Posted on by Karissa

The Complete List of Books of 2019

I am so sorry it has taken this long to reveal the full list. I read 42 books last year, and my Goodreads goal was 40. Yay me! Here they are in order that I read them:

  1. Red Queen by Victoria Avegard
  2. Empire of Storms by SarahJ Maas
  3. Legendary by Stephanie Garber
  4. A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas
  5. Catwoman by Sarah J Maas
  6. A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
  7. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
  8. The Fork, The Witch, and The Worm by Christopher Paolini
  9. Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas
  10. Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
  11. Phasma by Delilah S Dawson
  12. The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J Maas
  13. Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
  14. Rebel Born by Amy A Bartol
  15. Before the Broken Star by Emily R King
  16. Eldest by Christopher Paolini
  17. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
  18. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
  19. The Wrath of Darth Maul by Ryder Windham
  20. Into the Hourglass by Emily R King
  21. Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
  22. Fledgling by Nicole Conway
  23. Avian by Nicole Conway
  24. Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
  25. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett
  26. No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty
  27. Wicked by Gregory Maguire and Douglas Smith
  28. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
  29. Hiddensee by Gregory Maguire
  30. Finale by Stephanie Garber
  31. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
  32. The Thorn Princess by Bekah Harris
  33. Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich, Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul
  34. Loki by Mackenzi Lee and Stephanie Hans
  35. Heir of Iron Hearts by Bekah Harris
  36. Game of Shadows by Bekah Harris
  37. Reign of Darkness by Bekah Harris
  38. Starsight by Brandon Sanderson
  39. On Writing by Stephen King
  40. The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster
  41. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
  42. Everafter Song by Emily R. King

I would say that Song of Achilles and Spin the Dawn remain my top recommendations. Both had amazing storytelling, and I am still thinking about them almost a year later.

On Writing and No Plot? No Problem! were books I chose to help me with my author related goals. If you want to learn more about becoming a writer, especially if you plan on doing National Novel Writing Month, you should put these on your must read list. I have a couple more that I plan on reading this year as well. Do note that On Writing is about 50% autobiography of Stephen King. It’s a really interesting read.

Bekah Harris was a Kindle Unlimited find. I devoured her series on there. It’s a fun, quick young adult story dealing with fairies. I am mad at her for doing something to one of my favorite characters that I believe was not necessary, but that’s spoilers so… yeah. If you want something good and quick for a beach trip or school holiday, check her out.

Feel free to ask me about any of the books on my list. I promise to give honest reviews. I cannot wait to tell you all about what i am reading in 2020. My goal is 50 books, and I am currently at 17. I’ll do a post when I hit 25.

Posted on by Karissa

2018 Reading Progress

I like to think of myself as an avid reader. When I was younger, I practically lived at the library. Hell, I even got grounded from reading when my mom found me past midnight reading Goblet of Fire in my room on a school night. I was in fourth grade.

The past few years has seen a large decline in my habit. I barely reached my Goodreads challenge of 20 books last year, and I am only on book 11 of 30 for my current year challenge. It just seems like I am out of energy whenever I sit down to read or that I am forcing myself to read because I think I should.

Now, there have been a few books that get me back into that “OMG I LOVE READING” mood. Most of them are from the Star Wars expanded universe (pretty much anything having to do with Thrawn. He is one of the best characters ever.), but there has been a couple other books that caught me by surprise.

One was a book that caught my attention at Barnes and Noble because there was a comparison to Wheel of Time on the cover. It was A Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington, and the comparison has actually proven to be true. Most of the time those blurbs are there just to trap readers, and I have fallen prey to many a book I did not finish because of those little “if you like Harry Potter, you’ll love this!”

I am not a young adult book fan (for the most part).

Anyway, A Shadow of What Was Lost is the first book of a trilogy. It has magic. It has action and adventure. It has that “I really like this girl but my duty is to saving the world” plot line. The characters are intriguing and well written, and I found myself devouring it within a week. It was a great change of pace. I have the sequel right now, but I have been in a slump, so I am hoping my vacation next week will change that.

The other book that I have absolutely loved this year was Wall of Storms by Ken Liu. Now, this one started really slow, especially compared to the first in the series, but once it got going it was great. I am really glad I stuck it out, because everything came together perfectly and I am looking forward to a third novel, if there is to be one.

I hope that the rest of 2018 will include a return to feeling the joy of reading more consistently. I am thinking about getting a Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Unlimited to see if that will help (plus, all seven Harry Potter books are on unlimited which means my gorgeous, never read, hard back books will continue to look magical while I fulfill my need to reread the series).

Please, feel free to send me any recommendations for books and authors. I am always looking for new adventures. You can also add me on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/Karissabrust.