Reading is one of my favorite indulgences and I spend much of my free time reading. I enjoy personal development, a strong dose of rom-coms, inspirational women’s fiction, mixed in with a bit of paranormal cozy mysteries and holiday fun.
This blog post contains a full list of links to reviews for the books I read in 2019. I recently realized that of the 47 books I read this year only 13 of them received a review, so I’m slowly working my way through my notes to write reviews. Writing a review is one of the best ways to show an author appreciation for their work and to thank them for providing you with new insight or entertainment. I send my apologies in advance for bombarding you with tons of review posts over the coming days and weeks!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. See full disclosure here. Thanks!
Best Books of 2019
My list of books read this year is filled with a combination of humorous chick-lit, inspirational women’s fiction, and motivational non-fiction; equal parts entertainment and education has been my reading style over the past few years. I wanted to share my favorite books of the year and it’s always hard to narrow down my favorites so I chose to select 12 books to award the title ‘2019 Living Life With Joy Book of the Year Winner’.
- Year of YES by Shonda Rhimes | 5 Stars (5.0) | Personal Memoir, Non-Fiction
- Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown | 5 Stars (5.0) | Personal Development
- Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis | 5 Stars (5.0) | Personal Development
- Imperfect Courage by Jessica Honegger | 5 Stars (4.75) | Personal Development
- Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks | 5 Stars (4.75) | Women’s Fiction
- Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg | 5 Stars (4.75) | Women’s Fiction
- Dying to Meet You by Rich Amooi | 5 Stars (4.75) | Rom-Com
- Love And Other Battles by Tess Woods | 5 Stars (4.75) | Women’s Fiction
- Influencer by Brittany Hennessy | 5 Stars (5.0) | Personal Development
- Next Level Basic by Stassi Schroeder | 5 Stars (5.0) | Personal Memoir, Non-Fiction
- The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking | 5 Stars (4.75) | Non-Fiction, Culture
- You Are a Mogul by Tiffany Pham | 5 Stars (5.0) | Personal Development
Books Read in 2019
Here’s a full list of the books I read this year. Books are listed below in the order that I read them. The books I recommend have their rating bolded and the 12 winners have the title bolded. Let me know if any books on the list below find their way onto your TBR list for 2020!
1. In Need of Therapy by Tracie Banister | 5 Stars (4.5) | Chick-Lit, Rom-Com
2. Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg | 5 Stars (4.75) | Women’s Fiction
3. The Year of Starting Over by Karen King | 5 Stars (4.5) | Women’s Fiction
4. Unraveling the Truth About Love by Addison Cole | 5 Stars (4.5) | Romance
5. If You’re Not the One by Laura Briggs | 5 Stars (4.5) | Women’s Fiction
6. The Corner of Heartbreak and Forever by Addison Cole | 5 Stars (4.5) | Romance
7. Sorry Not Sorry by Sophie Ranald | 3 Stars (2.75) | Chick-Lit
8. Imperfect Courage by Jessica Honegger | 5 Stars (4.75) | Personal Development
9. Sweet Escape at Bayside by Addison Cole | 5 Stars (4.5) | Romance
10. The Truth About Love and Dogs by Lilly Bartlett | 4 Stars (3.5) | Women’s Fiction
11. Cats, Chaos, and Condo Board Wars by Nikki LeClair | 5 Stars (4.5) | Chick-Lit
12. You Are a Mogul by Tiffany Pham | 5 Stars (5.0) | Personal Development
13. Passion on Park Avenue by Lauren Layne | 5 Stars (4.5) | Women’s Fiction
14. Party Girl (The Girls # 1) by Rachel Hollis | 5 Stars (4.5) | Chick-Lit
15. Sweet Girl (The Girls # 2) by Rachel Hollis | 5 Stars (4.5) | Chick-Lit
16. Smart Girl (The Girls # 3) by Rachel Hollis | 5 Stars (4.5) | Chick-Lit
17. Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis | 5 Stars (5.0) | Personal Development
18. They Call Me the Cat Lady by Amy Miller | 4 Stars (3.75) | Women’s Fiction
19. The Art of Loving Lacy by Addison Cole | 5 Stars (4.5) | Romance
20. Dreaming of Rome by T.A. Williams | 5 Stars (4.5) | Women’s Fiction
21. In the Swim of Things by Tracie Banister | 5 Stars (4.5) | Chick-Lit
22. Dying to Meet You by Rich Amooi | 5 Stars (4.75) | Rom-Com
23. RESET Your Mindset by Natalie Eckdahl | 4 Stars (3.75) | Personal Development
24. Year of YES by Shonda Rhimes | 5 Stars (5.0) | Personal Memoir, Non-Fiction
25. Influencer by Brittany Hennessy | 5 Stars (5.0) | Personal Development
26. Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams | 4 Stars (3.75) | Chick-Lit
27. How to Hack a Heartbreak by Kristin Rockaway | 4 Stars (3.75) | Chick-Lit
28. Love And Other Battles by Tess Woods | 5 Stars (4.75) | Women’s Fiction
29. Promise of a New Beginning by Addison Cole | 5 Stars (4.5) | Romance
30. Grit by Angela Duckworth | 4 Stars (4.25) | Personal Development
31. The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking | 5 Stars (4.75) | Non-Fiction, Culture
32. Next Level Basic by Stassi Schroeder | 5 Stars (5.0) | Personal Memoir, Non-Fiction
33. Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown | 5 Stars (5.0) | Personal Development
34. Dear Girls by Ali Wong | 4 Stars (3.5) | Personal Memoir, Non-Fiction
35. And Then There Was Us by Addison Cole | 5 Stars (4.5) | Romance
36. Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella | 5 Stars (4.5) | Chick-Lit, Christmas
37. The Christmas Countdown by Donna Ashcroft | 5 Stars (4.5) | Chick-Lit, Christmas
38. The One Hour Content Plan by Meera Kothand | 4 Stars (3.5) | Personal Development
39. Tweet Cute by Emma Lord | 5 Stars (4.5) | Rom-Com
40. Ten Things My Cat Hates About You by Lottie Lucas | 4 Stars (3.75) | Women’s Fiction
41. It’s Not PMS, It’s You by Rich Amooi | 5 Stars (4.75) | Rom-Com
42. The Christmas Witch by Carla Caruso | 4 Stars (3.5) | Women’s Fiction
43. How the Ghost Stole Christmas by Erin McCarthy | 4 Stars (3.75) | Chick-Lit, Christmas
44. Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks | 5 Stars (4.75) | Women’s Fiction
45. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott | 4 Stars (4.25) | Women’s Fiction
46. You Are a Badass Everyday by Jen Sincero | 4 Stars (3.75) | Personal Development
47. Challenge Accepted by Celeste Barber | 3 Stars (3.25) | Personal Memoir, Non-Fiction
DNF (Did Not Finish) in 2019
As an avid book-lover it always makes me a bit sad when I find a book that I can’t get into for one reason or another. I gave the following books a chance but couldn’t bear to waste my time by continuing on to read the whole thing. I DO NOT recommend the following books:
1. Been There Married That by Gigi Levangie | 1 Star – Nope, just not happening
2. Adventures for Your Soul by Shannon Kaiser | 1 Star – This had good reviews by other readers and perhaps you might like it but I did not enjoy the writing style at all.
What books did you read and love this year? What’s on your TBR list for 2020?
Yay! I’m SO happy that you enjoyed DYING TO MEET YOU and awarded it “Book of the Year.” Thanks so much!
Hugs from San Diego.
Rich