After steadily increasing my goal over the years, 2019 was the year I decided on 100 books, because it was a goal I wanted to reach but also one I knew would not be easy.
The goal for 2018 was to read more women and read more People of Color. So here’s the actual breakdown…
Women Authors: 69
Non-Binary Authors: 2
Men Authors: 32
Unknown Authors: 2
Collection of Authors: 2
BIPoC Authors: 22
Books I Edited: 1
Books that Were Rereads: 3
So last year, 65% of the books I read were by women or non-binary authors. This year it’s 71%, which is definitely an improvement. However, whereas last year I read 21 authors of color, this year I only read 22. This seems like a good thing, but it actually went from 38% down to 22%. So, this is something I want to work on. I’d love for at least half of the authors I read in 2020 to be BIPoC.
All that said, the most surprising thing for me is that my two favorite books were poetry collections, one by a Black non-binary queer author and another by a Vietnamese male queer author. I read a few poetry books a year, and I usually fine a couple poems stand out and the others are just OK. But both Smith and Vuong blew me away, page after page.
So on to the list, with books listed in chronological order of when I finished them. Books in bold were my favorites.
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
Puddin’ by Julie Murphy
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
Motherhood by Sheila Heti
Fuck Off Squad by Nicole Goux and Dave Baker
I Love Myself OK? by Chloe Zeegen
There There by Tommy Orange
i-330 by Jenn Woodall
Ochre by Gla4
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Night Moves by Jessica Hopper
Severance by Ling Ma
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
The Pisces by Melissa Broder
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Punk USA by Kevin Prested
Blood Brothers by Ernst Haffner
You Know You Want This by Kristen Roupenian
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking
Baby-sitters on Board! by Ann M. Martin
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Educated by Tara Westover
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
Moominsummer Madness by Tove Jansson
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Advanced Swift by Chris Eidhof, Ole Begemann, Florian Kugler, and Ben Cohen
Magical Beatdown Volume 1.5 by Jenn Woodall
Portrait of My Ex With Giant Burrito by Eileen G’Sell
Magical Beatdown Volume 1 by Jenn Woodall
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Cockpit Confidential by Patrick Smith
Becoming by Michelle Obama
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
Permission by Saskia Vogel
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
An Honest Man by Ben Fergusson
Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson
Stoner by John Williams
The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy
Outline by Rachel Cusk
The Witch Elm by Tana French
Our Lady of Everything by Susan Finlay
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat
Salt Slow by Julia Armfield
How to Raise a Plant: and Make It Love You Back by Morgan Doane and Erin Harding
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
The Leavers by Lisa Ko
Secrets We Kept: Three Women of Trinidad by Krystal A. Sital
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
The Julian Chapter by R.J. Palacio
Now Say This: The Right Words to Solve Every Parenting Dilemma by Heather Turgeon
Pluto by R.J. Palacio
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Laika by Nick Abadzis
Ayiti by Roxane Gay
The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
Almost Midnight by Rainbow Rowell
The Alcohol Experiment: A 30-Day, Alcohol-Free Challenge to Interrupt Your Habits and Help You Take Control by Annie Grace
This Is Not A Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook by Extinction Rebellion
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
Wired for Love: How Understanding Your Partner’s Brain and Attachment Style Can Help You Defuse Conflict and Build a Secure Relationship by Stan Tatkin
The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket
Home Is Elsewhere by The Reader Berlin
Above Sugar Hill by Linda Mannheim
Lunarbaboon Volume 1 by Christopher Grady
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor
Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
Exploded View by Carrie Tiffany
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living by Shauna Niequist
How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones
Swimming Home by Deborah Levy
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
It’s a Punderful Life: A fun collection of puns and wordplay by Gemma Correll
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
Hardboiled & Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
Once by Alice Walker
Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary
The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
Want to see what I’ve read in years past? Here are my lists for 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014.
TL;DR: Here’s my Year in Books on GoodReads.
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