2019 Books

2019 Book Review

Carolyn post here. Why am I writing about books on our travel blog? One of my goals for our year of travel is to allow more time to read and learn. Ever since I was a kid I've devoured books; it gets me out of my head and into a different time, a different culture, another world. Our local library has an extensive online collection of books that can be setup to go straight to your Kindle. If you haven't figured out how to set up digital borrowing yet, it's worth your time and effort.

Just for fun I decided to catalog all of the books I've read in 2019. Reviewing the list, I realized that I'm showing you a bit of my mind by the types of books I read, so be gentle. Apparently I love personal finance, science, self optimization, and science fiction. It crossed my mind to write a review for each of these, but given that apparently I read 68 books in 2019 (!), I don't have the energy for that. The list is below, organized by type and whether I loved the book (bold) or really do not recommend it (strikethrough).

Did you fall in love with a book last year? Tell me about it in the comments. I love recommendations.

Non-fiction books (25)

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (SO GOOD)

The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins (HIGHLY RECOMMEND)
10 Years A Nomad by Matthew Kepnes (Perfect timing for our world adventure)
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

The Plant Paradox by Dr Gundry (Pseudoscience?)

A Full Life by Jimmy Carter

The Opposite of Spoiled by Ron Lieber 

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

The Plant Paradox Cookbook by Dr Gundry

The Empath's Survival Guide by Judith Orloff (NOPE, NOPE)

Quit Like a Millionaire by Kristy Shen
How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

Be Your Own Herbalist by Michelle Cook

Lotharingia by Simon Winder

Homegrown Pantry by Barbara Pleasant

A Simplified Life by Emily Ley

100 Days to Brave by Annie Downs

Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Girl, Wash your Face by Rachel Hollis

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** by Mark Manson

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown 

The Oregon Trail by Rinker Buck

Fiction (43)

The Secret Sky by Atia Abawi 

The Historian by Elizabeth Costova

Seraphina By Rachel Hartman
Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Theft of Swords by Michael J Sullivan

The Rose and the Thorn by Michael J Sullivan

Age of Swords by Michael J Sullivan

Age of Myth by Michael J Sullivan

Rise of Empire by Michael J Sullivan
The Dead Mountaineer's Inn by Arkady Strugatsky

The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb 

Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb

City of Dragons by Robin Hobb

Dragonhaven by Robin Hobb

Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb
The Soldier Son Trilogy by Robin Hobb (three book series)

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay

The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay

Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchett (I couldn't get into it)

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs

The Difference Engine by William Gibson

The Crown Tower by Michael Sullivan

The Hallowed Hunt by Louie McMaster Bujold

The Dragon Riders of Pern by Ann McCafferty (three book series)

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher 

Brief Cases by Jim Butcher

Native Son by Richard Wright (I wanted to love this more)

The Black Dagger Brotherhood novels by J.R. Ward (4 books, plus others in this series that were ok)

The Secrets We Kept by Laura Prescott

Currently Reading:

Energy and Civilization by Vaclac Smil

Work Optional by Tanya Hester
The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin