Books read in 2019

I read 26 books this year of my personal challenge of 50 books. Of those 18 are fiction and 8 are non-fiction. Books Read 2019-12-27 103509

These are the books that I read and enjoyed in 2019 with my rating – three I rated 5 star:

  1. The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma – Fiction – 4 stars
  2. The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay – Fiction – 4 stars
  3. The Library Book by Susan Orlean – Non-Fiction – 5 stars
  4. The Greenprint by Marco Borges – Non-Fiction – 4 stars
  5. Attitudes of Gratitude by M.J. Ryan – Non-Fiction – 3 stars
  6. Wormwood Mire by Judith Russell – Junior Fiction – 4 stars
  7. Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion – Fiction – 3 stars
  8. The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris – Fiction – 5 stars
  9. The Book of Dreams by Nina George – Fiction – 3 stars
  10. My Life After Death by Erik Medhus – Non-Fiction – 2 stars
  11. Wanderlust by Jeff Krasno – Non-Fiction – 3 stars
  12. Vanlife Diaries by Kathleen Morton – Non-Fiction – 2 stars
  13. State of Fear by Tim Ayliffe – Fiction – 3 stars
  14. Writing Your Life by Patti Miller – Non-Fiction – 5 stars
  15. Artemis by Andyd Weir – Fiction – 3 stars
  16. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert – Fiction – 4 stars
  17. Eucalyptus by Murray Bail – Fiction – 4 stars
  18. Everything is F*cked by Mark Manson – Non-Fiction – 4 stars
  19. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland – Fiction – 4 stars
  20. The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva – Fiction – 3 stars
  21. The English Girl by Daniel Silva – Fiction – 3 stars
  22. Bruny by Heather Rose – Fiction – 4 stars
  23. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd – Fiction – 4 stars
  24. Homeland by Barbara Kingsolver – Fiction – 3 stars
  25. The End of the Ocean by Maja Lunde – Fiction – 3 stars
  26. The Night Ferry by Michael Robotham – Fiction – 3 stars

I am yet to reach my goal of 50 books in one year. Here is my record from Goodreads over the past few years:

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Top 10 non-fiction favourites

Here is a list of my top 10 non-fiction favourites in no particular order:

No doubt I have forgotten some…

Fact or fiction

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The lines can blur when categorising literature into fiction or non-fiction. There are many books in the ‘non-fiction’ section that are questionable in terms of truth and validity. I am currently reading about the Teachings of Abraham in a book by Esther and Jerry Hicks. The practical advice for living offered in the book was apparently communicated to Esther by entities not residing in this physical world.

This week I saw the movie “The curious case of Benjamin Button” starring Brad Pitt as Benjamin. It is so satisfying to go to the cinema and be treated to a fulfilling movie experience, and this movie provided that. It was so uplifting despite the topic primarily being about death. It is an improbable tale about a man who is born old and lives his life backwards, and yet it is convincingly portrayed and beautifully crafted. The make-up artists certainly had a challenge making this movie, and did it so well.

Brad Pitt was brilliant as the quirky and challenged character of Benjamin. He was also typically gorgeous during the prime years of Benjamin’s life. I swooned as Benjamin (Brad) took off on his motorbike and again when he set sail in his yacht!

This story of fiction, apparently originally an unpublished story by F. Scott Fitzgerald and made into this film by David Fincher, is an improbable work of fiction, and yet again the philosophical advice for living is clear.

Life can sometimes be stranger than fiction. Public libraries are havens for everyone everywhere and so you will see a broad cross-section of society there on any given day, seeking a diverse range of information. There are even ‘wizards’ who visit. This is a fact, although perhaps by name only and not nature – not proven anyway.

Holidaymakers being fined $113 for parking their cars in a loading zone, outside the library when the car parks are choking; now that’s a fact.