A Year In Books - 2019

So, like my making output, my book reading also had a slump. I was cooking right along, but with the beginnings of divorce proceedings I found myself just not in the mood for books at all in any form. So I took a break for several months, trying not to be too hard on myself. So this is the first time in 5 years I did not meet my reading goal for the year :/ But that's ok! I set out to read 50 and I managed 31, which is still not a number to sneeze at. I enjoyed what I did read, and while there weren't any enormous classic books like I am prone to choose, there were quite a few books that have been on my "to read" list for years. I can be happy with that. And while I did not write a single book review (bad Megan!), I would be happy to let you know about any of these books if you're interested. Just leave a comment below. So here are the 31 books I read this year:

1. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
2. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
3. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
4. The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
5. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

6. On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
7. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
8. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
9. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

10. The Library Book by Susan Orlean
11. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
12. An American Princess by Annejet van der Zijl
13. Tangerine by Christine Mangan
14. Jaws by Peter Benchley

15. The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
16. About a Boy by Nick Hornby
17. Florida by Lauren Groff
18. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
19. Normal People by Sally Rooney
20. Noir by Christopher Moore
21. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
22. How to Raise an Adult by Julie Lythcott-Haims

23. A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
24. The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
25. The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt
26. The State of Affairs by Esther Perel
27. Everything is F*cked by Mark Manson

28. Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb
29. The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
30. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
31. Going To Pieces Without Falling Apart by Mark Epstein, M.D.

As far as my top books, I added 3 more to my 5 star list:

• The State of Affairs
• Maybe You Should Talk To Someone
• The Problem of Pain

I also find it interesting the books that I didn't give 5 stars to but they stuck in my mind and I talk about a lot. There were several this year:

• The Coddling of the American Mind
• The Feminine Mystique
• The Happiness Hypothesis
• The Starless Sea
• Going To Pieces Without Falling Apart

So, while I didn't hit my goal, I did get a lot out of the books that I read. I will say, I also had the problem of starting a few books and not finishing them. I have a goal to finish them all this coming year. 

Anyone else out there find they want to read less at a certain time? I'm very curious if I'm a weirdo. Every other time I've had craziness in my life over the past 6 years or so, I've turned to reading as an escape and read voraciously. It was very indicative of the total upheaval and change I went through though, I guess. I still love to read and look forward to learning more in the coming year :)