One thing I’ve never done before is pick my favorite books from a given year. I saw Janssen do this over at Everyday Reading and loved seeing what stood out to her most. I finished 52 books last year and, when looking back, I was surprised how difficult it was to come up with my favorite 10. Not because I loved all of them, but because many of them just didn’t stick with me or stand out in my mind. I considered two things when deciding my top 10 – enjoyment-factor and tangible takeaways. If a book was either really enjoyable or I had a tangible takeaway, I included it on my list. Here are my top 10 favorite books from 2019.
My Top 10 Favorite Books from 2019
Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins
This book helped me understand investing sooo much better. I’m by no means an expert, but I now know what to look for in analyzing stocks. I also came away from reading the book with tangible action steps that felt pretty easy to complete. That happens so rarely!
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
I enjoyed this book so much more than I expected! It was funny and insightful and sad and thought-provoking. I would definitely recommend it!
Small Space Style by Whitney Leigh Morris
This book was full of both inspiration and practical advice on how to live in a small space. For just the two of us, our 600 square foot apartment is plenty big. But i definitely can’t store as much or spread out in the kitchen like I’m used to. I’ll take all the small space help I can get.
The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman
I’ve been following Emily Freeman online for years and she never disappoints. She has a podcast by the same name which is amazing. I chose this book for the tangible takeaways I came away with for decision making. “What’s the next right thing?” became my mantra when deciding on my 2020 goals.
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
This book changed the word gratitude from a children’s church platitude to a powerful and life-changing concept for me. Last year I made my own list of one thousand gifts and it was well worth the time and effort. You can read more about that here.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
As a person who has read a lot of habit and productivity books, this one didn’t have that much novel information for me. But what was new for me was SO helpful. I love the idea of changing our self-identity with every single action we take. For example, this year I’m becoming a runner. Definitely worth a read, even if you’ve read a lot on the subject. FOR SURE worth a read if you haven’t read up on habits much at all.
This is Where You Belong by Melody Warnick
I read this book shortly after we moved here and it was such a fascinating book about place-making. I definitely intend to reread it sometime this year. It gave me a lot of ideas about how to get more settled in our new city… most of which I took no action on, but you know, I’ll get there. Even if you haven’t moved recently or have lived somewhere all your life, I think this book has many valuable insights about finding + making community.
The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines
Besides just being sweet, I was so impressed with how Chip and Joanna were willing to just try things. Joanna in particular, as she seems to have a personality more similar to my own. I have a lot of big ideas but always talk myself out of things. Reading this book inspired me to think less and do more.
The River by Peter Heller
This is a book that I had no desire whatsoever to read. But I trust Anne Bogel and her recommendations enough that when she raved about it for her summer reading list, I decided to give it a shot. The story sucked me in immediately and made me want to stay up all night to find out what happened. The prose is beautiful. It makes for a great summer read.
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
This is another book that kept popping up in recommendations (though now I can’t for the life of me remember where), and I decided to give it a shot even though I really didn’t think I would enjoy it. It just didn’t seem like my type of novel? Steampunk? Pass. But it actually sucked me right in and I really enjoyed it. I listened to the audiobook and then quickly blew through the 2nd and 3rd book in the series as well. In hindsight, I wish I had started with the original series and then moved on to this one, which is actually a prequel.
What are your favorite 2019 reads?
Leave a comment and let me know. I’m ALWAYS looking for more recommendations!
