With the holidays coming up—Happy Thanksgiving y’all—and black Friday tomorrow, it’s a great time to share the books I read this year. That way, you know the perfect holiday present to buy for loved ones and friends.

Like Gretchen Rubin, I have no qualms about putting a book down. If I can’t get into it after the first 30-50 pages, I don’t finish it. So, any book I have finished is one that I liked enough to do so.

I have broken up the titles by genre. Y’all know this about me: I love self-help and sci-fi/fantasy, so the list is heavy with those titles. But I also enjoy what I’d call upmarket or book club fiction, so you’ll see a few of those. Thanks book club!

I don’t typically gravitate towards literary fiction, but I did read a couple of literary books this year too. You can thank my mom for that. Maybe she thinks I need to refine my taste? Haha just kidding, Mom. I know you’re reading this and you recommended them because you loved Amor Towles’ books. I’m not reading into your recommendations, just reading those recommendations, don’t worry.

Here you have it, the wonderful world of books that occupied my brain over the last 11 months.

Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey

Rebel by Marie Lu

The Martian by Andy Weir

Business

The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Friedman

Self-Help

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** by Mark Manson

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

The Dip by Seth Godin

Book Club/Memoir

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Educated by Tara Westover

Literary Fiction

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

What books did you read this year that you loved?

Photo by Dom J