My favorite books of 2019

I know it’s a little early to be making “lists” for the year. However….in the last 9 months, I’ve read 63 books, so I do have quite enough under my belt to choose from. In the spirit of my favorite things posts, I wanted to share with you what my favorites have been so far. Perhaps I’ll add 4 more favorites by the end of the year and make it an even 10.

Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

You know that our girl Rach was going to show up on the list somewhere. This book is a follow up to her book Girl, Wash Your Face (which I also loved), and is more of a practical guide on how to reach your goals. The first part of the book is a list of excuses to let go of, such as worrying about others opinions and being terrified of failure. The second section covers behaviors you should adopt, like stop asking for permission and learning to say no. The third covers skills to acquire. In this section she coaches you on things like persistence and confidence.

I will add here that I also read her Party Girl series and loved it. It’s a fictional series similar to something you’d read by Sophie Kinsella. Also, if you haven’t read Girl, Wash Your Face, I’d start with that one.

Becoming, by Michelle Obama

This is another one you’ve definitely heard of, I know. Just in case it’s been in your “maybe” pile for awhile, or you haven’t quite decided, here’s one more review telling you to go read it. I actually listened to it on Audible during my commute, and loved every minute.

There were a lot of fascinating insights into what it’s like being the wife of a president. If you hate politics, this book will still be okay for you. Turns out, she doesn’t care for them much either. Haha. I loved her stories about motherhood, Barack (especially how they met and fell in love), her family growing up, and trying her best to live a life that was true to herself while the entire world was watching. Her story about the Queen of England is still one of my favorites.

I am officially forever and always a Michelle fan after this book.

The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

I started this series because I saw a recommendation somewhere, downloaded them, and started reading without having a darn clue what I was getting into. So, here’s your warning: The Outlander Series is a whole thing. Each novel is approximately 1 billion pages long, and there are apparently additional short stories that you can read if you are interested. I stuck with the novels alone, and it took me months and months. However…I loved them. With novels this long, it’s not really a sprint, it’s a marathon. I felt like I lived alongside these characters for months, and missed them terribly when I was finished with the latest book (don’t worry, she’s still writing more).

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman

This novel is about a woman who has trouble, to put it mildly, with social interaction. She just doesn’t get a lot of it. She’s perfectly fine on her own, and is often perplexed as to why other humans act the way they do. The first half of the book had me in stitches, the second half in tears. It’s a beautiful novel in every possible way, and one of my new favorites.

Before We Were Yours: A Novel, by Lisa Wingate

This is a beautiful novel written about children who were stolen from their (very poor) riverboat family, and sold to the highest bidder for adoption. It is based on the real crimes of a woman named Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children’s Home Society from the 1920s to the 1950s. To the world, Georgia Tann was a woman who changed the face of adoption, turning it into something glamorous. In reality, she was guilty of child trafficking, and to this day no one knows which children were legitimate orphans, and which ones were stolen from loving parents.

This novel is fiction, but based entirely on known facts, and is an example of what could be the stories of many children. It’s a sad read, but it’s also sweet, and it tackles this extremely terrible subject beautifully.

Talking as Fast as I Can, by Lauren Graham

It should surprise exactly zero people that I LOVED this book, but here we are. It actually came out a few years ago, but I never read it and here’s why: You know when you really, really love a character, so much so that you can’t stand to get to know the actor or actress that played them, because what if they are a total jerk and it ruins everything? This woman played my favorite television character on the planet, Lorelai Gilmore, and then she played Sarah Braverman and I just wasn’t emotionally prepared to handle things if she sucked in real life.

I’ve always subconsciously avoided reading her books or watching interviews about her. She’s a pretty private person anyways, so it’s made it easier. Anyways, I randomly decided to get over my fears and read this book and it basically blew me away how much I loved it and I loved her.

I know this last review most likely came across as very dramatic, so thank you for listening