Tell Me Something Tuesday: Best of 2019

Tell Me Something Tuesday is hosted by Rainy Day Ramblings and discusses a wide range of topics from books to blogging.

My reading has been SO erratic this year! I’m either reading 25 books a month or 1. I read less this year (83 – instead of close to 200 – so still great!) but I had more quality books than any recent year.

The books below were all 5 star reads for me – which is SUPER rare! So yay for quality over quantity in 2019!

Only two of these were review arcs (Dry & The Bromance Book Club) although I read Dry a year after it came out. So I think the key takeaway for me this year was reading what I wanted to for fun over reading for review or on a schedule.

All but 2 books (Dry & The Bromance Book Club) were on audio – another new thing for me! I still struggle on occasion with the format but books/genres that usually don’t work for me work well on audio. Like angsty YA lol

So without further ado….here’s my BEST OF 2019 list!

Becoming by Michele Obama – Phenomenal autobiography. A must listen with Obama narrating – she’s funny, relatable and comforting.

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo (The Poet X was also amazing) – Acevedo was a new to me author this year and both her books were fantastic. I give a With the Fire on high a slight edge only because the Poet X already had a lot of attention but I think With the Fire on High is an underrated YA gem. Do yourself a favor and listen to her books on audio. Acevedo’s voice takes the experience to the next level.

American Dreamer by Adriana Herrara (the entire 3 book multi cultural Dreamers series with 1 more book in the series to be published) – Another new to me author and series that I LOVE. Herrara mixes love and politics/activism so seamlessly and wonderfully. It’s hard not to fall in love with this group of characters that irritate, provoke, love and support each other. A+ series so far. 

Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles – There are several ripped from the headlines – books about police brutality out there – and to be honest I haven’t read them all yet but I loved how this book explored the story from all angles and showed how difficult it was to be left behind – after Marvin’s brother, Tyler, was murdered by the police. Powerful coming of age/issue driven debut novel.

Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian – Oh man! This book was so messy and angsty! Not my usual read but it tugged at my heart and really showed how difficult being gay in the late 80’s during the AIDS epidemic. I remember it so vividly, having been a teenager myself then. In my review I said “This book was a sucker punch to the heart. Beautiful, bleak and heartwarming all at once. And pure perfection on audio.”

The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg – two boys – total opposites – trapped on a food truck during a hot summer. The author tackles so many subjects (sexual assault, consent, masculinity, gambling to name a few) and it may sound like a lot but it’s not as they slowly find a friend (& more) in each other and find the support they’ve needed to thrive. Such a sweet, beautiful and hopeful story. 

Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman - I had meant to read this when it first came out but didn’t and then aghhhh – do I want to read apocalyptic/dystopian kind of books anymore??? Not really but let’s clear this book out and BAM! I had so much fun with this one. It felt super plausible and relevant to what’s happening in our (literal) climate right now and didn’t follow the usual trajectory with the characters which was fun!

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams – I didn’t join in last weeks TMST question: What books disappointed you this year? The answer would have been most rom coms. It’s my FAVORITE genre and so many came out this year. At first I was so excited but then book after book let me down. I had requested The Bromance book Club months earlier and only read it because by the time I was approved it was a Netgalley book and I had to – but then surprise! I loved it!! I love the premise of the all male romance reading book club. That they don’t make fun of the genre or it’s readers and that the book tackled serious subjects while still having humor and love.

So that’s my 2019 Best Of list! What books were your favorites this year? Have you read nay of the books on my list?