More 2019 Favorites #2019favorites

Two days ago I shared my list of TOP 15 Favorite Books/Authors Of 2019, where I mentioned there were actually a lot more favorites I was dying to mention. In fact, over 40 further authors had one or more books with a 4,5 star rating last year, which is basically a normal 5 star rating as I use my 5 stars as an A++. Yes, that is over 40 authors, and somehow I had to bring that back to 20, with a whole lot of sweat and tears involved. Honestly, I really wanted to mention every single one, but this post is too long as it is… So a special mention to the honorable mentions of the honorable mentions: just because you weren’t named here doesn’t mean I didn’t love reading your story last year! ❤

On to the honorable mentions who made the cut… Ready for 20 more favorite books/authors I was lucky enough to read during 2019? Once again in alphabetical order, because I’m not picking favorites between these. 😉

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TOP 15 Favorite Books/Authors Of 2019 #2019favorites #bestof2019

I know everybody including the neighbor’s cat already posted their list of 2019 favorites, but I thought: one more list isn’t going to hurt anyone, right? Plus I wanted to put my absolute favorite stories of 2019 in a proper spotlight. Somehow I managed to read a whopping 264! books last year, something I still can’t wrap my head around. Of those books, 21 books managed to receive the full 5 star rating (although two were rereads and one a 2020 release I won’t count) and no less than 61 books received an almost perfect 4,5 star rating, which is basically a 5 star rating for most people in the first place. All of these titles deserve a spotlight, and there was just no way I could narrow it down to a top 10 or even 20… So I’ve decided to cheat a little and make two favorites posts. Today is all about my absolute favorite reads a.ka. those with my special 5 star rating which is basically an A++… And to cheat even further, there are a few authors that I read and loved multiple books of last year and I will be counting each author as just one spot i n my Top 15. 😉

Curious about which titles and authors made my list yet? Since there is just no way you can force me to pick just one favorite 2019 title, I will present them in alphabetical order:

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Month In Review: December 2019

The last month of 2019 seems to have flown by in a blink of the eye and I still can’t believe we are now officially in a new decade… I’m still feeling a bit slumpy when it comes to all things blogging, and I guess you might have noticed I’ve still not been all that present on my blog despite daily posts during the December month. I used the magic of scheduling posts to help with that, but it’s been hard to find time and motivation to blog otherwise. Fingers crossed 2020 will give me my blogging mojo back! I did a lot of baking during December, mostly Holidays related, which is always a great excuse for me to get those recipes out. Some DIY aside, it was mostly an uneventful last month of the decade overall though.

Now to the bookish numbers:

• Number of books read in December: 20
• Total number of books read in 2019: 264
• Total number of pages read in December: 7.172
• Total number of pages read in 2019: 88.638

I definitely read more than I thought I would during December, and most titles were excellent at that! Two new 5 star reads, another bunch of almost perfect reads and only three titles 3 stars or below… I’m more than happy with that.

Month In Review: November 2019

Both November and my break flew by way too fast, and I can’t believe we are already into the last month of 2019… Nothing much happened last month to be honest. No camping trip after all either, as I’ve recently discovered I’m basically ‘allergic’ to the sun now. 😦 With the UV index in the area of Argentina I live in higher than ever, I will basically break out in hives if I spend even a small amount of time in the sun during the summer months… And with the temperatures being high even this early in the season, it looks like I’ll have a long couple of months cooped up inside ahead of me. Anyone have some spare vampire teeth I could borrow now I live in the shadows? xD

Now to the bookish numbers:

• Number of books read in November: 21
• Total number of books read this year: 244
• Total number of pages read in November: 7.450
• Total number of pages read this year: 81.466

I definitely read more than I thought I would during my break, and most titles were excellent at that! Two new 5 star reads, another bunch of almost perfect reads and only four titles 3 stars or below… I’m more than happy with that.

Month In Review: October 2019

October is from now on known as #Orentober as well as Halloween month!! I had a fantastic time reading books for both, and I have so many new Orenda beauties waiting for me on my TBR after reading all those fantastic reviews… As it’s currently Spring, I’ve been spending time prepping the garden for the season as well as doing a couple of smaller DIY projects around the house. More of that will follow in the next month as well as some long overdue self-care time and a couple of trips out of town (maybe even a camping trip if the weather plays nice?). I also did the necessary baking during October, although that will probably on hold during November as I’m trying to eat healthier this month. xD

Now to the bookish numbers:

• Number of books read in October: 24
• Total number of books read this year: 223
• Total number of pages read in October: 7.591
• Total number of pages read this year: 74.016

My reading definitely picked up again in October, and I think I have the Orenda beauties and Halloween reads to thank for that. I also reread two of my all time favorites… And I found a new 5 star read as well! I did have two DNF reads this month, but with those being the only two below 3 stars, I’m still very happy with the books I was able to read in October.

Month In Review: September 2019

September turned out to be quite a stressful month reading wise, mostly my own fault as I seem to be drowning in a pile of ARCs right now… It’s probably the reason I’m once again feeling that reading/blogging slump and I really need to take a break ASAP, although I’m too excited about #Orentober so it will have to wait until November. xD September also means Spring has arrived again, and I’ve been working a lot prepping the garden and doing some DIY around the house… And of course a lot of baking/cooking as well, including Dutch ‘sprits’ cookies, apple crumble, pineapple/coconut cupcakes with buttercream decoration and my famous paella valenciana. ❤

Now to the bookish numbers:

• Number of books read in September: 18
• Total number of books read this year: 199
• Total number of pages read in September: 5.775
• Total number of pages read this year: 66.425

September wasn’t my best month numbers wise, mostly because I’ve been feeling slumpy these last few weeks and it was affected my reading speed. That said, the books I did read were almost all winners. Not only did I find THREE new 5 star ratings, but I also had FIVE other other fantastic titles with an almost perfect rating… And only three titles had a rating below 4 stars. Oh yes, I definitely got lucky last month.

January-August 2019: The Numbers

Call me a nerd, but I do love my graphics posts! I first started properly keeping track of my reads in Excel back in 2016, making it possible to finally put together some graphics. I’ve done a bunch of ‘The Numbers’ posts over time, including my 2016, 2017 and 2018 posts, and it has been revealing interesting things about my reading habits. So why stop? 😉 This post will be all about the first eight months of 2019 (I did a post about the first four months back in May). Let’s talk nerdy and see what my numbers were like, shall we?

First of all some quick facts. In the first eight months of 2019 I have read no less than 181 books with a total page count of 60.650 pages; an average of about 335 pages per book. This is way more than I expected and and if I keep it up I will actually break my 2018 record… The average rating is 3,62 stars, which is slightly higher than in 2018 so I guess not too bad. No less than 50 books had a 4,5 or 5 star rating and 55 books received a rating 3 stars or below… Which means I enjoyed reading about 69,6% of the books during the year. Not that bad at all! Another fun fact: 68 of the 181 books I’ve read so far were actually ARCs; about 37,6% of the total. This means I’m keeping my promise to get the ARC ratio below 40%, so I’m definitely happy with that!

And now some graphics for those who like them as much as I do. 😉