I honestly can’t tell how many books I read this year because my Goodreads account says 68 in one spot and my goal of 75 in another 🤷🏼‍♀️. Oh well, here are my 10 favorites from the year!

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh: I have become such a fan of just about everything she writes. This one is sweet and funny and full of characters to love. A perfect “light” story with some substance

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff: I love a multigenerational epic storyline and this one delivers. Whoa it was powerful.

Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman: Ok this one wasn’t perfect but it’s the most I have actually LOL’d at a book in a very long time. Great audio!

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell: To be honest I was not a fan of this book until about 50% of the way through and the fact that I’m still thinking about it means I should probably consider it a fave of the year. I have not yet watched the movie but I am very excited about it. I’m not going to say more about it because I went in kind of blind and I’m glad I did.

Far and Away by Amy Poeppel: This one you must do on audio! Two women on different continents are going through life changes and difficulties and swap homes. This was so well done. It was entertaining and had depth. Many characters but they are all pretty dynamic. I really liked this one.

My Friends by Fredrik Backman: Backmans books are hit or miss for me but this was so poignant. Random side note: I am a pretty regular listener to Armchair Expert and feel like I have learned a very different childhood experience from Dax Shepards story’s and this one felt super similar to that. It felt very much like a lived experience between a group of young friends. There is so much to this story and I feel like I need to read it again.

The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Hamel: I overdid it on WW2 historical fiction for a few year but this was a very different perspective and story. I loved thiese characters a lot and genuininly wasn’t sure where the story was going.

Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks: I was an avid Nicocolas Sparks reader for a long time and have dropped off a bit lately. This one is not for everyone, but it uses faith in such a beautiful way I had to include it.

Night Road by Kristin Hannah: This is another that was just a more personal story for me as it takes place on a small island in Washington that I have lived on before. It felt so familiar which I loved. It was a very sad story though so take that into consideration.

Madwoman By Chelsea Bieker: I honestly don’t remember much from this one (I had to look up the synopsis) but once I did I remember how compelling it was. This is not a typical read for me to really enjoy, but the depth and unpredictability of it really got me.