This is always one of my favorite posts of the year because I get to look back on my year of reading and do a grand tally. This year, I read…drum roll, please…75 books! I’m a little surprised I read that many because this year was so hectic–a newborn, going back to my full-time job, publishing a book and working on edits for the next one. I did get through a lot of books while breastfeeding when I was on maternity leave. I’m guessing that’s what got me to my total. Did you read any of the same books as me? What were your favorites of this year?
Good ol’ fiction:
Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker
Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man by Joseph Heller
This Was Not the Plan by Cristina Alger
Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown
You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott
The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer
Close Enough to Touch by Colleen Oakley
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
All is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker
P.S. I Miss You by Jen Petro-Roy
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood
Between Me and You by Allison Winn Scotch
The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch
Girls in Trouble by Caroline Leavitt
Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn
Tell Me Something Real by Calla Devlin
Sweet Little Lies by Caz Frear
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
Hag by Kathleen Kaufman
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
Profound and Perfect Things by Maribel Garcia (advance copy)
The Leavers by Lisa Ko (still working on this one, but I’m counting it)
Nonfiction:
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout
I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell
It’s Messy: On Boys, Boobs, and Badass Women by Amanda de Cadenet
The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land by Monica Hesse
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After by Heather Harpham
People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished From the Streets of Tokyo–and the Evil That Swallowed Her Up by Richard Lloyd Parry
The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber
The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn
Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find–and Keep–Love by Amir Levine, MD and Rachel SF Heller, MA
Everything is Horrible and Wonderful: A Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love, and Loss by Stephanie Wittels Wachs
Apocalypse Child: A Life in End Times by Flor Edwards
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison by Piper Kerman
The Long Run: A Memoir of Loss and Life in Motion by Catriona Menzies-Pike
Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences by Jeffrey Long, MD
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression–and the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore
How Animals Grieve by Barbara J. King
Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs
We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union
Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe Biden
Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give by Ada Calhoun
The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief: A Revolutionary Approach to Understanding and Healing the Impact of Loss by Claire Bidwell Smith
A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold
This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Philipps
The Still Point of the Turning World by Emily Rapp Black
Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
The Angel in My Pocket: A Story of Love, Loss, and Life After Death by Sukey Forbes
The Girl With Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story by Hyeonseo Lee
A Beautiful, Terrible Thing: A Memoir of Marriage and Betrayal by Jen Waite
Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens by Eddie Izzard
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Mom books:
The Wonder Weeks: How to Stimulate Your Baby’s Mental Development and Help Him Turn His 10 Predictable, Great, Fussy Phases into Magical Leaps Forward by Frans X. Plooij and Hetty van de Rijt
Achtung Baby: An American Mom on the German Art of Raising Self-Reliant Children by Sara Zaske
How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids by Jancee Dunn
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, MD
The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep by Harvey Karp, MD
The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night by Elizabeth Pantley
Precious Little Sleep: The Complete Baby Sleep Guide for Modern Parents by Alexis Dubief
I always look forward to seeing your book list at the end of the year and it inspires me to do my own list. I was wondering how you get the covers all in one image?
I’m also impressed that you could fit so much reading in with your busy life and mothering responsibilities. Amazing!
Hi, Marg. Glad you enjoy the lists! I’m big on lists. I compile all the book cover images from the Internet and put them together in one document. It’s cumbersome, but I like seeing the end result. Listening to books on audio helps me “read” a lot (I have a long work commute). Hope you have a happy reading year in 2019!
Hope you have a good reading (and writing) year as well.