Reading Review 2019

Sunday, December 29, 2019
2019 has been a mixed year of reading for me as I did read some of my all time favourite books, discovered new favourites and found a love for non-fiction but I also had a few reading slumps, DNF'd a lot of books and had a lower than average star rating for the year. Today's post is all about my favourite and least favourite books of the year as well as a wrap-up of my reading and my bookish goals for 2020.

Favourite Books of 2019
Let's start off on a positive note with my favourite books of the year, which I'll have to add as a bullet pointed list below as there are too many to write in-depth reviews about in this post but look through my previous monthly wraps to find more information.


  • The Lies Of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (fantasy)
  • Luck In The Shadows by Lynn Flewelling (fantasy)
  • The Priory Of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (fantasy) 
  • Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (fantasy) 
  • From Here To Eternity by Caitlin Doughty (non-fiction)
  • Girls Of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan (fantasy)
  • Morgue by Dr Vincent Di Maio (non-fiction)
  • The Royal Art Of Poison by Eleanor Herman (non-fiction)
  • All That Remains by Sue Black (non-fiction) 


Honourable Mentions 

  • Red Sister by Mark Lawrence (fantasy)
  • Kings Of The Wyld by Nicholas Eames (fantasy)
  • Lady Killers by Tori Teller (non-fiction)
  • The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman (fantasy/YA)
  • Monster, She Wrote by Lisa Kroger (non-fiction) 
  • The Book Of Swords - Part Two (fantasy/story story collection)
  • Ocean Anatomy by Julia Rothman (non-fiction) 
  • The Missing Of Clairdelune by Christelle Dabos (fantasy/YA) 
  • A Pocket History of Human Evolution by Silvana Condemi (non-fiction)


Least Favourite + Most Disappointing Books of 2019

  • Melmoth by Sarah Perry (literary fiction)
  • From The Wreck by Jane Rawson (literary fiction)
  • They Mostly Come Out At Night by Benedict Patrick (fantasy)
  • The Colorado Kid by Stephen King (crime/detective)
  • Gather The Fortunes by Bryan Camp (fantasy/YA)
  • Ricochet Joe by Dean Koontz (sci-fi)
  • Messenger Of Fear by Michael Grant (fantasy)
  • The Wicked and the Divine Volume One by Kieron Gillen (graphic novel)
  • The Last by Hanna Jameson (dystopian)
  • Brightfall by Jamie Lee Moyer (fantasy/YA)
  • Swordpoint by Ellen Kushner (fantasy)


Reading Wrap-up 
2019 included some of my favourite books from the past three or so years since I managed to get back into reading with my all time favourite fiction read being The Lies Of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch and my favourite non-fiction being All That Remains by Sue Black. I rediscovered my love for fantasy this year and that I shouldn't put off books that I think I'm going to like. I also loved so many non-fiction reads which was surprising as it wasn't a genre I used to read many books from but now I can't get enough.

Roughly the first half of the year, especially the months of January, February and August were fantastic but the last three months have been filled with reading slumps and countless DNF'd books unfortunately. I almost fell out of love with reading over the past three or so month but my iPad, Kindle Unlimited subscription and short non-fiction reads are helping!

2020 Reading Goals 
I'm going to be publishing a full post all about my 20 goals for 2020 but as for my reading, I want to read more books that I've been putting off, longer books over 500 pages and I want to start reading more classics. The latter has been a goal of mine for the past couple of years but I haven't succeeded so hopefully 2020 will be the year I finally read some classics. I have a few on my TBR for 2020 including The Count Of Monte Cristo, A Tale Of Two Cities, Northanger Abby and a few others, as well as some classic fantasy reads. Lastly, my goal for 2020 is to read at least 50 books but I think it will be over that number as I typically read over 100 books per year.

Do you follow me on GoodReads

Have you read any of the books I've mentioned? Do you have any reading goals for 2020? 

11 comments

  1. Oh man I haven't even finished reading one book this year!

    Candice

    natalyaamour.com

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  2. I don't think I've read a single book you've mentioned. I'm hoping to read more next year though.

    Jenny
    http://www.jennyinneverland.com

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  3. Sounds like you've read some great books this year! I can't wait to set my 2020 challenge xx

    Tiffany x www.foodandotherloves.co.uk

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  4. Thee are some amazing books on this list! Definitely added some of these to my to purchase list!

    Love, Amie ❤
    The Curvaceous Vegan

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  5. I don't think I've read any of the books you've mentioned here but fantasy isn't really a genre I enjoy which is likely why. I set my reading goal for 50 this year too which should be easy enough. I'd like to read more classics too x

    Sophie
    www.glowsteady.co.uk

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  6. Wow!! You did so well with books last year! I love that you don't have a set taste in books and that you try different things! Hope you manage to enjoy more this year!

    Daisy xoxo | TheDeeWhoLived

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  7. I only managed 10 books in 2019, which really isn't great for me! I'm going to try harder in 2020 - I recently started Mindhunter, which is fantastic so far

    Jasmine xx



    Jasmine Talks Beauty

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  8. I'm going to bookmark this so that when I go away in February I can really get some good books downloaded!
    Em x

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  9. I think I finished two books... which is shameful I know lol! I need to read more this year!

    Erin || MakeErinOver

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  10. Ok so I don't think I've read a book since the 90's x

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  11. You are definitely a bookworm! X

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