I had an amazing reading year in 2020. I read way more books than I expected I would read and more than I probably will ever read in a year again. It was a messy year, but I read a lot of books which is pretty great. This is going to be a quick overview of my favourite books that I read this year. It is also going to be a few more than the top 5, so I’m sorry about that.
Top 5 Thursday | Ashley’s Best of 2019
As I said on my Worst Reads of 2019 post, I’m a pretty easy to please reader. I tend to get swept away in the story and for the most part I enjoy almost everything I read. So when it comes to choosing the best books I read this year, I have to admit that I had a really hard time. There are so, so many good books that I read over this year that it was hard to choose the best, and even harder to narrow it down to the top 5. So in order to do this, I gave myself some criteria. In order to end up on my Top 5 Reads of 2019 list, the book couldn’t be a re-read. It also couldn’t be a sequel, and so I will admit that I cheated a little bit and made a list of the best sequels I read in 2019 just to make narrowing this down a little easier. With those criteria in mind, I was still left with a fair bit of a list, so I had to narrow it down some more. That was the hard part, but I was able to do it. Below the cut, in no particular order, you will find my five best reads of 2019.
Top 5 Thursday | Ashley’s Worst of 2019
I am someone who is rather easy to please when it comes to books. I often fall in love with the books that I read, and it’s not very often that I find a book that I don’t like or even a book that I rate lower than a three stars. I always try to find something redeeming, and maybe that’s a bad thing, but it’s just the kind of reader that I am. I tend to fall deeply into whatever book I’m reading. However, I can’t say that every book I read in 2019 was a positive experience for me. Below the cut, you will find the five worst books I read in 2019.
Top 5 Thursday | Ashley’s Most Surprising of 2019
Conversely to going into books with high expectations, sometimes you go in with pretty low expectations or no expectations. Those are always really nice times because then you end up falling in love with something you never expected. That’s why it felt most appropriate to follow up my most disappointing reads of 2019 with its opposite: my most surprising reads. You’ll find them below the cut.
Top 5 Thursday | Ashley’s Most Disappointing of 2019
It’s hard to go into books with no expectations, as much as I try to. I try to keep myself neutral but then I get my hopes up anyways. However, sometimes when I get my hopes up, I get let down. This year there were five books that disappointed me. That doesn’t mean they were necessarily bad books, but I just wasn’t happy with how they turned out. Below the cut you will find those five books.
Top 5 Thursday | Ashley’s Best Sequels of 2019
Does anyone else have a problem with follow through? I do. I fall in love with these series and then I need to have their sequels in my life and then I put off reading them. I don’t know why I do this, but it just seems to be something that happens. That being said, I did try my best to finish up some series I was reading and to continue one with some of the series I was reading. This post is a highlight reel of my top 5 best sequels I read in 2019.
Top 5 Thursday | Things I am Thankful For
Thanksgiving has rolled around in Canada and I thought it might be a good time to talk about some things that I’m thankful for.
Top 5 Thursday | Five Random Thoughts
Sometimes when I’m not reading or doing something that is particularly mentally engaging, I find my mind drifting. I often have random thoughts that I really can’t explain. So here are five random thoughts that I’ve had recently:
Top 5 Thursday | Bookish Vacations
Summer vacation is here! I love teaching, but by the time June rolls around, I’m always really ready for summer and spending some time relaxing and perhaps going on vacation. I’m hoping for a nice mix of work and play this summer as I prep for the next school year and hopefully also catch up on my sleep and the books I’ve been putting off. So in honour of summer vacation, let’s talk about my top five bookish vacations!
Top 5 Thursday | Reasons to Be Happy
Everyone needs something that’s going to help them to get by and get through the day. Lately, I have been finding that I’ve been extra exhausted and dragging my feet, so it felt like a really good reason to reflect on some things that make me really happy. It never hurts to remind yourself of why things are actually really great in your life. So without further ado, on today’s inaugural Top 5 Thursday, here are my Top 5 Reasons to be Happy (in no particular order)!