A few years ago, I started out on a personal mission to read more. I grew up loving to read (although I never held a candle to my sister, which is probably why it took me a long time to realize that I am, in fact, a bookworm). After several years of high school, college, and post-grad life during which I read very little for fun, I set a goal and armed myself with several library books through the Libby app.

Sidenote: if you’ve never used your library card to check out e-books and audiobooks, you’re missing out! Download the Libby app (or OverDrive, or Hoopla), and get reading.

I’ve been thrilled with my progress the last few years, mostly because reading is one of those things that makes me feel like myself. I’ve been very fortunate this past year to have a great public library system, a job that allows me to listen to books while working, and lots of late-night reading time thanks to a new baby. I have a lot of ground to cover here, though, so let’s jump in:

Summary

I read 80(!) books this year – and not one of them was a physical, paper book. (Don’t let anyone tell you that e-books and audiobooks don’t count.) A few other stats and notes:

• In 2019, I read 76 fiction and 4 nonfiction books (I’m hoping to work on this ratio this year!); 58 e-books and 22 audiobooks.
• I spent $0 this year on books! Every single book I read, I checked out through my local library (using the Libby app) for free.
• My favorite genres are fantasy, YA, mystery/thriller, and sci-fi.
• I love a book with beautiful imagery, lots of action, and strong/interesting relationships between characters (I love to cheer for a friendship or romance).
• I love a good plot twist (or betrayal), especially when I totally don’t see it coming but feel like I should have.
• Unlikable protagonists don’t bother me, but I hate unrealistic ones. I want characters who make decisions that are consistent with their personalities.

My Favorite Reads of 2019

I am not good at writing brief summaries of books, so I’m just going to include the official synopses with a few of my own notes for each title. Obviously, my choices are very heavily influenced by my preferences, but I do think there’s something in here for everyone!

Note: this post may contain affiliate links (i.e., if you click my link and make a purchase, I’ll make a small commission at no additional cost to you). Read my full disclosure policy here.

1. Red Rising

Sci-fi, sort of YA (link). The first book in the Red Rising saga. I loved the first book, enjoyed the second, but lost steam by the third. I think I tried to read them too close together. Finishing this series is on my list for this year!

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he toils willingly, trusting that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power.  He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.

2. Everything, Everything

YA romance (link). Is the plot pretty predictable? Yes. Did I love it anyways? Definitely.

My disease is as rare as it is famous. It’s a form of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, but basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in fifteen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives. New next door neighbors. I look out the window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black t-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. I want to learn everything about him, and I do. I learn that he is funny and fierce. I learn that his eyes are Atlantic Ocean-blue and that his vice is stealing silverware. I learn that when I talk to him, my whole world opens up, and I feel myself starting to change—starting to want things. To want out of my bubble. To want everything, everything the world has to offer.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

3. Children of Blood and Bone

YA fantasy (link). If you are a fan of the Avatar series, you will likely enjoy this book. The world building and character development were top-notch, and I loved the ending. I have the second book in the series on hold and can’t wait to read it!

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.

4. Bad Blood

Nonfiction (link). This was one of my only nonfiction reads this year. Great for fiction lovers because it reads like a novel. A fascinating book, and I loved how the author wrote himself into the story.

In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood tests significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at $9 billion, putting Holmes’s worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn’t work.

For years, Holmes had been misleading investors, FDA officials, and her own employees. When Carreyrou, working at The Wall Street Journal, got a tip from a former Theranos employee and started asking questions, both Carreyrou and the Journal were threatened with lawsuits. Undaunted, the newspaper ran the first of dozens of Theranos articles in late 2015. By early 2017, the company’s value was zero and Holmes faced potential legal action from the government and her investors. Here is the riveting story of the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, a disturbing cautionary tale set amid the bold promises and gold-rush frenzy of Silicon Valley.

5. An Ember in the Ashes

Fantasy, sort of YA (link). A great, fast-paced read set in a stunning world. The audiobooks are fantastic, and it’s a series that I have recommended to a number of people. One of my top, top favorites this year.

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

6. A Reaper at the Gates

Fantasy, sort of YA (link). I loved this series enough that two of the three books I read made it into my top reads of the year. The fourth book is being released this year and I can hardly contain my excitement. I won’t include the synopsis here for spoilers reasons; read An Ember in the Ashes first.

7. The Book Thief

Historical fiction (link). This classic has been on my to-read list for a few years, and I’m so glad that I finally read it this year. Definitely the kind of book that will make you cry, but totally worth it.

When Death has a story to tell, you listen.

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother’s graveside, Liesel’s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger’s Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel’s foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel’s world is both opened up, and closed down.

8. The Death of Mrs. Westaway

Mystery/Thriller. (link) Each year, I read several books in the mystery/thriller/suspense genre, but they rarely make my top picks. This book was the exception – it was spooky, intriguing, and held my attention. A great read during the autumn.

On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold-reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money.

Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased…where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the center of it.

9. The Night Circus

Fantasy. (link) This is one of my favorite books ever, and I felt it was worth a re-read this year as I was awaiting Erin Morgenstern’s latest book, The Starless Sea. This time, I listened to the audiobook, and I loved it even more than I remembered. Warning: you may feel like you have no idea what’s going on at times, but if you don’t worry about that, you’ll find a beautiful, lyrical story about magic, love, and – most of all – a circus. I’m going to include an excerpt from the book here, because I think the official synopsis is misleading.

The circus arrives without warning.

No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.

The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds and crimsons to be seen. No color at all, save for the neighboring trees and the grass of the surrounding fields. Black-and-white stripes on grey sky; countless tents of varying shapes and sizes, with an elaborate wrought-iron fence encasing them in a colorless world. Even what little ground is visible from outside is black or white, painted or powdered, or treated with some other circus trick.

But it is not open for business. Not just yet.

Within hours everyone in town has heard about it. By afternoon the news has spread several towns over. Word of mouth is a more effective method of advertisement than typeset words and exclamation points on paper pamphlets or posters. It is impressive and unusual news, the sudden appearance of a mysterious circus. People marvel at the staggering height of the tallest tents. They stare at the clock that sits just inside the gates that no one can properly describe.

And the black sign painted in white letters that hangs upon the gates, the one that reads:

Opens at Nightfall
Closes at Dawn

The sun disappears completely beyond the horizon, and the remaining luminosity shifts from dusk to twilight. The people around you are growing restless from waiting, a sea of shuffling feet, murmuring about abandoning the endeavor in search of someplace warmer to pass the evening. You yourself are debating departing when it happens. The iron gates shudder and unlock, seemingly by their own volition. They swing outward, inviting the crowd inside.

Now the circus is open.
Now you may enter.

10. The Wicked King

YA Fantasy. (link) I love a book with intrigue, deception, and a power struggle, and this one really delivers. The series as a whole is pretty good, although I didn’t love the third and final book. If you haven’t read the Red Queen series, I’d recommend it over this; if you read that and liked it, you’ll probably enjoy this series as well. I won’t include the synopsis here, again for spoilers reasons. Start with A Cruel Prince if you want to read.

11. Recursion

Sci-Fi. (link) I kept finding myself thinking about this book as if it was non-fiction, which I think is very high praise for any sci-fi book. I’ve been a fan of Blake Crouch since reading Dark Matter in 2018, and was excited that Recursion lived up to my (high) expectations. A thrilling story about memory, time, and science. Definitely in my top 3 favorite reads from last year.

Memory makes reality.

That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.

That’s what neuroscientist Helena Smith believes. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious memories. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent. 

As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face-to-face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.

But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them?

12. The City of Brass

Fantasy. (link) This book is set in the 18th century middle east and I am here for it. This was a fun read – think magic, djinn, flying carpets, and the intersection of religion and politics. (wait, what?) The second book in the series is even better than the first, and I’m anxiously awaiting the publication of the third and final book in the series this summer.

Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.

After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for…

Honorable Mentions

A few of my favorite four-star books were: The Woman in the Window (mystery/thriller), Finale (the final book in the Caraval trilogy; YA fantasy), Field Notes on Love (YA romance), Practical Magic (magical realism), Sharp Objects (mystery/thriller), the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows Series (YA fantasy), and the Harry Potter Series on audio.

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