My Reading Year - 2019

In 2019, I read 12 books, which I think isn't too bad going for a year in which I spent most of my time taking care of a baby. Audio books were a godsend -- I did a lot of "reading" while pushing a pram around the mean streets of Streatham, on my way to swimming lessons and sensory classes.

This also explains why four of the 12 books were parenting ones -- two on weaning, one on talking to toddlers and the last on everything in-between from the Baby Whisperer. I'm not sure I read 100% of the latter as I skipped around so much, but I did read many sections more than once as I grasped for some way to get the Little Guy to sleep through the night or wake up later in the morning. So I'm definitely counting it.

It turned out to be a very non-fiction kind of year -- 10 of the 12 were from that category. Although I wouldn't say that meant that they were boring. In fact, quite the opposite. The Spy and the Traitor from Ben MacIntyre was riveting, Educated by Tara Westover was jaw-dropping, and Death at the Priory by James Ruddick made quite the impact on me as I walked nearby to where it all took place in Balham. A crime that was equivalent in popularity to the real-crime docudramas people binge watch today.

The only non-fiction read that I'm sure others might mock me for, was the classic self-help Getting Things Done, which I actually found extremely helpful. Enough to have written a full post on it, which I haven't published yet, so not sure if I can win the prize for getting things done. But watch this space.

I seemed to enjoy everything I read - my average rating for 2019 was 4.3 stars (out of five). I gave five of the books five stars, six of them four stars and only one three stars. Perhaps I was just ecstatic to be reading anything.

There were also quite a few unfinished books that littered my reading path. My treat of reading a Marian Keyes book by the pool was not very successful. I only read half of it when the Hub and I took turns sitting by the pool reading in 20 minute intervals during our holiday. Then I never picked it up again. I will now have to re-read the whole thing this year by the pool and not get to the second half again.

I also abandoned Kill Your Friends, which I was reading for a second time for book club. I forgot how violent and sexuality explicit it was -- now that I'm a mom I was shocked!

And Andre Agassi's autobiography: so long. I'd still like to finish it, but I think I started it back in 2018, so let's see. 

If you're interested in the detail, below is a full list of the books with a link to my (short) Goodreads reviews. Happy reading in 2020 everyone!

1. Death at the Priory: Love, Sex and Murder in Victorian England by James Ruddick

2. Educated by Tara Westover

3. Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness by Gretchen Rubin

4. Baby-led Weaning: Helping Your Baby to Love Good Food by Gill Rapley 

5. The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben MacIntyre

6. Weaning Made Easy Baby-Led and Purees Your Way by Rana Conway

7. The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems: Sleeping, Feeding and Behaviour -- Beyond the Basics, from Infancy to Toddlerhood by Tracey Hogg & Melinda Blau

8. Becoming Whole by Mindy Tsai

9. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

10. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

11. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

12. How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen: A Survival Guide to Life with Children Ages 2-7 by Joanna Faber & Julie King