2019 was probably my busiest year yet and as a result, I read less books this year than I have in the past. I’m finishing the year with a total of 42 books, spanning a diverse range of authors and genres. For a full list of all the books I read, you can check out my ‘Year in Review’ on goodreads.

I tried to come up with a Top 10 list of favourites I read this year and I realized that even though I read so many books, there were only about five that REALLY stood out to me. I’ve listed them in the order I read them below:

Becoming by Michelle Obama

“So many of us go through life with our stories hidden, feeling ashamed or afraid when our whole truth doesn’t live up to some established ideal…..That if our skin is dark or our hips are wide, if we don’t experience love in a particular way, if we speak another language or come from another country, then we don’t belong. That is, until someone dares to start telling that story differently.”

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

“But at some point, you have to recognize that you have no control over anybody and you have to step back and be ready to catch them when they fall and that’s all you can do. It feels like throwing yourself to sea. Or, maybe not that. Maybe it’s more like throwing someone you love out to sea and then praying they float on their own, knowing they might well drown and you’ll have to watch.”

Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement by Nadya Okamoto

“In some parts of the world, menarche is a day that young menstruators may learn to dread. A first period can hold the weight of signifying the transition from girlhood to womanhood, and it is often the single event that leads to a girl’s dropping out of school, getting married early, undergoing female genital mutilation, or in some places even being forced into social isolation.”

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

“I think there are two kinds of feminist. The famous ones, and everyone else. Everyone else, all the people who go and do what they’re supposed to and don’t get a lot of credit for it, and don’t have someone out there everyday telling them they’re doing an awesome job.”

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara

I’m excited to see how my taste and interest in books continue to expand in 2020!