The Stripe

Everything I Read in 2019, Ranked by Genre.

Everything I Read in 2019

I read 83 books this year, which is funny because I read 82 books last year. So I guess I’m consistent? Funny. I read less YA this year vs. last year (10 books vs. 20 last year), which makes sense as we started featuring a wider range of books on the podcast (when we started out, it was only YA!). It was a good year of reading. Honestly, out of everything I read I would say that the best books of the year were non-fiction. It felt unfair ranking Three Women 6 on that list but it was only because everything on the list is so good!

To keep this post from being an actual novel, I didn’t include any descriptions but if you want my review, just type the name of the book into the search bar of the blog. You can also browse my Book Club page which has shorter descriptions of each book!

Everything I Read in 2019

The Best Non-Fiction I Read This Year.

Everything on this list is EXCELLENT. Quiet and Save Me The Plums were easily the two best books I read of the year. I still can’t stop thinking about either book!

  1. Quiet by Susan Cain
  2. Save Me The Plums by Ruth Reichl
  3. Becoming, by Michelle Obama.
  4. Modern Love by Daniel Jones
  5. American Predator, by Maureen Callahan
  6. Three Women, by Lisa Taddeo.
  7. So Here’s The Thing, by Alyssa Mastromonaco.
  8. Nobody Wants to Read Your Shit, by Steven Pressfield.
  9. My Friend Anna, by Rachel Deloache Williams

The Best Historical Fiction I Read This Year.

It’s funny that I only read four historical fiction books this year as it’s one of my favorite genres. I am probably the only person ever that wasn’t a big fan of Rules of Civility, but everything else was fab.

  1. City of Girls, by Elizabeth Gilbert
  2. American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson
  3. Park Avenue Summer, by Renée Rosen
  4. Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles

The Best Thrillers

Ugh, my genre. I know it’s so lowbrow but I just love a good scary thriller… even the predictable ones! Verity and We Came Here to Forget were both podcast book picks – they both stuck with me for weeks after finishing them.

  1. Verity, by Colleen Hoover.
  2. We Came Here to Forget, by Andrea Dunlop
  3. The Family Upstairs, by Lisa Jewell
  4. The Banker’s Wife, by Cristina Alger.
  5. The Other Woman, by Sandie Jones.
  6. An Anonymous Girl, by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.
  7. The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides
  8. The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth.
  9. Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison
  10. Necessary People, by Anna Pitoniak.
  11. Lock Every Door, by Riley Sager.
  12. The Woman Inside, by E.G. Scott.
  13. Tell Me Everything, by Cambria Brockman
  14. A Keeper by Graham Norton.
  15. A Nearly Normal Family, by M.T. Evardsson
  16. My Lovely Wife, by Samantha Downing
  17. The Wives by Tarryn Fisher
  18. Behind Her Eyes, by Sarah Pinborough
  19. It Ends With Us, by Colleen Hoover.
  20. The Turn of the Key, by Ruth Ware
  21. I’ll never tell, by Catherine McKenzie
  22. The Woman Upstairs, by Ruth Heald
  23. The Perfect Girlfriend, by Karen Hamilton.
  24. The Shape of the Night by Tess Gerritsen
  25. The Poison Garden, by A.J. Banner

The Best Light Reads

Yup, Becca was right! The Idea of You was just FANTASTIC. If you have not read it yet, drop what you are doing and go order it now!

  1. The Idea of You, by Robinne Lee
  2. One Day in December, by Josie Silver.
  3. Tell Me Lies, by Carola Lovering.
  4. A Sky Painted Gold, by Laura Wood.
  5. In Five Years, by Rebecca Serle (out March 2nd)
  6. Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens.
  7. An Unkindness of Magicians, by Kat Howard.
  8. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
  9. Regretting You by Colleen Hoover
  10. The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren
  11. Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
  12. Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
  13. My Favorite Half-Night Stand, by Christina Lauren.
  14. Get a Life Chloe Brown, by Talia Hibbert
  15. The Wedding Party, by Jasmine Guillory.
  16. The Gifted School, by Bruce Holsinger
  17. How Could She, by Lauren Mechling
  18. More than Words, by Jill Santopolo.
  19. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
  20. That’s What Frenemies are For, by Sophie Littlefield and Lauren Gershell
  21. The Friends We Keep, by Jane Green
  22. Waiting for Tom Hanks, by Kerry Winfrey
  23. Evvie Drake Starts Over, by Linda Holmes.
  24. Chances Are by Richard Russo
  25. Fleishman is in Trouble, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

The Best Young Adult Books

  1. With the Fire on High, by Elizabeth Acevedo.
  2. American Royals, by Katharine McGee
  3. Followers, by Megan Angelo
  4. Anna K by Jenny Lee
  5. One Of Us Is Next, by Karen McManus
  6. Little White Lies, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.
  7. The Luxe, Rumors, Envy, and Splendor by Anna Godbersen (3 books)
  8. The Seasonaires, by Janna King.
  9. Malibu Bluff, by Janna King.
  10. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, by Holly Jackson

Miscellaneous / More Serious Books!

I kinda just lumped the more serious books from the year here. Still fiction but not thrillers/YA/a light read.

  1. My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante.
  2. The Story of a New Name, by Elena Ferrante.
  3. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
  4. Normal People, by Sally Rooney.
  5. The Last Book Party, by Karen Dukess.
  6. The Governesses, by Anne Serre.
  7. The Seas, by Samantha Hunt.

photo by Carter Fish.

Leave a Comment

Leave a Comment

32 Comments

  1. Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog:

    I’m going to read every single book on this list, starting with the top! Love your suggestions always! 🙂

    Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
    http://charmainenyw.com

    1.10.20 Reply
  2. Molly:

    Excited to come back to this page over the year to help me reach my goal of 20 books! The podcast/blog inspired me to get back into reading, so thank you!

    1.10.20 Reply
  3. Annie:

    I know people get intimidated by nonfiction (I think they think it’s all biographies and dense historical treatises), but if it’s well-written in narrative form, it really is the best. Memoirs and investigative journalism are my favorite. I still remember reading “Columbine” by Dave Cullen when it first came out (2009 or 2010) and being blown away by what non-fiction could be. And memoirs! Love them. Chef memoirs are my favorite – Barbara Lynch, Gabrielle Hamilton, Marcus Samuelson, Eric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain… they’re so good. I also recommend Anne Lamott’s Bird By Bird, which is my favorite book that’s kind of/sort of about writing. I have my students read the chapter “Shitty First Drafts” every year! (Operating Instructions is also fantastic).

    1.10.20 Reply
  4. Maire:

    With the Fire On High was one of the last books I read in 2019 and it was just the best. I am going to be evangelizing it for a long while!

    1.10.20 Reply
  5. Meg:

    It Ends With Us as a thriller? I read that and don’t remember it fitting into that genre

    1.10.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      There were a few books that I wasn’t really sure where to put them (Followers and Anna K included. Thriller seemed like the best bucket (though drama probably would have been better – I just didn’t have a category for that!)

      1.10.20 Reply
  6. rachel:

    you are glowing on the cover photo for this page!!!!!

    1.10.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      Haha it was in Chicago for our live show – I had really good makeup 😉 xo

      1.10.20 Reply
  7. Olga:

    So many good ones, my favorites were Becoming, The Dutch House and Recursion!

    I also loved Where the Crawdads Sing and One Day in December!

    Olga
    http://www.littlethingsolga.com

    1.10.20 Reply
  8. Theodora:

    I would like to thank you for becoming HOOKED on thrillers—I read Verity and now I can’t stop. Going to try some of these other thrillers!

    1.10.20 Reply
  9. Pat Brady:

    So happy to discover your website via The Pink Clutch. As I am in 2 book clubs, I like to have a list of books I particularly want to read. Will definitely be choosing books from your list. You probably get a lot of suggestions, but i would like to recommend “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles. Loved this book. “Rules of Civility” is on my list. Thanks for compiling your list and sharing. Pat

    1.10.20 Reply
  10. Kristin:

    Ah I also loved so many of these, especially City of Girls, With the Fire on High and Normal People. I was sent an arc of In Five Years. I need to get to it ASAP!

    1.10.20 Reply
  11. Claire Featherstone:

    That’s quite a list.

    May I recommend “The girl who came out of the woods” by Emi!y Barr to wet your whistle. She’s my second favourite author.

    1.12.20 Reply
  12. jade:

    can’t wait to add some of these to my list! have you read ninth house by leigh bardugo? it might be right up your alley!

    1.12.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      I haven’t! It’s in my TBR pile but I haven’t gotten to it yet!

      1.13.20 Reply
      • jade:

        oh our piles of ‘to be read’, lol. mine seems miles high. I think you’ll enjoy! my husband gave it to me for Christmas and I blew through it!

        1.13.20 Reply
  13. Bella:

    Wow 83 books. I don’t think I will ever make that in a year.

    I read Becoming – and totally love it!

    Quiet is on by TBR for this year.

    Thanks for list all that you read – will definitely pop back for inspiration on what to read.

    1.12.20 Reply
  14. Caroline Klobas:

    I read six of those books listed above. I didn’t like Rules of Civility either. Love your book lists!

    XO, Caroline

    1.12.20 Reply
  15. Jessica:

    So many great books on this list! I’m curious how you decide whether something is a “light” or “serious” read. I thought The Gifted School, Where the Crawdads Sing, Chances Are, and Fleischman Is In Trouble all touched on a lot of weighty and important topics.

    1.13.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      It’s nothing official, just my personal opinion!

      1.13.20 Reply
  16. Eleanor:

    This post is great because I now have so many more books to add to my wishlist even though it’s already too long! Thank you for sharing ♡

    1.13.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      Oh good I’m so glad! Happy reading!

      1.13.20 Reply
  17. Nicole:

    I bookmarked this list and will be using it as my virtual TBR pile for the next few months. It’s incredible that you read 83 books this year! Idea of You was my first book of 2020 and I know that was the best way to kick off a great year of reading… Happy 2020! Nicole

    1.14.20 Reply
  18. McKenzie Cobb:

    I just finished The Wives after reading your recommendation, and I really liked it. I can’t wait to check out some of the other books on your list. Thanks for sharing!

    1.14.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      Oh good! Happy reading!!!

      1.15.20 Reply
  19. Chelsea Brito:

    I’m curious why It Ends With Us is a thriller? And Daisy Jones isn’t listed as historical fiction?
    Always love seeing your reading lists and getting recommendations!

    1.15.20 Reply
  20. Katie:

    I love your book reviews so I’ll definitely have to check more of these out! I read the Idea of You while traveling last year and LOVED it!

    xoxo,
    Katie
    chicincarolina.blogspot.com 

    1.17.20 Reply
  21. Brooke Kruger:

    We read so many of the same books it’s crazy and have similar taste. I need to list mine out like this as it’s super helpful. I started tracking my reads on this insta @brookebookclub
    didn’t see the last 3 I read and loved:
    Red at the Bone
    Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
    The Night Tiger

    I would add all to your 2020 list if you haven’t read them yet.

    1.19.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      Thanks for the recs!

      1.20.20 Reply
  22. jes:

    Thanks to you I’ve now read The Testaments and Verity, two INCREDIBLE books. The Idea of You and Conviction are next on my list.

    xo Jessica
    My Style Vita

    1.22.20 Reply
  23. Carissa:

    Ugh just finished The Idea of You! Wow! I’m heartbroken as if I lived that relationship! Thank you for a great recommendation. Looking forward to reading more from your list!

    2.2.20 Reply
    • grace at the stripe:

      Oh good! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!!!

      2.5.20 Reply