So here's a recap of my 2019 in books! These are my own personal favorites that I *read* in 2019, not necessarily ones that were released this year. Most of this is according to the "Your Year in Books" feature on Goodreads.
{ My 2019 Reading Recap }
Total number of books read: 54 (my goal was 52, one book a week, so yay!)
Total number of pages read: 11,954
Average length of books I read: 221 pages
Longest book I read: The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross (464 pages)
Shortest book I read: A Year in Nature: A Carousel Book of the Seasons by Hazel Maskell; illustrated by Eleanor Taylor (8 pages)
Most popular book I read (according to Goodreads): The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (684,211 people also read it)
Least popular book I read (according to Goodreads): Forest Club: A Year of Activities, Crafts, and Exploring Nature by Kris Hirschmann; illustrated by Marta Antelo (13 people also read it - shout out to you 13 awesome folks! *waves*)
(You can read my review here!)
Genre I read the most books from: Young Adult (with Picture Books close behind!)
Favorite book cover of the books I read this year: The cover for The Antidote by Shelley Sackier - Unfortunately I didn't end up loving the book itself, but that gorgeous cover sure got me to pick it up and give it a try!
Favorite board book I read this year: A Is for Artichoke: A Foodie Alphabet from Artichoke to Zest by America's Test Kitchen Kids; illustrated by Maddie Frost - I only read 1 board book this year :( but I really did enjoy this one so it is rightfully my favorite!
(You can read my review here!)
Favorite picture book I read this year: Frankie's Favorite Food by Kelsey Garrity-Riley - Oh man, I read soooo many good picture books this year, it was really hard to choose a favorite! But I have to give it to Frankie for the cute story, clever food puns, and adorable illustrations. (Escargot by Dashka Slater & illustrated by Sydney Hanson was a *very* close second because I love that adorable little snail and I can't wait to read more of his adventures!)
(You can read my review here!)
Favorite beginning reader I read this year: I read ZERO beginning readers this year! :( I'm really making an effort in 2020 to read across more genres, especially more beginning readers and early chapter books.
Favorite early chapter book I read this year: I read ZERO early chapter books this year! :( See above for new goals and wish me luck for next year!
Favorite middle grade book I read this year: Malamander by Thomas Taylor; illustrated by Tom Booth - It has been a while since I loved a middle grade book as much as I loved Malamander. If you like your middle grade adventurous and a little creepy, with a fantastically dreary seaside setting, definitely give this one a try.
(You can read my review here!)
Favorite young adult book I read this year: Enchantée by Gita Trelease - For me, it doesn't get much better than a peasant girl living a double life as a magical card-playing baroness in a fantasy version of Revolutionary France. C'est magnifique!
(You can read my review here!)
Favorite graphic novel I read this year: Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu - I loved literally EVERYTHING about this, despite the fact that I'm not that fond of hockey (like, at all) and I cannot wait to read the next book!!
(You can read my review here!)
Favorite poetry book I read this year: A Year of Nature Poems
by Joseph Coelho; illustrated by Kelly Louise Judd - This is my favorite because it's the *only* poetry book I read this year. And it wasn't bad, I did like it... but I feel like I missed out on so many poetry books I could have read this year. Adding poetry to the list of genres I need to read more of next year!
(You can read my review here!)
Favorite nonfiction book I read this year: The Lost Book of Adventure: from the notebooks of the Unknown Adventurer by the Unknown Adventurer; edited by Teddy Keen - I loved this one so much. It's kind of a mix of fiction and nonficiton... The Unknown Adventurer tells you the stories of their travels, woven among gorgeous sketchbook illustrations and real-world survival information. It's a very creative and beautiful book, and it's easily my favorite nonfiction book of the year.
(You can read my review here!)
Favorite adult book I read this year: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - One of the most beautiful fantasies I have ever read. It makes me sad it took me this long to discover this book and this author, which both became instant favorites for me. Another adult favorite from this year: The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, which is an incredible, twisty mindblower of a book that repeats the same 24 hour period over and over by having one character inhabit the body of nearly every other character in the story. Definitely recommended to older/more mature YA readers who like mysteries and time travel.
Review I wrote that got the most views: My reviews for Multicultural Children's Book Day: Albie Newton by Josh Funk; illustrated by Ester Garay - How to Code a Sandcastle by Josh Funk; illustrated by Sara Palacios - Ahni and Her Dancing Secret by Shereen Rahming; illustrated by Jeff Vernon
New-to-me author(s) that I want to read more of: Erin Morgenstern now has my heart and I will read anything she writes. (I'm reading The Starless Sea right now and I am as in love with it and bewitched by it as I was with The Night Circus!) I also fell in love with Kelsey Garrity-Riley's storytelling and illustrations, so I'd love to read more of her picture books.
Series I started that I can't wait to continue: The Malamander series by Thomas Taylor for sure - I can't wait to be back in that world. I also really enjoyed the first book of the Berserker series by Emmy Laybourne and I'd like to see how that story continues.
Books releasing in 2020 I'm most anticipating: How much time do you have? There are SO MANY new books I can't wait to read in 2020! I'm just going to put up the pretty covers because there are literally too many to list out (and who doesn't love looking at pretty book covers??).
So that's my 2019 reading recap! How was your bookish year? Leave me a link to your end-of-the-year posts in the comments!
