I am pleased to say (and this doesn’t happen often), that I finished all the books from my 2019 book list. (Just finished the last two yesterday, but finished is finished!) I started grad school in August, and it really derailed my pleasure reading, but I anticipated this when I created my book list; I’d already finished most of my list before then. (I’m also happy to report that, out of all the books I read, only two disappointed, The Circle and The Girl In the Spider’s Web.)

Of the two books that I finished at the last minute, I didn’t even receive Rick Riordan’s The Trials of Apollo Book 4: The Tyrant’s Tomb until Christmas. And by “receive,” I mean that my husband and I each wanted the same books, so rather than each of us buying the same thing for the other, I bought them both, wrapped them, and stuck them under the tree for us. I didn’t even succumb to temptation and start reading before I wrapped them.

The other book that I finished yesterday was the last of the Artemis Fowl series, The Last Guardian. I read this series years ago and thought my pre-teen son would enjoy them. It’s taken a while to get through all eight books, but we enjoyed reading them together. He’s dyslexic and comprehends texts best when they’re read to him. Although he has an app that reads to him, I will continue reading with him as long as he lets me. He’s into World War II right now, so a couple novels on this year’s list are re-reads for me that I’m looking forward to introducing to Peter.

Another series I re-read this year was Harry Potter (the first four books of which I’ve now read 13 times). I read it to Peter when he was in the second grade, so now that Ian is in the second grade, it was his turn. We read the first three books in the Jim Kay illustrated format—they’re gorgeous. I knew that the boys would receive the fourth illustrated one for Christmas and asked Ian if he would like to wait to get it before we read on, but he couldn’t wait that long. Instead, we plowed through books four through seven, finishing before Christmas. His imagination is vivid enough that he had no trouble making it through them. (But we have the illustrated version of The Goblet of Fire now, and it’s spectacular.)

Diagon Alley, as illustrated by Jim Kay

Following are the novels I read in 2019 (in the order I read them—the ones in red text are the extras that weren’t on the original list):

1. Shadow Puppets (The Shadow Series #3) by Orson Scott Card
2. The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo #3) by Rick Riordan
3. Shadow of the Giant (The Shadow Series #4) by Orson Scott Card
4. Dog Man and Cat Kid (Dog Man #4) by Dav Pilkey
5. Shadows in Flight (The Shadow Series #5) by Orson Scott Card
6. Kids of Appetite by David Arnold
7. The Circle by Dave Eggers
8. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
9. The Reader (Sea of Ink and Gold #1) by Traci Chee
10. Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer
11. A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz
12. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
13. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
14. Rebel of the Sands (Rebel of the Sands #1) by Alwyn Hamilton
15. Nil (Nil #1) by Lynne Matson
16. The Diabolic (The Diabolic #1) by S.J. Kincaid
17. Bird Box by Josh Malerman
18. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1) by Stieg Larsson
19. The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium #2) by Stieg Larsson
20. Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer
21. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (Millennium #3) by Stieg Larsson
22. Refugee by Alan Gratz
23. The Girl in the Spider’s Web (Millennium #4) by David Lagercrantz
24. Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
25. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
26. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
27. Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer
28. Iron Gold (Red Rising Saga #4) by Pierce Brown
29. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
30. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
31. Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer
32. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
33. Dark Age (Red Rising Saga #5) by Pierce Brown
34. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
35. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
36. The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen #1) by Alison Goodman
37. The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the First) by Lemony Snicket
38. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
39. The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Second) by Lemony Snicket
40. Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer
41. The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo #4) by Rick Riordan

And now for the 2020 list. It may seem long, but all the Unfortunate Events books are ones I’m reading with Ian (after Harry Potter, he’s stuck on series). Otherwise, my list is modest because I know my time will be limited. I’m looking forward to continuing several series and reading some books that are new to me. I also hope I can carve out some time to re-read some favorites.

On the left is the book I just started (it’s really good!)… and another one that I’ll be starting soon. (Yep, more testing awaits. But when I’m done with adding to my certification, I hope to be done with testing centers for a while.)

Without further ado, here’s what I hope to read this year (alpha by author):

1. Earth Unaware (The First Formic War #1) by Orson Scott Card
2. Earth Afire (The First Formic War #2) by Orson Scott Card
3. Earth Awakens (The First Formic War #3) by Orson Scott Card
4. Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore
5. Fire (Graceling Realm #2) by Kristin Cashore
6. Bitterblue (Graceling Realm #3) by Kristin Cashore
7. Lethal White (Cormoran Strike #4) by Robert Galbraith
8. The Dark Days Pact (Lady Helen #2) by Alison Goodman
9. The Dark Days Deceit (Lady Helen #3) by Alison Goodman
10. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
11. Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by Robin LaFevers
12. Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) by Robin LaFevers
13. Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3) by Robin LaFevers
14. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
15. The Tower of Nero (The Trials of Apollo #5) by Rick Riordan
16. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
17. The Wide Window (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Third) by Lemony Snicket
18. The Miserable Mill (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Fourth) by Lemony Snicket
19. The Austere Academy (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Fifth) by Lemony Snicket
20. The Ersatz Elevator (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Sixth) by Lemony Snicket
21. The Vile Village (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Seventh) by Lemony Snicket
22. The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Eighth) by Lemony Snicket
23. The Carnivorous Carnival (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Ninth) by Lemony Snicket
24. The Slippery Slope (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Tenth) by Lemony Snicket
25. The Grim Grotto (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Eleventh) by Lemony Snicket
26. The Penultimate Peril (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Twelfth) by Lemony Snicket
27. The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Thirteenth) by Lemony Snicket
28. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

What titles are on your list this year? Happy reading!