe 2-3 books ahead.  Then something happened.


So that’s kind of alarming.  (‘Do you actually do any work?’ asks my brother.)

Okay, that’s not quite as bad as it seems.  This year for the first time I started watching anime (in February) and this naturally led to my starting to read manga for the first time (in July).  So over one hundred of those books are volumes of manga, which take only half an hour to an hour to read.

So let me share some of my reading highlights of the year!

Favorite new authors:

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Megan Whalen Turner – Thief series.  What she does with POV is crazy…  And who doesn’t love stories set in fantasy versions of the Mediterranean?
Tui Sutherland – Wings of Fire first series for middle-grade readers.  I’m ambivalent about the second series.  Go dragons!

Christian picks:

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Katie Ganshert – She has a gift for taking a story that I read the blurb for and thought “That’s going to be too dark for me,” and making it heart-warming and edifying.  Keep writing!
Stephanie Grace Whitson – Solid historical fiction, but maybe too realistic for me.  (Sooo many people die.)
Wyn Owens – The Dragon’s Flower.  Go fantasy Japan!  I want a sequel…
Through the Valley of the Kwai – Because God is amazing. 
Melanie Cellier – Fairy tale retellings!

Favorite manga: 

Fullmetal Alchemist – fantasy adventure with more redemption arcs than you can shake a stick at.  Some magical wierdness that I could have done without, but whatever.  This story is so good…

Fruits Basket, Maid-sama, Takane and Hana, High School Debut – Why do I like mild shojo manga when I hate YA romance?!
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Library Wars – currently reading!  In a future when libraries have their own defense force to stop attackers bent on censorship, a group of friends will defend the Kanto library network.  Both political commentary and some mild (and hilarious) romance in here.

Yes, re-reading again:

Georgette Heyer – Because my mom is into these now!
Martha Wells – Where is the next Murderbot book?  I can’t wait!

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Jim Butcher – The Aeronaut’s Windlass.  This book has everything, including talking cats.

This was the first time I tried to do the Goodreads challenge.  I definitely noticed that my average ratings went down over the course of the year... when I started, I was a lot more likely to give a four star rating, but the more books I rated the more I thought "Maybe this isn't really a four-star book" and gave it three stars.  Not sure why this happened.  Anyone else have this experience?

What were your favorite reads from 2019?

4 comments:

  1. W.O.W.

    I read 76 books. Which is like 20 more than normal, so yay. My favorite new-to-me title was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, which I loved so much, I got the graphic novel version and read it too, and I'm definitely re-reading one or the other this year.

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    1. Yes, The Graveyard Book is wonderful! I tried to read some of Gaiman's other stuff after reading it, but didn't make it very far. (Stardust was pretty good, but Coraline was too creepy for me even as a book.)

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  2. I got to say the "Queen's Thief" series by Megan Whalen Turner were my favorite new-to-me titles from 2019. Except the last book. I disliked it. Not enough Gen. But I was excited to see that someone else has read those books beside my older sister and I. :D

    By the way, Hi, I'm currently Charlotte. :D

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    1. Yes! Also, while I love the way Turner plays with POV, it means that the reader never gets a satisfying inside look at Gen and Attolia's relationship... I always feel like I'm watching them from the corner of my eye.

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