You all KNOW I love to talk about my favorite books, so when you asked me for a list of my five star books from 2019 it was easy to say yes. Here are my top 11 books (all five stars) of 2019 and a couple of bonuses thrown in bc I loved them, too. These books all affected me in different ways- they either moved me on an emotional level or affected me in a profoundly positive way. I would love for you to love all of them, but if not, I hope you find at least a few that you love.

The Mothers by Britt Bennett

I loved this one so much I actually wrote a whole post about it. You can read it here. Bottom line, I loved the characters and felt all the feels.

Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin

This is another one that I already wrote a whole post about. I’m a Gretchen Rubin fan in general bc of her straightforward way in addressing sometimes delicate issues.

“There are no magic, one-size-fits-all solutions for establishing order; we all need to do it in the way that’s right for us.”

Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm

Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy

I’m an unabashed football fan, and I’ve always like Tony Dungy. I loved this book because he spoke so candidly about his personal and professional lives. Oh, and football. He mentions some football, too.

WOLFPACK by Abby Wambach

This wasn’t simply a book about Abby and her amazing soccer career. This book was a call to action. I wrote a post about why I loved it so much that I bought it as graduation gifts this year (read it here). Short and to the point, I’ve recommended this book over and over and will continue to do so!

Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown

I love Brene Brown. Reading her books is like sitting in a room having a conversation with your really smart Aunt- she’s got more experience than you, so you listen to everything she says, but she’s not bossy or condescending when she says it so it’s easy to take it all in. Braving the Wilderness is a book about connection; why we need it and how to get it. She doesn’t say it will be easy, but she does show why it will be worth it.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This book grew on me from page one until the very last word. There was nothing earth shattering about any one character or plot point. Nothing amazingly remarkable about the story itself. But maybe that’s what is remarkable. When I wasn’t reading the book, I would find myself thinking about the characters. The marsh. The story. I would want to get back to it. When it was over, I was sad but filled with a cozy, warm feeling like an old friend just gave me a hug and left the room. Such. A. Good. Book.

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

This might have been my favorite book of the year. Even though family sagas that span decades generally aren’t my thing, Lombardo created four sisters and told their stories and made them annoying and lovable and relatable all at the same time. There were many times I laughed out loud and I ugly-cried more than once. Claire Lombardo even came to my local bookstore- one of the highlights of my year (read about it here).

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

This historical fiction/fantasy/fairy-tale was on my TBR forever and I honestly can’t tell you why it took me so long to read it. When you hear about an author “weaving” a story, this is the story they are describing. Storylines and characters weave in and out of each other. Sometimes it’s a gentle bedtime story. Sometimes it’s a mystery. Sometimes it’s a love story. But all the time it’s a story that that gets under your skin, into your head, and into your heart and stays there.

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

I was looking forward to reading The Nickel Boys because I enjoyed Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad. At the time I read The Nickel Boys, I didn’t realize it was based on a true story and I didn’t know the story of how Whitehead came to write it. He gave up another writing project to bring this compelling story to life. It was angry and messy and hard to read, but it was so worth it. This was definitely the most disturbing and haunting of my favorite books, but I recommend it nonetheless.

Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo

I love personal development books and I have read a LOT of them. I loved Marie Forleo’s book because her language is conversational and easy to read, she has a common-sense approach to life and self-improvement, her exercises are easy to do, and she makes it feel like you have a cheerleader right in your corner.

Getting Things Done by David Allen

I am someone who is always looking for ways to improve my time management and organization. Getting Things Done offers a simple approach with well defined keys and steps to get you to where you want to be. Even though I haven’t implemented the entire system yet, just two of the steps in the book have made a tremendous difference in my approach to task and paper organization. I can’t wait to go through the book again in order to work through it start to finish.

Bonus Gems: Simon Sinek and Leigh Bardugo

Let’s talk about Simon Sinek. If you don’t know who he is, Google his name and about a million motivational videos will come up. He’s a motivational speaker and best-selling author and you can thank me later for this introduction. I read two of his books this year, Start With Why and Leaders Eat Last. I love and recommend both of them. I think I went so far as to say Leaders Eat Last should be mandatory reading for anyone in leadership in my December Wrap Up (read it here).

And then there’s Leigh Bardugo and her Grishaverse. I have no idea how I stumbled upon Leigh Bardugo, but she was absolutely my diamond of the year. I read two different series (Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows) both set in the universe created by Bardugo. Although there is overlap between the two series, you don’t need to read one before the other in order for either to make sense. In addition, she has stand-alone books to bring other characters to life. Her storytelling is fun and compelling and her characters are quirky and enjoyable. Even though individually the books didn’t necessarily stand out as five star books, I love the Grishaverse and recommend it for YA fantasy lovers.

From My Favorite Books to Yours

So what do you think about my favorite books? Have you read any of these? Did you love them? Did you have any favorites in 2019 that I didn’t list? I’d love to hear about them!

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