Books 2019

Hi everyone. 

I'm here today with a break from my normal posting to write about  my 2019 reading. For those of you who enjoy book posts you can read through, and if not, then I'll be back another day with more interesting things. As I've said before, I write these book posts for myself so I can look back and see what's been on my bedside table.

2019 was a record reading year for me. On my reading list I logged 105 books either read or listened to. According to an email I got from Audible, I listened to 526  hours of books. What surprised me the most was that summer was the season I listened the most. I figured it would be the other seasons as I have a 45 minute commute to and from work and that's when I do a lot of listening.

There were LOTS of enjoyable reads. Today I will mention  my most memorable reads from that long list. 

Mysteries

I have been a mystery mood this past year. I've read all 10 of these Elly Griffiths mysteries; she was my big newly discovered author. I really enjoy her Dr. Ruth Galloway forensic archeologist stories. I also read her Stranger Diaries which is a stand alone mystery about a teacher and her daughter. I liked it but not quite as much as the Ruth Galloway series.  I have book 11 on my nightstand of the Dr.Ruth Galloway series. I am curious to see what happens to all the characters in the next book of the series.

 I also discovered the Glass and Steele (by CJ Archer) mysteries set in 1890's London which include some magic with the mystery.  I managed to get through 4 of those books.  I've got book 5 loaded on my phone for listening to in 2020 as I picked it up on a sale so I don't have to use a credit on it. These stories have to be read in order as each one picks up where the last one left off. They are also a bit more predictable, but I am hoping book 5 might have a little twist. We shall see.

And if you like cozy mysteries, I finished books 2 and 3 of H Y Hanna's Oxford (England) tearoom mysteries. I'd listened to number 1 in 2018. They are well written but light and fun murder mysteries with Muesli, the tearoom cat, as one of the stories characters. 

The other big mystery author I read in 2019 was Louise Penny. I caught up on the last couple of her Inspector Gamache books, and then when my bookclub picked her first book, I decided it was time to reread some of her earlier works in order. Louise Penny is a fantastic writer and her little town of Three Pines sounds like such a wonderful place. I may just have to go on a search to find it one of these days as it is set in Quebec not far over the Vermont border.

Other top mystery reads include the Darwin Affair by Tim Mason (set in Charles Darwin's London), Auntie Poldi and the Vineyards of Etna by Mario Giordano (set in modern Italy with a fun 60 year old sleuth), Front Page Fatality by Lyndee Walker and the Tale Teller by Anne Hillerman (who picked up where her father, Tony Hillerman, left off.)  Plus it's always good to reread a little Agatha Christie. She's on my to read more of list for 2020.

Fiction-new reads for me

Here's my top new fiction reads for 2019.

 Have you read this book about the Swamp Girl? Where the Crawdads Sing is a beautiful story with so many natural elements. (No wonder as Delia Owens was a zoologist). This was one of the rare books in my book club that everyone liked.

 I liked the Night Tiger as it is set in the Malaysian Chinese community in the 1930s, and it had some mystery and a great suspenseful story. It was an interesting journey. I also enjoyed her book the Ghost Bride which I also read this past year, but not quite as much as this one.

 The Great Alone was another book club book. It read quickly and went through peaks and valleys.  nd its a book that still occasionally comes to mind, and as you readers know, some books just disappear and you can't even remember reading them. My book club was split on this book. Some people liked it, and some thought it was too predictable.

The Secrets We Kept was the book that inspired me to read Dr. Zhivago. It was all about the people involved in writing the book as well as how the book was a propaganda weapon in the US side of the cold war. It is fiction, but I learned a lot.

 And finally here's a Mexican novel. It is full of magic, love and some wonderful imagery. It spans several decades, beginning before the time of the 1910 Mexican Revolution. It's a nice story about family love and family conflict.

Fiction-rereads for me

And here's some books I reread/listened to after not having read for many many years that I liked as much time 2 as did the first time.

The Historian is a  modern day search for Count Dracula. This book is a bit long and could have moved a bit faster, but I did really enjoy it round two. I love how it took me around parts of Europe and the suspense the author created.

 A much shorter read and full of Mexican magic (and food) was Like Water for Chocolate. Yes I was a little mad at the ending, but doesn't that mean that the author really got you involved in the book?

 OK, my reading goal was to get through all 7 of the Harry Potter books this past year. And I listened to them all, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Jim Dale is such a great narrator and as he reads all 7, you can tell by the voice he uses what character is speaking.   I discovered book 5 is still my least favorite, and books 6 and 7 are my favorites, but none of them should be missed.  I can see why they are so successful.

 This is the third time I have read this Anne Rice novel of the New Orleans witch family and the spectre that haunts them. There are 2 more books in this series, which I don't know if I have ever read because they are not jumping out at me. I've put them on my 2020 to read list. Of course I could put so many books on my 2020 read list I wouldn't have time to either read them all or read anything else.

 I recently mentioned Dr. Zhivago in a post, and I am very glad I listened to it. Boris Pasternak wrote such a graphic and lyrical story, and relatively short for a Russian classic novel. (Harry Potter book 5 is longer.)

Other Reads

Finally for today, here are my top nonfiction books.

 If you haven't read any Bill Bryson you should. This was his latest book and even though I have a degree in biology I learned a lot from reading this. He has updated information and a dry wit that made this book one of my top reads. And you don't have to be a science person to enjoy it.

 OK, The Ends of the World and the Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs fulfilled my geology and paleontology interest. I learned a lot of global climate in those past eons and about  how many dinosaurs actually had feathers.  As well as other things. If you like these areas of science, you might enjoy these.

 OK, let's take a science break. The Library Book talks about a fire in the main LA Public Library, the case to trace the arsonist and also just info about libraries in general. Who knew? But I enjoyed it.

 And I read Prairie Fires before heading off to the Dakotas this past summer. I can't say I am personally that l interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder who wrote the Little House on the Prairie books, but this story really talks about life on the prairies back in the late 1800s. It is an unromantic view, but certainly fascinating. I also didn't know that Ingalls Wilder's daughter was one of the women who started the Libertarian political party in the US. The ending of the book did drag on a bit for me, but this book did win a Pulitzer Prize, so I do recommend it if you have any interest in thee stories.

 And finally another science book by the man who won a Nobel Prize for his discoveries about the cell part called the ribosome. Probably not for you if you don't have any science interest, but it was a great story about that journey and what life becomes once you win a Nobel prize.

And right now there are a couple of classics on my reading list. I am listening to Little Women about 4 American sisters in the 1860's and 1870's by Louisa May Alcott. It is a book for older children, but I never read it and I am loving it. And I just started read The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. I picked that book because the author's name seemed to have come up several times in the last several months, so it seemed like one of his books was calling me to read him. So far, I am enjoying this also.

OK, enough for me. This post has taken me 2 nights to write and it is probably longer than most people want to read.

If you have any good suggestions I'd love to hear them  as there is a whole 360 + days left of reading this year. 

 Have a great year of reading and books!