Books I Read in 2019 (Fiction, Non-Fiction, Christian & the Bible + Best of 2019 in Each Category)

Hi, friends. As 2019 winds to a close, let’s look back on my reading this year!

My habits fluctuated throughout the year. I didn’t spend enough time reading for the first few months…in my opinion, anyway (about 30 minutes a day, frequently skipping days). I grew weary because finishing books seemed to take forever, which made me even less motivated to read. Then, a few months ago, I reshuffled some priorities and moved “reading time” up the list, so my goal is to squeeze in at least 1-2 hours on the days I read.

Fiction books I read in 2019:

• The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
• Emma by Jane Austen
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• The Age of Iron by J.M. Coetzee
• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
• The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
• Quicksand by Nella Larson
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (currently reading)

Three not-so-honorable mentions of novels I invested time in but couldn’t see through to the end: Howard’s End by E.M. Forster, Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert, and The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. [Apparently, trying-to-be-profound-but-actually-being-confusing-and-boring books aren’t my thing. 😉 ]

Non-fiction books I read in 2019

A few months ago, I started participating in the reading program through the mission organization United Methodist Women and quickly discovered a previously-unknown passion for books that address social issues. I posted a haul of recently-purchased non-fiction books on my Instagram, so I’m excited to dig into those this year.

• Shifting into High Gear by Kyle Bryant
• Shopping by Michelle Gonzalez
• We’re All Fast Food Workers Now: The Global Uprising Against Poverty Wages by Annelise Orleck
• Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth (currently reading)
• Leadership and Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute

Christian books I read in 2019

• Make a Difference: Following Your Passion and Finding Your Place to Serve by James A. Harnish
• The Apostle’s Creed for Preaching, Teaching & Worship by Rev. James Howell
• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (re-read)
• The Reason by Lacey Sturm
• Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament by Christopher J.H. Wright (currently reading)

Books of the Bible I read in 2019

Around summer 2018, I embarked on a quest to read the whole Old Testament; by the end of the year, I read Genesis through the middle of Joshua (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua). Here is what I chipped away in 2019–

• The rest of Joshua
• Judges
• Ruth
• I & II Samuel
• I & II Kings
• I & II Chronicles (skimmed the last half of II Chronicles bc it closely mirrored II Kings, which was tedious enough the first time around)
• Ezra
• Nehemiah
• Esther
• Job (skimmed bc it’s extremely repetitive)
• Some Psalms
• Some Proverbs
• Some Ecclesiastes (have read in the past)
• Daniel
• Ezekiel (currently reading)
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• All of the NT, multiple times (it’s waaayy shorter than the OT; just finished John, going to Acts next)

Wish me God’s blessing as I dive into the prophets, ugh….I mean, yay! 😉

Best of 2019 awards

Fiction: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins is laugh-out-loud witty and packed with dynamic characters, exciting twists and turns, etc. I didn’t want to put it down. Possibly the best Victorian novel I’ve ever read…which is saying A LOT coming from the queen of classic lit.

Non-fiction: We’re All Fast Food Workers Now by Annelise Orleck provides a great blend of research and statistics with interviews and stories from the people who work in huge corporations, fast fashion factories, and farming. This book taught me a lot, broke my heart, and galvanized me.

Christian: The Apostle’s Creed by Rev. James Howell helped me comprehend and appreciate each line of the Apostle’s Creed; a rote recitation has become the condensed, A-Z story of my beliefs.

Books of the Bible: This feels like a weird choice to make, haha. As tough as it was to keep trucking some days, reading I & II Samuel followed by I & II Kings helped me understand the trajectory of God’s relationship with the nation of Israel–how they went from the glory of King David to the Babylonian Exile.

Thanks for dropping by! What did you read this year? Have you read any of these books? Will you join me in making reading a higher priority in 2020? Let me know in the comments, and Happy New Year!

P.S. Peep the ring on my finger in the featured image. ♥