my 2019 in books

This year I set myself an ambitious target of reading (or listening to) 52 books. I must admit, I was a little concerned that if I set a high number target, I would just plod, rather than enjoy, but I am proud to report this was not the case. Reader, I made it! 55 books in total, and looking through the list, I realised, not only have I made it — but I remember them all too. Yay!

Of the 55 books — I read 14 in Book form, 26 by Kindle and 13 using audio. 33 were by female writers and the 22 remaining by male writers. 40 were fiction (a higher number than I would have liked).

Here are my highlights in books, with the full list at the bottom:

Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives by Gary Younge. An account of the lives and deaths of ten people killed by guns across a 24 hour period in America. A brutal read, but necessary I think to understand the increasing need to control firearms in the US. They are not faceless victims, they are people and by making them more real, the narrative become even more powerful.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear. A brilliantly easy read about the different habit building approaches one can make. Excellently timed for January where it hit home and I’m pleased to say, by using techniques, in the book (mostly of the BJ Fogg variety) — I’ve got some great habits built!

Beastie Boys Book by Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz. I listened to this on Audible read by the authors and not ashamed to say I spent that month listening to the Beastie Boys! If you are a fan, it’s a must.

Dare to Lead by Brené Brown. 2019 was probably my year of Brené. We read this book as part of book group, then I spoke about it in September. I’m not sure the title fits — my feeling was it was about finding yours (and others’) styles for working and respecting them. Found it really useful.

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. A brilliant crimey yarn with a twist.

Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes. A powerful story about domestic abuse and the justice system.

The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas. Complicated! But so enjoyable. In a year in which I was reading so much, it was great to slow down and linger over this story.

The Secret Commonwealth (The Book of Dust, #2) by Philip Pullman. LOVED listening to this! (Read by Michael Sheen). I was a little devastated when it ended. And it lead to a re-read of The Book of Dust, #1.

Black Box Thinking: Why Some People Never Learn from Their Mistakes — But Some Do by Matthew Syed. This book has quite simply changed my way of thinking! The premise being that making mistakes is good — because you learn more. Also, an interesting take on how it’s really really hard to accept you’ve made a mistake, and for less obvious reasons than pride. Loved this book!

Black Box Thinking was one of my fav reads this year.

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou. I could not put this down. I can’t believe it’s based on fact! I’ve hoovered down a podcast about Theranos afterwards and am looking forward to watching the documentary if it comes easily to the UK.

My plan for 2020? I want to keep enjoying reading. I was lucky that I enjoyed nearly all of the books I read this year (struggled with only a couple). I would love to read more non-fiction — I have a great list lined up. And I would love to read more work by LGBT+ writers, as there’s a clearly a gap for me there.

Happy to chat books with anyone — and happy to hear recommendations too!

Thanks for reading

Sal x

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Full list

1. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (re-read)
2. La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust, #1) by Philip Pullman (re-read)
3. Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy, #2) by Deborah Harkness
4. The Ruby in the Smoke (Sally Lockhart, #1) by Philip Pullman
5. The Shadow in the North (Sally Lockhart, #2) by Philip Pullman
6. The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy, #3) by Deborah Harkness
7. The Tiger in the Well (Sally Lockhart, #3) by Philip Pullman
8. Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives by Gary Younge
9. Shine: Rediscovering Your Energy, Happiness and Purpose by Andy Cope and Gavin Oates
10. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
11. Normal People by Sally Rooney
12. Milkman by Anna Burns
13. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss
14. The Tin Princess (Sally Lockhart, #4) by Philip Pullman
15. Beastie Boys Book by Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz
16. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (BTW, I’ve literally had this book on my bookshelf for 20 years!)
17. You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
18. The Butterfly Heart by Paula Leyden
19. Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce
20. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Miguel Ruiz
21. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
22. You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth by Jen Sincero
23. The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
24. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (This took me the longest to read — about 6 weeks!)
25. The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings of Authenticity, Connections and Courage by Brené Brown
26. Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
27. The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
28. Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey
29. How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
30. Predator’s Gold (Mortal Engines Quartet #2) by Philip Reeve
31. Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes
32. The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
33. The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout
34. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
35. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
36. Circe by Madeline Miller
37. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriaty
38. The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library, #1) by Genevieve Cogman
39. Infernal Devices (The Hungry City Chronicles, #3) by Philip Reeve
40. The Pleasure Seekers by Tishani Doshi
41. Sugar Money by Jane Harris
42. The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
43. Everything is Figureoutable: How One Simple Belief Can Help Us Overcome Any Obstacle and Create Unstoppable Success by Marie Forleo
44. Old Baggage by Lissa Evans
45. The Cost of Living: A Working Autobiography by Deborah Levy
46. The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman
47. The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins
48. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
49. The Secret Commonwealth (The Book of Dust, #2) by Philip Pullman
50. Black Box Thinking: Why Some People Never Learn from Their Mistakes — But Some Do by Matthew Syed
51. City of Thieves by David Benioff
52. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
53. The Circle by Dave Eggers
54. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
55. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield (BTW this is a slower burner so totally worth the effort!)