This is a tough prompt, mostly because I can’t really remember which I came across this year, last year or the year before! Time tends to meld into one continuous blur these days. So some of these might not be accurate on the timeline, but still are awesome nonetheless!
Musicians Can Be Awesome Writers Too
I’d never really considered reading a book by a musician before, but somehow this year I read books by four. And they were all amongst my favourite books of the year – possibly the decade. Tracey Thorn’s writing is subtle and introspective. She writes about her life, her music, her mistakes and her relationship with her husband (and band mate in Everything But the Girl). Her books led me to Ben Watt’s book, since he is the aforementioned husband. She mentions his time spent in hospital in her memoir, and it piqued my interest, so I decided to read his account. I found so much in it to relate to based on my own time spent in medical settings and dealing with the aftermath (though, of course, his situation was much more severe than my own). I then read Akala’s book about race in Britain – its history, the assumptions associated with it, what it means (and doesn’t mean) and how it intersects with other social issues. Darren McGarvey (aka Loki) similarly explores poverty and how it affects people’s mental and physical health, as well as their opportunities and sentiments towards authority figures and the government. Both of these books are full of insightful, eloquent and though-provoking information and will make you see things from a slightly different angle, no matter where you’re looking from.
Sometimes Women’s Fiction Is Actually Just Good
I loved this book. I didn’t expect to – I thought I’d enjoy it well enough and it would be entertaining – but that’s about all I was looking for. Instead, I found a book that is unique, has great character development and kept me hooked from beginning to end. I loved the format and structure and though it worked particularly well for the story it was telling. I will definitely be checking out more of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books in the future.
An Awesome Local Bookstore (aka My New Happy Place)
It’s called 32 Books and it’s just the sweetest little bookstore I’ve ever been in. It isn’t very big, and it carries a mixture of books, trinkets, cards and other gifts (it’s a bookstore/gallery). But the collection of books there is on point. The ladies who run the place know their stuff because I’ve discovered some great books there I never would have come across otherwise, and when I go in the shelves are just packed with books I either read and loved or really want to read! Love.
The BookTube Prize
Okay, so this one’s a bit of a cheat. I didn’t so much discover The BookTube Prize this year as it was created this year. But still, it’s high on my list of exciting book events of 2019, especially because I’m hoping to participate in the judging in 2020. I’ve always dreamed of being part of judging a literary prize, but there’s no way I’ll ever be able to be part of one of the established ones – not only is it extremely unlikely (like lottery win unlikely) that they’d ever invite me, but as much as I love reading, I can’t read fast enough to read a couple hundred books in less than a year. I mean, I’d definitely give it a try, but it’d be tough! So the chance to be part of the panel of judges for 2020 and for it to be a prize that so far has selected books I’m interested in and is full of some of my favourite people on the bookish internet is a dream come true. Here’s hoping they accept me as a judge!
Audible
I knew about Audible before, of course, but this is the year I really got into it. Technically I think it was the end of 2018 I signed up, but I feel like it was close enough to count, particularly since my largest listening binge was in early 2019. I very much enjoy non-fiction as audio (memoirs read by the author are almost always a win), and am also a fan of readings with a cast of two or more.
Reading Kid’s Books
This past year my daughter went from being a toddler to being a kid. Part of that process included starting to read books with more of a story to them, and feeling like she actually understands what is happening and can be part of the process. She now has whole books memorized (and can sometimes be heard “reading” to herself during nap time) and loves to talk about what she sees in the pictures that isn’t part of the written story and to ask questions about tangential issues. Reading with her has become a lot more fun, and she is voracious. She’ll happily sit and read five or six books in a row if I’m up to it. I now have kids’ books on my phone to read to her when we’re stuck waiting at the doctor’s office or in the car, and she has favourites there too. It’s a delightful process, and I’m enjoying finding new books I think she’ll like. She’s currently obsessed with any book featuring Thomas and Friends.
I know that’s nowhere near ten, but that’s all I’ve got! I’d love to hear what you guys fell in love with in the bookish world this year!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.
I just picked up Daisy Jones on audiobook. I’m so excited to finally see what all the buzz is about. 😉 Great post!
My TTT
I discovered a lot of great kids’ books last year too. I can’t wait for my niece to be older so we can read books with more than 2 words on a page.
I loved DJ & the 6, too. I don’t think I would put it in the WF category, though. To me it was more historical fiction.
After reading through comments I’m realizing I did not adequately go into that particular entry. It IS historifcal fiction – but from the marketing it has definitely been geared towards that “women’s fiction” market (which, don’t get me started, but I HATE that whole thing) and so I think a lot of people have discounted it because of preconceived notions of what that means about the quality of a book. I don’t subscribe to those assumptions, but I also generally am not the right audience for books that are in that camp, not because I have any problem with it, just because the themes and topics aren’t usually my favourites. So this was a book I had misgivings about just because I didn’t think it would be to my particular tastes. But it is such a fantastic read and I hope that more people give it a chance who don’t normally find themselves reaching for books in that odd “women’s fiction” marketing category!
Reading children’s books is so much fun.
My TTT .
I completely agree! I’m really enjoying revisiting some of my old favourites and discovering lots more. I’m also learning so much about my kid by which books she is drawn to and which she goes back to again and again. She has such varied and eclectic tastes that it’s a lot of fun to explore reading with her!
Great list! I loved Daisy Jones as well and listed it this week as one of my favorite audiobooks that I discovered last year. Audible was also a great companion for me in 2019 since I learned what I liked and didn’t like while listening to them. I’m looking forward to what 2020 has in store 🙂
My TTT post
The audiobook for Daisy Jones was amazing! I listened to part of it on audio, but I had it from the library and there was a huge queue so when it had to go back I switched to text. Which was also fantastic, so no complaints! Yeah, finding out what works for you is a huge part of getting into audiobooks. I think a lot of people have one mis-match and think the whole thing doesn’t work for them, but really it’s a matter of figuring out what type of books you like to listen to and finding narrators who work. Then it’s awesome!
Ahem… what do you mean “Sometimes Women’s Fiction Is Actually Just Good”? You do know that women’s fiction is NOT romance or chic-lit, right? I read TONS of women’s fiction, all of which are also literary fiction novels – the same of which cannot be said of romance or chic-lit.
I’m realizing I really should have worked on wording and explanation for this one! What I meant was books that are placed under the marketing umbrella of “women’s fiction” – a category that largely reduces the perceived value and quality of a book – shouldn’t be dismissed. There are some fantastic books that are overlooked because of how they’re marketed (and who they’re marketed to). I am guilty of making some assumptions, as proved by the fact that I nearly didn’t give this book a try because I thought it was going to be full of love triangle BS and petty drama, neither of which I am interested in. I was proved wrong in spectacular fashion, and have since made a conscious effort to really look into books that I might have overlooked before because they’re marketed to women. It’s been a great lesson to me, and I hope other people will give this book a chance too! It was a standout for me this year. (Also I don’t have a problem with romance or chic lit either – they might not be genres I typically reach for, but I absolutely think if they’re what you enjoy, have at it!! Every book has its audience, it can just be hard sometimes to figure out which books will be of interest sometimes.)