As I’ve said before, for nearly a decade I’ve set reading goals each year.

For many years that goal was 100, and I’d usually exceed it by a dozen or so. In 2012, I decided to up the goal to 150, and in 2013 I upped it further to 200 (and exceeded it!). In 2014, I had my first kid, so bumped my goal back down to 150. In 2015, I tried for 200, but didn’t quite hit it. In 2016, I had two more kids, and immediately saw the effects on my reading;) For the last few years, I’ve tried for 100 — and been lucky to get there! This year I did NOT get there, but that’s cool, because #life.

One more FYI that I generally don’t finish about 20% of the books I start. I used to try and hang on to dear life until the last page, but I’m getting wiser. In the below list I’ve only included ones I didn’t finish if I read a substantial amount.

Finally, find me on Goodreads for on-going progress!

Past Reading Lists

Want to check out my past lists?

• 2011: See the “top” 100 books I read in 2011 here.
• 2012: See the 150 books I read in 2012 here.
• 2013: See the 200+ books I read in 2013 here.
• 2014: See the 150 books I read in 2014 here. 
• 2015: See the “almost” 200 books I read in 2015 here.

Ratings

In 2019 (as in past years), I will rate some of the books I read. Not every book, but some. Here’s how the ratings go.

Ratings:

* {eh.}

** {useful information, but likely not something the general masses will fawn over.}

*** {good, but with the caveat that I have eclectic tastes and this may not be mainstream}

**** {darn good. worth buying a hard copy of to put on a nice shelf.}

***** {love! top-10 placement! life-changing! gold stars 4eva!}

Top 15 Books Read in 2019:

1. Social Media Success for Every Brand: The 5 Pillars the Turn Posts into Profits, Claire Diaz-Ortiz. Oh hey, that’s me! This was my 2019 release from Harper Collins Leadership and if I do say so myself I’d recommend it for every brand, big and small;)
2. Travel Light, Move Light. Alexandra Fuller. There is no other author I love more than Fuller, who writes incredible memoirs of crazy white people doing crazy stuff in Africa. Her latest is stunning.
3. The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself. Michael A. Singer. People had been telling me to read this for years, and thank goodness I finally listened. I was underlining every page and now keep this by my bed. Amazing!
4. Small Fry: A Memoir. Lisa Brennan-Jobs. The story of Steve Jobs’ first daughter, this a super well written memoir that sheds incredible light on Steve Jobs and the rise of Apple. Totally fascinating.
5. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed. Lori Gottlieb. A memoir of a therapist and her patients, this made many of the best-of charts this year, and for good reason. Laugh, cry, and turn the pages. Highly recommended, and on all the bestseller lists this year.
6. The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World. Jacqueline Novogratz. I re-read this wonderful memoir of life in Rwanda and emerging markets this year when I traveled in East and West Africa. A highly recommended memoir.
7. The Testaments: The Sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. Margaret Atwood. This is the sequel to The Handmaids Tale. We waited for three decades, and it was worth it!
8. The Silent Patient. Alex Michaelides: This is a crazy novel that will have you alternately screaming at the page and shocked at the ending! Read.
9. The Finnish Way: Finding Courage, Wellness, and Happiness Through the Power of Sisu. Katja Panzer. I first read this book a few years ago, and when I went to Finland this year I reread it to remember all the reasons I loved it the first time around. A great memoir of what the Finnish do to live healthy, happy, and wise.
10. Edge, Turning Adversity into Advantage. Laura Huang. My friend Harvard Professor Laura Huang does an incredible job with her first book. Edge looks at what it means to turn underestimated strengths upside down to succeed — in business and in life. This one won’t come out until January 2020, so pre-order now.
11. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Robert Cialdini. I finally read this classic this year and really loved it. It’s a business book, so “page-turner” might be a bit generous, but I really loved and highly recommend.
12. Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Great Habits and Break Bad Ones. James Clear. A few years ago I met James for drinks in Buenos Aires when he was traveling and he told me about his upcoming book. To say I underestimated its awesome would be, well, another underestimation. A great book!
13. Midnight in Chernobyl:The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster. Adam Higginbotham. This was an amazing book, although I must say that if you were already hooked to the series you either might LOVE the double-dose of info or you may find it repetitive. It just depends on your particular level of obsession! (Mine was high!)
14. Becoming, Michele Obama. Oh heck yeah I loved this LONG book. I did it in audiobook, which was a spectacular option.
15. Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident. Donnie Eichlar. My husband and I became pretty obsessed with this crazy Russian story from 1959, and may or may not have fallen down 1,000 internet rabbit holes in search of more information on this fascinating, tragic, true-life disaster.

The Full List: All the Books Read in 2019….

1. Social Media Success for Every Brand: The 5 Pillars the Turn Posts into Profits, Claire Diaz-Ortiz. (This is my latest book, and so I’m gonna go ahead and leave it here at #1 on the list;)
2. Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident. Donnie Eichlar.
3. The Age of Overwhelm
4. Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time. Mark Adams. **** (Loved re-reading this while in Peru this year.)
5. How to Be Married****
6. La Primera Detective de Botsuana, aka The #1 Ladies Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith
7. Everybody Always, Bob Goff. ***** (Bob has been a great friend, supporter and mentor over the years. I love, love, love his books!)
8. Lecciones Para Chicas Guapas, aka Morality for Beautiful Girls, #2 in the #1 Ladies Detective Agency Series, Alexander McCall Smith
9. Venture Deals
10. Lagrimas de la Jirafa, aka Tears of an Elephant, Book #3 in the #1 Ladies Detective Series, Alexander McCall Smith
11. Lost City of the Incas
12. Cradle of Gold**
13. Tip of the Iceberg: My 3,000-Mile Journey Around Wild Alaska, the Last Great American Frontier. Mark Adams.
14. Midnight Sun
15. Stella Bain**
16. The Serpent and the Rainbow
17. Small Fry: A Memoir. Lisa Brennan-Jobs. *****
18. To Shake the Sleeping Self ****
19. Blindspot
20. Healing Night — (I still need to finish this! It was fascinating!)
21. Falling Upward
22. I Think You’re Wrong But I’m Listening
23. Possum Living**
24. The Dinner Diaries**
25. Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive. Stephanie Land.**** (Like many, I really enjoyed this one and think it deserves all it’s “best of” lists this year!)
26. When the Answer is No***
27. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed. Lori Gottlieb. *****
28. Codependent No More
29. Do it Scared
30. My Morning Routine
31. Extinctions****
32. Midnight in Chernobyl:The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster. Adam Higginbotham. ****
33. Burnout
34. Brotopia****
35. Digital Minimalism
36. Ladies Who Punch
37. Becoming, Michele Obama.****
38. The Next Right Thing****
39. Where the Crawdads Sing****
40. Well
41. My Year of Rest and Relaxation***
42. Crazy is a Complement
43. Rwanda, Inc.
44. Rwanda: Culture Guide
45. A Thousand Hills to Heaven*****
46. The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World. Jacqueline Novogratz. *****
47. Inside the Hotel Rwanda
48. Freedom to Fail
49. Lonely Planet: West Africa
50. The Village of the Waiting ****
51. Dictatorland ****(I never finished this one, although I really liked it!)
52. Crossing Borders
53. Save Me the Plums***
54. See You in the Piazza****
55. The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself. Michael A. Singer. *****
56. How to Do Nothing****
57. Travel Light, Move Light. Alexandra Fuller.
58. Make it Scream, Make it Burn – I LOVE Leslie Jamieson’s work, and always eat up every new book she publishes!
59. The Power****
60. Reset****
61. Enough****
62. Superpumped **** (In progress!)
63. Edge, Turning Adversity into Advantage. Laura Huang. *****
64. The Future Home of the Living God***
65. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Robert Cialdini.
66. A Better Man****
67. Never Split the Difference **** A great book on negotiation, from a hostage negotiation master.
68. The Testaments: The Sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. Margaret Atwood.
69. Cap Tables: A Pocket Guide
70. Hungry***
71. The Finnish Way: Finding Courage, Wellness, and Happiness Through the Power of Sisu. Katja Panzer.
72. How to Make a Family***
73. The Silent Patient. Alex Michaelides.
74. Startup Valuation: Pocket Guide
75. Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Great Habits and Break Bad Ones. James Clear. ****
76. Three Women*** (This one has made a TON of lists this year, and although I read it until the end I wasn’t fawning over it.)
77. Starvation Heights**
78. Lonely, A Memoir. Emily White.
79. Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World (In progress, loving!)
80. The Africa House ***** (One of my favorite books of all time, I’m breaking it out over the New Year for another re-read.)
81. The House Called Mbabati. Samantha Ford. (in progress)
82. On Being Human. Jennifer Pastiloff. (in progress)
83. Count Me In. Emily White. (in progress)
84. Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century. (in progress)
85. The Moment of Lift. Melinda Gates. (in progress, yes I read a lot of books at once!)