2019 Reading Roundup

(With Statistics!)

So it’s the end of the year. 2019 has been a mixed bag, to be honest. There were weeks where all I wanted to do was read and weeks where I didn’t open a book at all. Several weeks went by where all I read was fanfiction (Darcy/ Bucky Barnes from Marvel fandom and Ten/Rose from Dr Who for those who care).

I still managed to exceed my 100 book challenge on Goodreads so well done me. Insert pat on the back here.

(In fact, I read 122 so I think I deserve cake. Much cake. Except my hips would disagree. Ah well.)

Obviously my biggest genre was YA with 31%, then non-fiction coming in at 25%. I read fewest Graphic novels, only 4 this year and dabbled in some short stories for a reading group which was new for me.

It also seemed like my choices were good this year. Only 6 DNF and just 13 books that I rated with less than 3 stars.

In fact, 39 of those 122 books got a 4-star rating. 37 got 5 stars.

This either means I’m too easily pleased or there were some great books out this year. I prefer to think the latter.

My 5 favourite books of this year:

A Court of Mists and Fury By Sarah J Maas (Which I read for the first time this year…twice)

Red Labyrinth by Meredith Tate

To Best the Boys by Mary Weber

The Bookworm Crush by Lisa Brown Roberts

The Call by Peadar O’ Guilian

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My 5 least favourite Books of this year:

Whisper Network by Chandler Blake

Art in a box by Marlis Maehrle

Other words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin

The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh O’Brien

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal

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I took part in 5 blog tours/ Reviews:

The Last words of Madeline Anderson by Helen Kitson

Angel Mage by Garth Nix

The Devil’s Apprentice by Kenneth B Andersen

Kingdom of souls by Rena Barron

The Skyweaver by Kristen Ciccarelli

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And I joined the travelling book club:

I offered up one of my favourite books Soulless by Gail Carriger

And I was given Other words for Smoke By Sarah Maria Griffin

This Mortal Coil by Emily Suvada

The Selection by Kiera Cass

If I stay by Gail Foreman

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I started listening to audiobooks this year :

How to marry a werewolf by Gail Carriger (A re-read or re-listen)

Good omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (Which I also re-read this year for the first time in 15 years)

Inspector Hobbes and the Blood by Wilkie Martin

The Very first damned thing by Jodi Taylor

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What books was I disappointed by?

Into the Crooked place by Alexandra Christo was a slight let down. I pushed to get it an ARC at YALC but failed due to the ridiculous heat. So I pestered Alexandra herself and her publisher and managed to get one sent to me! I enjoyed it but it didn’t grab me as much as To Kill a Kingdom had. Maybe my expectations were too high. It was a high rating but I was still a bit disappointed.

I had heard great things about Other words for Smoke but also didn’t find it as ground-breaking as everyone raved.

What authors did I break with?

Well after the ridiculous twitter rubbish I refused to read Children of Blood and Bone, simply because if you are someone who doesn’t know who Nora Roberts is then I’m not sure you should be allowed to be called a writer. Calling out a woman as prolific and loved as Nora Roberts saying she stole your title is just plain dumb. Dumb.

What authors did I fall for?

Well, I fell even further in love with Anna Day for sending me a copy of Fandom Rising and then didn’t get around to reading it due to a travelling book group I became part of. It’s top of my 2020 read list though. I swear.

I also fell for Sarah J Maas who I had put off reading for so long due to extra-hype. Now I’ve read her ACOTAR series, I get it. Good Lord do I get it. Rhysand please gimme.

Books against my usual genre which I read:

I don’t usually read short stories so that was a new genre for me. But the book that I read which really wasn’t my usual type was If I Stay by Gayle Foreman. I participated in a travelling book club and this was one of their choices. It’s a YA contemporary which wouldn’t be something I would usually read. My YA tends to be fantasy-based rather than modern-day stuff.

It was ok. Not amazing but I felt for the characters and carried on reading to the end. I didn’t want to read the sequel but was glad I’d finished it.

One book I did not want to continue reading but couldn’t stop myself, even though it annoyed me, was the Selection by Kiera Cass. It was another travelling book club book and I kept thinking I was going to DNF and then I was sort of interested in what happened and read a bit more and then wanted to DNF but I was invested in the story. I’m not sure I want to read the rest of the series but apparently it’s one of the most popular books on Goodreads.

So that’s my round-up of the year. Hope you liked having a glimpse into my year. Let me know in the comments of you agree with my choices.

Here is everything I read in 2019.