2019 Book Recap

by Waren Jean Go / / in Books/ 0 Comment(s)

It is already mid-2020, but I have not posted my annual book recap of 2019 yet. Blame it on the exciting 2020! Anyhow, 2019 is not my productive reading year either because of the six months that I spent in nursing school and the almost three months of nursing board exam review. That left me with just a few months to complete the 24 books reading goal of 2019. However, in between those hectic months, I was able to squeeze in a few books that want to read. I can honestly say that I made great and interesting book choices that year.

Below is the list of the ten books that I read in 2019.

1. Girl, Wash Your Face – Rachel Hollis

I vaguely remember what I love about this book since it is partly a memoir and a self-help book. What I know is, I enjoyed reading it.

Favourite Quote: “You, and only you, are ultimately responsible for who you become and how happy you are.”
Rating: 8/10

2. China Rich Girlfriend – Kevin Kwan

It is the second book of the Crazy Rich Asians series by Kevin Kwan. I have read the first book last year, and I am yet to read the third book, hopefully, this year. As usual, I was very entertained about the life of the spoiled brats in the book.

Favourite Quote: “Dress impeccably and they notice the woman.”
Rating: 7.5/10

3. You – Caroline Kepnes

I decided to read this because I watched the series on Netflix, and I want to know more about the character’s personality. We all know that what they show on screen is just a summary of the important points in the book, and by doing that I regret nothing!

Favourite Quote: “What a shame to be so angered by what you don’t have that you treat what you do have like it’s nothing.”
Rating: 9/10

4. The Female Persuasion – Meg Wolitzer

I love feminist books, and this is one of them.

Favourite Quote: “Whenever I give a talk at colleges I meet young women who say, ‘I’m not a feminist, but…’ By which they mean, ‘I don’t call myself a feminist, but I want equal pay, and I want to have equal relationships with men, and of course I want to have an equal right to sexual pleasure. I want to have a fair and good life. I don’t want to be held back because I’m a woman.”
Rating: 8.5/10

5. Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery

This book landed the 3rd spot in my all-time favourite books. It was well written and very immersive. It feels like I am looking at Anne’s life from a distance. I also like how the author made Anne very smart and competitive. Exactly what I want all girls to be.

Favourite Quotes: “Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive–it’s such an interesting world. It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There’d be no scope for imagination then, would there?
“Oh, it’s delightful to have ambitions. I’m so glad I have such a lot. And there never seems to be any end to them– that’s the best of it. Just as soon as you attain one ambition you see another one glittering higher up still. It does make life so interesting.”
“When you are imagining, you might as well imagine something worth while.”
“It is ever so much easier to be good if your clothes are fashionable.”
Rating: 10/10

6. Hidden Bodies – Caroline Kepnes

It is the second book of the book series You. It probably is the reason why I did not watch or, I was not interested in watching season 2 of You on Netflix anymore since I already know what happened. Anyhow, I loved the book, but it is not as gripping as the first one.

Favourite Quote: “People are so lonely, they spend their birthdays on the Internet, thanking people for wishing them a happy birthday, people who only know it’s their birthday because Facebook told them.”
Rating: 6.5/10

7. No Visible Bruises – Rachel Louise Snyder

I have always been curious about the psychology behind domestic abuse. I want to know the big WHY. Why do people hurt the people they claim to love, what made them do it and, why do they continue doing it. Why does the abused stay with the abuser? This book delved into the psychological side of the abuser and the abused, their family and the system. This book opened my eyes to the vulnerability of women at home most especially the ones who are dependent on their abusers.

Favourite Quote: “Victims often side with their abusers publicly, to family, to police, to prosecutors. Because long after the police leave, even after charges are filed and a sentence meted out, it is with the abuser that a victim must continually negotiate her life. And the life of her children.”
Rating: 10/10

8. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

This book landed the second spot in my all-time favourite books. I love books being narrated by kids, just like how I loved Anne of Green Gables. Their innocence and unbiased opinions will put righteous adults to shame. But the gist of this novel is the prejudice and injustice towards people of colour.

Favourite Quotes: “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
Rating: 10/10

9. The Path Made Clear – Oprah Winfrey

Stuck in a limbo of trying to find validation from the outside? This book is a must-read for those who are struggling to find their identity.

Favourite Quote: “You are not your circumstances. You are your possibilities.”
Rating: 8/10

10. Educated – Tara Westover

The best memoir I have ever read. Tara Westover is a good storyteller, her vivid memory about her childhood and her overall life made her evaluate what is real and good about her situation. Plus, she is smart and intelligent.

Favourite Quotes: “You can love someone and still choose to say goodbye to them. You can miss a person every day, and still be glad that they are no longer in your life.”
“You are not fool’s gold, shining only under a particular light. Whomever you become, whatever you make yourself into, that is who you always were.”
Rating: 10/10

That’s it for my 2019 list. I don’t have a specific number of books to read for this year. I decided to just go with the flow.

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