 Hello everyone, welcome back to my channel. It is time for the best, happiest, most celebratory video of the year. I'm going to be telling you about all of my favourite books that I read in 2019. As always, these are my favourite books that I read for the first time in 2019, they didn't necessarily come out in 2019. I have six books to talk to you all about today, it's an arbitrary number, these are just the ones that stood out to me the most, and I am super excited to gush about them all to you. I'm going to start with number six and work my way up to my favourite book of the year. So here we go. So the first book on my list is Adele by Lila Slamani. This was actually my first read of 2019 and it was incredible, it absolutely blew me away. I would describe this as a psychological literary fiction novel, it is translated from French and it tells the story of a woman named Adele who lives in Paris and on the surface she appears to have a perfect life. She has a very good job, she lives in a beautiful apartment, she has a surgeon husband and a young son. But under the surface Adele is very unhappy and very unsatisfied with her life, she is controlled by an insatiable need for sex, whatever the cost may be. I have read a couple of Lila Slamani's novels now, I read Lullaby and Adele, and I think she is absolutely fantastic. She is definitely my favourite contemporary author in translated fiction without a doubt. Both of her novels are translated by Sam Taylor, who is clearly such a talent as well. Lila Slamani's novels are a gorgeous mix of intelligent, sharp, really perceptive literary fiction at the same time as having a really addictive thriller style vibe. Her work is so compelling, so unique, I find it to be compulsively readable. But Lila Slamani's strength as an author undoubtedly lies in her characters, she delves so deep into her protagonist psyches, they are some of the best, most complex, well-drawn characters I have ever read about. This is a very inward-looking novel, Adele's psychology is central to the whole book. She struggles with desire and ultimately compulsion and addiction, as sex becomes the only thing that makes her feel alive. And we get to witness her lifespan completely out of her control. There is so much to Adele as a character, I was captivated and utterly convinced by her, I didn't necessarily like her but I was fascinated by her. Lila Slamani's writing is also super sharp, it has electrical clarity, it's so bright, and I think it mirrors the themes of the novel perfectly, it feels super perceptive and almost chilling. I love the themes in here as well, we have female sexuality and addiction and motherhood. Everything in here is just so well pitched and it manages to come together so perfectly, it's so intelligent, so well done. But she manages to do all of this in the most readable way. I am such a fan of this novel and such a fan of this author. Number five on the list is Lani by Max Porter. This is a literary fiction novel set in a small English town when a young boy called Lani goes missing. We get to learn about Lani's parents and his friends and other people connected to him in the community, as well as old Papa Toothwart, who is a creature from legend who lives in the town. The craftsmanship in how this book is put together is impeccable. This book is relatively short and it is structured in a really broken up way, so we're not only learning about the main characters who are connected to Lani, but the text is also interjected with a jumble of other voices from the town. The fragmented writing really captures that sense of many different people's voices and thoughts and feelings making up one community. And the type setting in here mirrors this perfectly is so brilliant. Let me show you a page. Look at this, so gorgeous. You can hear these voices as you read and it also adds to this building sense of chaos throughout the novel. There is such a convincing and compelling feel to this book. The book also feels very magical and whimsical of course. Myths and legends and folklore are woven through this novel which I absolutely adore. But whilst reading this novel I was also struck by how real and raw it felt at the same time as feeling so fantastical. It is such a special gift to be able to make something so magical feel so applicable. This book devastated me emotionally. It explored very real and traumatic events in a very convincing and impactful way. Parenthood and loss were two major themes in this novel and I felt like they were explored in such a perceptive and realistic way. When the characters in this novel took a blow I took a blow with them. Everything in here works perfectly together to create such an immersive and rich captivating reading experience. Max Porter is one of the most inventive and evocative writers I have read. He is such a talent. This book should have been the winner of the Man Book Prize this year. Number four on my list is Ask Again Yes by Mary Beth Keane. This is another literary fiction novel this one following two families from a suburban town in America from the 1970s to present day. It looks at the relationship between the adults in the families and the bond that forms between two of the children and explores the tragedy that occurs and haunts all of these family members for many years to come. This book is so me. I love novels that focus on family and family relationships. I love novels that span multiple decades. I love novels that are character focused. Throw in a dash of drama as well and I am so there. This is a very character driven novel. The members of the families are centre stage and you get to know them all so well. And seeing all of the ways in which they all change and develop and adapt in response to everything that happens in here is brilliant. It is so well done. This novel also explores many themes that I absolutely love reading about. There is marriage and intimacy and forgiveness and there's also friendship and parenthood and illness in here as well. Memory is also a major theme in here. The novel looks at how memories change over time as we gain new perspectives and different ways to look at things. This was handled really well in my opinion and it offered a really interesting extra dimension of unreliability to the narration which I thought was really effective. There is a love story that runs throughout this novel that is tested in so many ways and it is without a doubt one of the best romantic relationships I've read about in a very long time. It felt so raw and real to me and through everything that happens in this novel the two people in this romantic relationship really make an effort to remain tender and understanding and generous towards one another. This was a luminous novel for me. I was absolutely swept up into every aspect of the story. There are for sure Celestine vibes going on in this novel which is fitting because Little Fires Everywhere was on my favourites list of last year and so if you enjoy Celestine at all then definitely give Mary Beth Keane a go. I adored this book and considering it's a debut as well I am blown away. Coming in at number three is The Confession by Jesse Burton. Can you guess what genre this book is? It's literary fiction. So I was already a fan of Jesse Burton before I read this book. I read The Muse by Her in 2018 which I thought was fantastic but this book was even better. All of her skills which she was developing in The Muse were just honed to perfection in this novel. This one follows two storylines. One of them is in the 1980s when two young women fall in love and end up moving to Glamorous LA because one of them is an author and her book is being made into a film. The other storyline is set three decades later when a woman is trying to find out what happened to her mother who abandoned her as a baby. Searching for answers she ends up working for and befriending an old reclusive novelist who was the last person to see her mum. Similarly to Ask Again Yes this is a very me book. It has all of the elements which make up a perfect novel for me. Character focused tick following different characters and their storylines tick. Being set over multiple decades tick. Female protagonists tick. This really couldn't be more of my street. The characters in this novel are impeccable. They are so well drawn, so complex. It was especially great to see the author Constance throughout the novel in both her younger and older years. Her character was handled so well and so consistently whilst enduring change over her multiple timelines. All of the relationships in here are so raw and complex. Motherhood is explored as is companionship and romantic love as well as your relationship with yourself and self-identity. I also really get along with Jesse Burton's writing style. For me it is the perfect balance of being descriptive and lyrical whilst not being overwritten and I think it perfectly supports the characters that she brings to life and her plot. The storyline in this novel also provides a really nice forward momentum to the book in a way that a lot of the literary fiction novels I tend to enjoy don't. I'm not usually bothered about plot at all in novels. The novels I tend to love are usually much more character focused by absolutely adored the plot in this one. It's definitely realistic but it does have a nice dose of intrigue and excitement. I was so hooked whilst reading this book if nothing else just to know what happened between these two women in the 1980s. Jesse Burton has a gift at striking the perfect balance between plot and characters and wider themes and I think she is one of the best, most satisfying, most well-rounded novelists out there. I absolutely adore her. Coming in in second place is The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty. This book is not literary fiction, it isn't even a classic, it isn't even poetry. My penultimate favourite book of 2019 is Fantasy and that makes me so so happy. City of Brass is the first book in a fantasy trilogy that is set in an alternate 18th century Middle East. It follows a young poor woman called Nari who makes a living mainly by tricking rich nobles until she accidentally summons a gin warrior and thus travels to the magical kingdom of Davidbad. As I said in my recent reads video, this fantasy book is the fantasy book that I have always wanted. This book does not compromise any of its other aspects because it's fantasy and because it has this magical world to build up, it had absolutely everything that I wanted and I adored it. Firstly, let's talk about the world. This book has one of the most rich and complex magical worlds that I have ever read about. The history of this magical world is so vast. The different groups of people and their traditions and their languages are so well detailed and thought through. There is a ton of politics in here. The world building in here was actually so complex that I struggled to remember everything that had happened in the world and who was allies with who and who believed and fought for what. But I appreciated having to work to learn about this world because learning about the history of a world should be complicated. It wasn't unnecessarily difficult. It was all there. I just found it to be realistic. The setting in here is so gorgeous. I can see it so clearly in my mind. It's so vivid and enchanting. I am also in love with the characters in here. The three main characters in particular were so good. But also the side characters are just as well thought through and super intriguing. All of the characters in here have shades of gray to them. It isn't clear who is right or who you are meant to be supporting because everything is relative to the way in which you were brought up and your belief systems and so everyone feels as though they are fighting for the right thing. I felt like I could be reading about real people. So this book had everything that I want in a novel, whether reading fantasy or not. It was engaging and emotionally affecting. It was challenging and rewarding. I did read the second book in this trilogy, The Kingdom of Copper last year as well, and I loved it just as much. It stepped up brilliantly. But for the sake of this video, I just thought I'd talk about this one. The third and final book of the trilogy comes out in summer, and I am so excited for it. I have not anticipated a release like this in a very long time. I think it's going to be amazing and I'm pretty sure this is going to become my favorite fantasy series of all time. Big reading stuff happened in 2019. And finally, in the number one spot, my favorite book of 2019 is Normal People by Sally Rooney. We're not really shocked are we? This is another book that I read very early on in the year, and I knew it was going to make my favorite books of the year list. I actually remember saying that I would be incredibly shocked if anything beat it and it didn't. This is a literary fiction novel which I'm sure all of you have heard about by now. It follows two young people, Connell and Marianne, who grew up together in a rural town in Ireland, although basically everything about their backgrounds apart from that is different. Simply put, this novel follows their relationship from when they're teenagers over the next few years to when they are young adults. This book is an absolute masterpiece. It is at once incredibly simple and understated, whilst also being one of the most intricate and complex things I have ever read. This is not a plot-driven novel. It is primarily a character study exploring Connell and Marianne and their lives and their relationships with one another and themselves over so many years. And this is one of the best character studies I have ever read. In my opinion, it is in another league to the majority of other fiction out there. There are so many aspects of character which Sally Rooney explores so brilliantly, but it is her exploration of communication in particular, which I found to be so enlightening and inspiring. Communication in life is not just verbal, it is a vast and complex and intricate thing. It is felt and implied and seen, as well as just being heard, and Sally Rooney managed to capture this better than I've ever seen it captured before. And wires get crossed in communication and we miss each other and the ways in which Marianne and Connell both interpret and misinterpret things from one another and the ways in which this is completely shaped by their different upbringings and personalities and mindsets is so clever and realistic. I was also really touched throughout this novel by the ways in which Connell and Marianne made an effort to reach out to one another and to understand and change. I found myself personally to relate to them a lot in these moments and to really feel for them. Aside from character, this book is also expertly crafted in terms of its writing and its pacing and its structure. This book is short, but it is exact and it allows such a gorgeous space between the author and the reader where you feel like you're really an active part of the reading experience. This book is simply about two people living their lives and of course this isn't simple at all. You really feel as though you're witnessing two real people's lives throughout this book and it's just stunning in the way that only real life can be. This book is bold and captivating and uncomfortable. It is so perceptive and so real. This book has become one of my favorite novels of all time. It has edged its way into my top 10 books ever. This book is so so special. So there we have it. Those were my absolute favorite books that I read in 2019. I really hope you all enjoyed hearing about them. I myself loved talking about them. I would love to continue talking to you about them down below in the comments. If you've read them or you haven't read them and you want to get to them, I would love to hear all of your thoughts and please please please do let me know what your favorite books of the year were. I am so excited to hear about them. As always thank you so much for watching this video everyone. I really do appreciate it more than you know. I hope you're all doing really well and I will see you soon with my next video which I think is going to be Cameron's favorite books of 2019. He's my fiance if you didn't know. So we will see you then. I look forward to it and I will speak to you soon. Bye everyone.