13 Best Books of 2019

Looking for some reading inspiration and titles to add to your reading stack? Have I got some great options for you in this list of the best books of 2019! You'll find everything from fiction to history, to Christian living that I loved this year - something for just about everyone.

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Well, 2019 was a very good reading year for me. For the first time ever, I read more than 100 books. I know! In the words of Elaine from Seinfeld, "shut the door!"

Honestly, I almost can't believe it - except that I have a list that tells me it's true. Amazing, especially because it was just a few years ago that I confessed I hadn't read a single book the previous year. That's right - not one. I'd always considered myself a reader, so this was sad to me.

While I can now see that was indicative of the previous year and my season of life, it illustrates why I think setting a few goals each year to help you become the person you want to be is important. If I hadn't looked back at the year (necessary to plan for the next year) I wouldn't have realized I hadn't read a book. And if I hadn't set a goal to read a book a month the next year, I wouldn't have prioritized it.

While reading books may not be everyone's goal, I wanted to be a reader and it saddened me that I wasn't. I love both the escape, knowledge, and expansion of my world view that books provide. And I think they help me be a better person.

Though now that I wrote that, I realized that if you're reading this best books of 2019 list, then you probably are a reader, ha!

Anyway, each year since making that initial goal five years ago I have read more and more books. As soon as I gave myself the freedom to read (and report back on a goal!), I looked for all different ways to get books cheap and add titles to my to-be-read stack. I figured out ways to sign up for a library (difficult in our semi-rural setting), I signed up for sale book emails, I started following book bloggers, and so on.

Where there's a will, you'll often find a way, right?

Tips to Read More Books

Want to read more books, too? I've mentioned these before, but they are worth repeating - here are the tips that have helped me become the reader I wanted to be:

• Always have a book ready to read. I have books waiting on my bedside, in my Kindle, on my library app, and in my Audible account. There’s never an excuse not to read.
• Embrace audio books. More than half the books I read each year are audio books, which I listen to when I’m walking, gardening, cooking, and doing DIY projects. This is the #1 thing that has allowed me to read more. (Oh, and audiobooks are not “cheating” – our minds process them about the same either way.) Some lend themselves better to audio (fiction) and some don’t (heavy nonfiction you want to mull over and re-read passages). It's even become fun for Brian and I to listen to books in the car while making our 20-minute trips to town as well as longer trips. Not only is it a great use of time, but we have had some great books to talk about with each other.
• Have a goal. Since making that first goal back in 2015 to read one book a month I have read more because I’ve prioritized it – I want to reach or beat my goal. So if the choice is a mindless TV program or reading? I pick reading every time.
• Keep track of the books you’ve read. I use the Notes app on my phone for books I've read, the Lists section of my Flexible Planner for books I want to read, and now my Book Notes Journal for quotes and ideas I want to remember. However you keep track, it’s wonderful to see what you’ve accomplished  – as well as remember what you’ve read and how they impacted you.
• Make choices that support your goal. I listen to just a few podcasts - while there are more that seem interesting to me, I know they will take away my reading time, so I usually choose books. Same with TV - there are a lot of shows people talk about that I don't watch, and what I do watch better be good because it's taking me away from a book! That's what happens when you make goals - you also make choices to support them, no matter what the goal is. And that moves you in the direction of living the life you want, whatever you want it to look like.

Okay, on to the list of the best books I read in 2019.

NOTE: The books are listed in order that I read them - I am not attempting to rank them in any way (which is why I don't use a star rating system either - I find those to be so very subjective and inconsistent), but simply to share why I found them to be the best of the 104 books I read last year.

13 Best Books of 2019

Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman. I'm so glad Brian and I discovered this author this year, and through the audiobook of this title that he narrates because he's an amazing narrator. We were shocked when we realized this was read by the author, since we thought it had to be an actor or someone to do all the voices and inflections so perfectly. We loved him and we loved the story.

This novel is a twisty-turny story like most of Gaiman's writings. They are weird, sci-fyish, magical, and sometimes gross, but never horror (which I define as things that can actually happen to people, not other worlds inhabited by creatures, etc.). The main character in this stumbles into an underground London that no one above can see and through a series of events can't go back home. Then it's like Odysseus's journey to find his way back , complete with beasts and things to defeat on the way.
Original Good Things List review.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman. This is a really fun read that still manages to teach us about human nature. Through Eleanor, who seems to be somewhere on the Autism spectrum, and her gradual opening of her heart and life to friendship we see the beauty in living fully. It's simply a wonderful book I liked so much that I have told people about and given as a gift.
Original Good Things List review.

Surprised By Hope, NT Wright. I read and listened to quite a few Christian living books this year and the two that made this list are here because they offered something new and (hopefully) life changing. This book by NT Wright is not a heavy theological treatise like I feared, but instead challenged me to think outside of a lot of our 20th and 21st century Christian perspectives that are more cultural than Biblical.

I especially liked his stressing that we need to steward the earth and take care of it as God's creation, past, present, and future. Also this beautiful quote that resonated with me so much, reaffirming that there is value in creating spaces we love and pretty gardens:

"When people cease to be surrounded by beauty, they cease to hope."

Original Good Things List review.

Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein. This is one of two books I'm a little surprised made my best-of list, mainly because of the heavy topics (the other is the Tatooist of Auschwitz) and this one in particular because I wasn't a fan of the ending. However, the rest of this book is SO very good.

It's more about friendship than the war, though the war is a major part. There is danger, laughter, good times, and terrible times. Plus a bit of a mystery, too. The writing is fantastic, I still think about it, and gave this as a gift to a reader in my family who likes historical fiction.
Original Good Things List review.

The Man in The Window, Jon Cohen. Oh, how I loved this book. It was sweet and kind without being sappy or corny. It shows the beauty every life can become - and that there may be a certain someone out there if you don't give up. This is another book that shows how important friends and family are to our lives and that shutting people out is never a good thing.
Original Good Things List review.

The Tatooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris. Like I mentioned in my original review, I put off reading this NYT bestseller for a long time because...Auschwitz. But what a story that in all its tough scenes and atrocities I'm still so glad to know. It's so very reaffirming to remember that the world isn't just full of the bad people - and the good do come out on top sometimes.

The couple in the story met during the war, then were both in the camp and decided the most important thing they could do was survive. And with that mindset, they did. And they loved each other and then their friends and family after getting out for years after, never holding anger or resentment in their hearts. You'll shed tears and still find joy reading this, friends - even the final note from the couple's son was beautiful.
Original Good Things List review.

Born a Crime, Trevor Noah. This made the list because it totally opened my eyes to a way of life I had little knowledge of - apartheid and South Africa in the 1990s-2000s. While it's a memoir of a famous comedian, you don't need to have heard of him to read this (I hadn't before reading).

This is a story of a crazy kid (not literally, just wild) growing up in a country that marginalizes him and others based on race. And the scrapes that he gets into! Wow. He's also enterprising and resourceful, and blessed with a harsh but loving mom who doesn't give up on him or her tough life. This is one of those world-expanding books I'm so glad I read and I hope I'm more compassionate because of it.
Original Good Things List review.

The Ballad of The Whiskey Robber, Julian Rubinstein. First things first: just ignore the terrible cover. Because this is one of those "this can't be real" true stories that will have you laughing and shaking your head in disbelief. It's also a window into the countries of Romania and Hungary in the years after communism fell and the chaos that created for everyday life. A fun read that is also super interesting and a peak into another part of the world.
Original Good Things List review.

Daisy Jones & The Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid. You know those books that you can't put down and when  you have to, it's always in the back of your mind until you can get back to reading it? That was this book for me, which completely surprised me since I wasn't sure it would be my thing at all. It was a NYT bestseller, which I don't always love, and it's written by an author who's previous book I had just finished and didn't care for (I thought it was cliched with characters I didn't care about and a "twist" that didn't really work for me).

But SO many bloggers were talking about Daisy Jones & The Six, especially its interview format style with the gradual revealing of the story from multiple points of view. I was pleasantly surprised they were right - it's a fun summer read that has a retro 70s rock and roll vibe without ever getting crass with details of drugs and sex (which were there, but just talked about because of the format). It also seemed very realistic, like you were really reading an interview.

And here it is on my best-of list! Moral? Don't be afraid to take a chance! You can always stop if it's not your thing and if it turns out to be, it could be one of the best.
Original Good Things List review.

The Gown, Jennifer Robson. Who would've thought a book about the making of a wedding dress for princess Elizabeth after WWII would make a good book - or a best of list? Not me! I took a chance on this because I like a good historical fiction and this was based on an actual event, including some of the real people and recreating scenes that really happened (the author's note at the end is great with all the details).

Hats off to Jennifer Robson who skillfully blended these real-life happenings (which may or may not have been that dramatic) into a story with interesting people I cared about and a good storyline that brought it all together.
Original Good Things List review.

I will Always Write Back, Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda. I'm sure by now you're realizing that I have a soft spot for true stories, either as a background to historical fiction or as non-fiction. I'm not sure if this YA book is considered non-fiction, or fiction based on a true story, but it reads like non-fiction starting with the letters sent back and forth between elementary aged pen-pals up through their early 20s, and then the story of their lives in between the letters.

This was yet another book that opened my eyes to how others are living in poverty beyond what we can imagine - and also how just a little of our time and resources can make such a huge difference. This one will stick with me for a long time.
Original Good Things List review.

How to Pray, Pete Greig. I read this book and the next one in December, so they didn't get Good Things List reviews (January's list is a best of 2019 which you can read here), so these will have more of a review than the last 11 books.

If I were ranking the books on this list, How To Pray would be #1 for me. When the author says "a simple guide for normal people" he means it - this is the most accessible book on prayer I've ever read. After stopping to take notes multiple times in just the first pages, I knew this was a book I'd have to read again (and probably more).

I listened to this as an audiobook, then purchased it for Brian for Christmas (so I can read it too, of course). I rarely make Brian read a book I've read, but this is an exception and I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to figure out how to make prayer a regular part of your life - your real, everyday life.

The author shares stories that inspire and motivate as well as why praying is important and practical ways to incorporate it into our lives - all very down-to-earth and non-preachy. When I realized a few pages in that he was a founder of 24-7 prayer rooms that can be found worldwide, I worried that the book would be full of, well, how to step out of your life and pray 24-7. Instead it is how to step into your life, just pray, and have a conversation with God.

Also, there are a ton of free resources available on a website he mentions throughout the book, including a course you can take.

Lovely War, Julie Berry. I had read a lot of good reviews of this book, so I put a hold at the library where I waited 2 months for it, so you know it's popular. Even though I had heard about it, I hadn't really read reviews, though I did know there was some sort of Greek gods aspect of it.

Um, yes, and it was the oddest part of the story for me. Here's how the gods come in: In the 1940s we meet Aphrodite as a regular woman dressed in era-appropriate clothing who is meeting Ares (dressed in a 1940s suit). They are trapped in a golden net (as per the myth) by her god husband, Hephaestus, who puts them on trial. Other gods come and go, but to make her point that her "job" of helping love bloom, grow, and remain is important, she tells the story of two couples before, during, and after WWI.

Honestly, I could have done without the god element though I guess it is unique. It's the story of the couples that pulled me in and will stay with me. I simply loved the way the author told the story of people who start out young and full of optimism, how they meet, and then what happens to them through the war years and after. There are heartbreaking scenes (many of which are based on true battles and happenings) and lovely scenes. And it ended well - I was touched, got teary, and celebrated with them all the way to the end.

Honorable Mention: The first four Harry Potter books by JK Rowling. In 2019 I started on this series for the first time because I felt like I missed a cultural moment and my kids really loved it, as well as adults in my family. Starting 20 years ago, now, they aren't really appropriate for a best of list, but I need to mention them because I can finally see what all the hoopla was about.

JK Rowling is a good writer and gets better as the series progresses. I'm listening to the audiobooks of these and they are narrated by Jim Dale who is fantastic with all the character voices. The themes of friendship, family, acceptance and belonging, not to mention good vs. evil are nicely integrated into interesting plots.

And they are still popular - I had to wait 3 months for the library edition of The Order of The Phoenix audiobook which I'm in the middle of right now. Plus Audible said it's most downloaded book of 2019 was...Order of the Phoenix. Amazing.

So if you're like me and haven't read or listened to them, I encourage you to just do it.

I hope this was helpful for your reading life - and I'd love to know what your best books from 2019 were!

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