My birthday is coming up – so I thought I would do something a bit different! I’m going to share my top five books of the year to give you a bit of insight into what I’ve been reading. These books didn’t all come out last year, but they are some that I picked up and enjoyed in the past 365 days ish.
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Alright, I should give a few disclaimers (ha!)
First, I read a lot of books. Like, way more than a hundred books a year for sure. Probably more than 150. And, I only started using Goodreads to track my books in June. To which I’ve tried to add the books I read years ago, but I didn’t have a complete list.
All that to say is that I know that not everyone reads as many books as me. And that’s okay!
Another thing I want to mention is that one of my goals is to become an author. Therefore, I have made reading (and writing) a priority – aka how I started really getting into reading the last few months. Otherwise, I’ve always been a kid/person who liked reading, but it’s definitely gotten a little out of hand :)
Finally, I don’t have a particular type of book that I gravitate towards, but I try to get a good variety in. In fiction, I like cozy murder mysteries, romances (which I only started reading this year!), suspense, young adult… basically anything that isn’t too scary (ha!) I also read non-fiction, and for a while I only read non-fiction, but now it’s the minority of what I read.
Usually I go to my local library and browse the “New Releases” section, choosing something there, then maybe a romance, then a mystery, then something in the main shelves. And do the same thing the next week :)
Top Five Books Read This Year
Without further ado (and in no particular order) here are five different books that I read and enjoyed this year:
Steven King’s On Writing is a book for people who want to write (ie: not for everyone) – but I picked it up just for that purpose. It’s split into a few different sections, with the first-half being a memoir, and the rest various tips. Honestly, I didn’t know that much about his life, so it was interesting to read about that.
And yes, I mentioned that I don’t like scary books, so I’m not ashamed to say that (so far) this is the only Steven King book I have read. (I have seen the movie Carrie… but that’s it, ha).
One of the tips he mentions that if you want to be a writer, you should read/write 4-6 hours per day. So you know, validation :)
Jane Two is written by Sean Patrick Flanery, an American actor. I picked this one up because the description was similar to a book I was writing at the time (even the characters had the same name!) ie: a young boy who falls in love with a girl who lives in a house behind his. But honestly, the story and writing styles are completely different. This one is set in the US South in the 1970s, so be prepared for language/themes that reflect that.
Without giving anything away, this book was more emotional than I thought it would be – and less romance than life-lessons.
Josh & Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren (which are two different people who publish together) was one of my favourite romance books read this year. I laughed out loud at some parts, and I really enjoy the writing style of these authors (also read their YA Autoboyography which was very ‘yes’).
PS: When I first started reading romance novels, I got a good list of books to read from this Emily Henderson post. I typically enjoy contemporary romance (ie: set in modern times) vs. period novels – but there are still a lot of authors/books from Emily’s list I haven’t read yet.
I believe this book was translated from Norwegian and is in the suspense category. Jo Nesbo’s Head Hunters is more like a spy novel/cat and mouse chase versus a murder mystery and I do love a spy novel. There were a few times were I had to flip back after reading different twists and clues. Like, did I miss that!?
I’m pretty sure the main character is a psychopath – let me know if you agree, ha.
In a Thousand Different Ways by Cecelia Ahern is one of the most unique books I’ve read. It starts when the main character is a little girl and follows her throughout her life as she learns to deal with her unique ability to see peoples’ auras/emotions. From what I remember, there were five main sections that are named after colours/moods, and instead of chapters, there are various breakpoints.
I have no idea what category this book would fall under, but if you’re into character development, family relations, and a bit of whimsy, it’s here.
Other Books to Note
I know it’s cheating if I say I’m going to share my top five books of the year and list a few others, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Alright, let me start by mentioning series. And by that I mean, reading books that follow the same characters (or set of characters) through several novels. I have a love/hate relationship with series, in that I always feel compelled to read them all through. (PS: I have never read Harry Potter)
Currently, I’ve read some of the cozy murder mystery Bakeshop Series by Ellie Alexander – which has a lot of food descriptions/recipes. The In Death series by J.D Robb (that my mom recommended to me) has been good so far, and described as Law & Order SVU in the future. Jenny Holiday has a few romance series I’ve read (plus, set in Canada!) and finally the Playing for Keeps romance series by Becka Mack which I was completely influenced to read by the beautiful covers. Last year I finished the Cat Who series (cozy murder mystery) so I figured I should mention it.
Non-series/authors I like reading are Emily Henry, Carley Fortune, Chanel Cleeton, Karen Swan, Sophie Kinsella (all romance, sorry!) Check out my Goodreads Profile to see all the books I’ve added/read if you want to know more!
Are you an avid reader like me? Or do you go for quality over quantity? Either way, I’d love to get your book recommendations! I mostly read books that I can get for free at the library, because if I had to buy all the books I read, I would not have a lot of money, ha!
Oh, and wish me luck that one day I will be a published author too :)
Images of the books are not mine. Stock photography of books in the graphics by Ahmad Ardity, Copper & Wild, Viktor Hanacek, and Hermann.
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