As I started thinking about the approaching new year, I wanted to take a look back at the books I read in 2019. What books earned the rare 5-star rating? Which stories could I still vividly recall months after reading them? So off to Goodreads I went to take a little trip back through my 2019 reading. Here’s what I discovered …

Nine of the 124 books I read were 5-star reads and of that nine, seven were re-reads. The two, never before read books were released in 2019.

The first of those two books is Shotgun Angels: My Story of Broken Roads and Unshakeable Hope by Jay DeMarcus (with Timothy D. Wallard). You can read my full review of the book here.

 

 

The second of those books is Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 by Mitchell Zuckoff. When I finished the audiobook, I tried to review it. However, I was so overcome by the emotion that all I could come up with was “I haven’t cried this much over a book in a long time. A really, really difficult read. Zuckoff does an excellent job of telling very, very hard stories.” 

 

Are you a little curious about the seven re-reads? Well, even if you’re not, I’m going to list them here anyway 🙂

  • Still Missing, Chevy Stevens
  • The Good Dream, Donna VanLiere
  • On the Island, Tracey Garvis Graves
  • Lethal, Sandra Brown
  • One Tuesday Morning, Karen Kingsbury
  • Eleanor and Park, Rainbow Rowell
  • Making Faces, Amy Harmon

I first read these books in 2013 and 2014 and could still remember their stories, their emotion, the impact they had on me. I decided I wanted to dive back into these stories this year. Wow! I’m so glad I did! Each packed the same punch they did the first time and I can see myself re-reading them again and again.

Thank you for joining me on this walk back through 2019! I hope you’ll take a chance on the books I’ve listed here. If you’ve read them, I would love to hear what you thought!

Happy Holidays! Here’s to a 2020 filled with reading!