Book talk: my year in books 2019

I had been using Goodreads for quite some time to check out book reviews or to discover new books but, last year, I decided to sign up as a member. Being a Goodreads member allows you to see what your friends are reading and to rate and review books yourself. However, my favourite Goodreads feature is the 'Year in Books'. Basically, Goodreads allows you to track the books you're reading by clicking on the 'Currently Reading' tab in your personal  profile page. Then, at the end of the year, it will give you some fun statistics.

This is My Year in Books (2019) according to Goodreads:

•  I have read 8283 pages across 22 books. 
•  The shortest book I read, at 214 pages, was The Paris Secret by Lily Graham.
•  At 544 pages, the longest book was Daughters of Castle Deverill by Santa Montefiore. This is the middle book of a trilogy and can be read as a standalone book but I will make sure to read the other two books in the series in the future.
• The most popular book (i.e. the book that was read most by Goodreads members) was Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. This book has been read by 558 057 members and its popularity may have something to do with the fact that it won the Pulitzer Prize for the Biography or Autobiography category in 1997 and was adapted into a movie in 1999.
• The least read book was Murder on the Malta Express: Who Killed Daphne Caruana Galizia by Carlo Bonini et al. This book was released very recently (October 2019) and the subject matter is probably only interesting to a very limited number of Goodreads member. However, this books had the highest score on Goodreads from all the book I read during 2019, with a 4.67 average.
• My average overall rating was 3.5, which may seem rather low. I know, I can be difficult please. 

This is the full list of books I read in 2019:

1. The Paris Secret by Lily Graham
2. The Revolving Door of  Life by Alexander McCall Smith
3. The Winter Children by Lulu Taylor
4. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
5. Hero of Rome by Douglas Jackson
6. The Silver Music Box by Mina Raites
7. My Mother's Wedding Dress by Justine Picardie
8. The Winter Folly by Lulu Taylor
9. The Beekeeper's Daughter by Santa Montefiore
10. Let Me Tell you About a Man I knew by Susan Fletcher
11. Daughters of Castle Deverill by Santa Montefiore
12. The Returning Tide by Liz Fenwick
13. House of Shadows by Pamela Hartshorne
14. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
15. Imagine Heaven by John Burke
16. Christmas in the Snow by Karen Swan
17. Murder on the Malta Express: Who Killed Daphne Caruana Galizia by Carlo Bonini
18. Stone Field by Christy Lenzi
19. The Christmas Cooke Club by Ann Pearlman
20. The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band by Neil Strauss et al
21. Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
22. Mrs Miles's Diary by Constance Miles

I did my own short reviews of the books here, here, here and here.

Finally, a few small observations of my own:

• I read 22 books, which is the most books I have read in a single year since I got married. It felt like quite an achievement. Next year I am aiming for 25.
• I read 6 non-fiction books last year. Generally, non-fiction books take me longer to read than novels.
• My absolute favourite book was Let Me Tell You About a Man I Knew which literally carried me away to 19th century Provence and to the time that Vincent van Gogh spent at the asylum of St Paul de Mausole. It really sparked my interest in this troubled painter and his wonderful works, and led me to watch the movie At Eternity's Gate which, more or less, covers the same period in the artist's life..
• The book that I expected more from was The Tattooist of Auschwitz. I felt that the author skirted around the horrendous reality of this evil place although the narrator, Lale Sokolov, was endearing enough.
• The book I wasn't sure I would read but I am glad I did was  Mrs Mile's Diary. This book just brought home to me the hardships and changes in  life-style that the last world war brought with it. Although this book was written by an English woman, there are a number of reference to Malta in it, and I couldn't help but think of my grandparents who were bringing up their families at that time. Both of my parents were born during the war, as were some of their siblings.

I think that in 2019 I had a good year in books. I'm really looking forward to doing this again in 2020.