Goodreads Staffers' Top Three Books of the Year

Posted by Cybil on December 17, 2019
Gift Guide2019

 
Every December, as we wrap up our annual Goodreads Reading Challenge, we ask our well-read colleagues a simple yet incredibly tough question:
 
What were your three favorite books you read this year?


Oh, the angst we caused our coworkers as they whittled down their lists to just their top few books! Hopefully our carefully considered staff picks will inspire additions to your Want to Read Shelf.

You'll notice that our reading habits run the gamut. But if you look carefully, you can see some office favorites emerge, including multiple picks of the Odyssey-inspired fantasy Circe.

Now it's your turn! What are your top three books of the year? Please share them with us in the comments!


Dana Epstein, Ad Sales Executive
Tony Chan, Senior Software Engineer
Suzanne Skyvara, Vice President of Communications
Katie Boyer, Marketing Manager
Megan Dormoy, Executive Assistant to CEO
Veronica Moss, Goodreads CEO
Cybil Wallace, Senior Editor
Bella Wong, Account Manager
Emily Fortner, Community Manager
Alexander Reyes, Revenue Operations Associate
David Wong, Software Developer
Mahesh Naidu, Quality Assurance Engineer
Danny Feekes, Managing Editor
Sam Julian, UX Designer
Nimmy Mathew, Software Engineering Manager
Lauren Deyce, Learning Coordinator
Lisa Jablonsky, Sales Director
Mimi Chan, Senior Marketing Manager
Margo Throckmorton, Senior Account Manager
Priscilla S. Guido, Revenue Operations
Meg McGill, Experts Program Team Manager
Jon Nguyen, Product Manager
Jaclyn Woods, Content Expert
Eric Asuncion, Account Manager
Shridhar Reddy, Product Designer
Manju Abburi, Software Development Manager
Brooke Ginnard, Visual Designer
Sandy Lo, Experts Program Manager
Steve Sarner, VP Ad Sales
Shaun Ponting, Process Specialist
Roslyn Bristow, Support Expert
Heino Colyn, Program Manager
Brian Colombini, Software Development Engineer
Alta du Plooy, Support Expert
Erin-Mari Kelsey, Program Manager
Robin-Lee Ontong, Support Expert
Your turn! What are your top three reads of 2019? Share them with us in the comments!

Check out more recent articles:
Very Short 4-Star Books for Your Reading Challenge Books
The Top 40 Book Club Picks of 2019
The Most Read Books on Goodreads in December

Comments Showing 101-150 of 363 (363 new)


message 101: by Babs (last edited Dec 17, 2019 09:10AM) (new)

Babs Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
The Huntress by Kate Quinn
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield


message 102: by Alfred (new)

Alfred Weber Diana wrote: "Max wrote: "Nice lists. I saw a couple I read. Here are my top 3:
1) The Grapes of Wrath
2) Moby Dick
3) How to Hide an Empire (a book that’s actually from 2019)"

Glad somebody likes MD. It is the..."

The Grapes of Wrath is one of my all-time favorites. Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors.


message 103: by Patti (new)

Patti Shealy Patti


message 104: by Michelle (new)

Michelle My choice for my top three reads in 2019 are:
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Where the Light Enters by Sara Donati
The Other Side of the Bridge by Camron Wright
and because I couldn't leave this one out:
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
There were so many more!! I love a year with many great books!!


message 105: by Patti (new)

Patti Shealy My top three for 2019
1.Rules of Civility Amor Towles
2. News of the World Paulette Jiles
3. The Dutch House Ann Patchett


message 106: by Sarah (new)

Sarah My top 3:

1. Catch and Kill - Ronan Farrow
2. Normal People - Sally Rooney
3. Proust's Duchess - Caroline Weber


message 107: by Susan (new)

Susan Hardesty The World That We Knew (Hoffman)
Lincoln in the Bardo (Saunders)
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (See)


message 108: by Danielle (new)

Danielle In this order:
1. Peace Like A River by Leif Enger
2. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
3. Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang


message 109: by Kevin (new)

Kevin 1. This Tender Land- William Kent Krueger
2. Recursion- Blake Crouch
3. 1Q84- Haruki Marukami


message 110: by Michael (last edited Dec 17, 2019 09:31AM) (new)

Michael Tough to choose just 3 books that I really liked this year but here goes.

The Eye of the World Robert Jordan
The Light Brigade Kameron Hurley
The Calculating Stars Mary Robinette Kowal

Can't believe it took me this long to read 'The Eye of the World". Really loved that one.


message 111: by Christine (new)

Christine Goodendorf I am also having trouble narrowing it down to just three! But I am going to go with these:

1. The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
2. Becoming by Michelle Obama
3. The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo


message 112: by Pam (new)

Pam I had lots of 5 star books this year. Favorites:
1. Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
2. American Kingpin by Nick Bilton
3. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

I also loved these recent releases: Circe; There, There; The Friend


message 113: by Barb (new)

Barb Dennee 1. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
2. The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib
3. The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
4. Becoming by Michelle Obama
I had to make it 4, too many good reads!


message 114: by Tricia (new)

Tricia Sean 1) Sing, Unburied, Sing- Jesmyn Ward
2) Stamped From The Beginning- Kendi
3) The Water Dancer- Ta-Nehisi Coates


message 115: by Connie (new)

Connie Whitcomb My top 3: This Tender Land
Pachinko
The Giver of Stars


message 116: by Rebecca (new)

Rebecca A My Top Three:
Educated
Where The Crawdads Sing
A Beautiful Blue Death


message 117: by Denise (new)

Denise Cormier Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
The Son by Philipp Meyer


message 118: by Jim (new)

Jim Jaarsma In no particular order:

-Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind|23692271][
-The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference|2612]
-Tiamat's Wrath|28335698]


message 119: by Crystal (new)

Crystal Top three from 2019

1) The Giver of Stars- JoJo Moyes
2) Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens
3) The Boys in the Boat - Daniel James Brown


message 120: by Anne (new)

Anne Feldman This list is great. Lots of new things to read.

My top three reads for this year were:
Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
One Day in December by Josie Silver.

But I also really loved Margaret Dilloway's Summer of a Thousand Pies and Casey McQuiston's Red White and Royal Blue.


message 122: by Shirley (new)

Shirley McAllister I have read 180 books this year...finding the top 3 was a hard task.

1. ) The Women of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell
2. ) Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris
3. ) The Bright Unknown by Elizabeth Byler Younts

I read so many good ones my honorable mention is
The Child of Auschwitz by Lily Graham


message 123: by Haley Anne (new)

Haley Anne My top 3 books of 2019:
-Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
-Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis
-Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi


message 124: by Jill (new)

Jill My top 3:
Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Echo by Pam Ryan Munoz


message 126: by Rachel (new)

Rachel 1. Ghost Boy
2. Caliban's War
3. Heat Rises


message 127: by Debi (new)

Debi Stranger in the Woods, Michel Finkel
The Whisper Man, Alex North
The Home for Unwanted Girls, Joanna Goodman


message 128: by Pragya (last edited Dec 17, 2019 10:31AM) (new)

Pragya My top 3:
The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2) by Holly Black
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1) by Neal Shusterman


message 129: by Elise (new)

Elise Not done reading for the year yet, but my top 3 might look something like this

1. A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
2. Age of Legend by Michael J. Sullivan
3. Recursion by Blake Crouch


message 130: by Kim (last edited Dec 17, 2019 10:37AM) (new)

Kim Y. Favorites read (not necessarily published in 2019)
1. Where the Crawdads Sing
2. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
3. The Lost Man


message 131: by Lorsula (new)

Lorsula from Lorraine
My top three books I've read in 2019 are:-

1. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

2. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

3. Lord of The Bow by Conn Iggulden


message 132: by Beth (new)

Beth Fascinating to read everyone's favourites. I need an extra brain to do all this reading! Tricky to choose but I'll go for:

1. Milkman by Anna Burns
2. Dracula by Bram Stoker
3. Factufulness by Hans Rosling


message 133: by Joanne (new)

Joanne Fate I see some books I've read and my wish list is going to get longer, but my favorite 3 from this year:

1. "The Final Frontiersman: Heimo Korth and His Family, Alone in Alaska's Arctic Wilderness" by James Campbell

2. "Black against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party" by Joshua Bloom and Waldo E. Martin, Jr.

3. "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck (which surpassed "Moby Dick" by a hair as my favorite American novel as I listened to a dozen of my all time favorite books this year)

I expect to finish 3 more books before year's end, including one that was released today!


message 134: by Sandra (new)

Sandra 1. Miss Jane - Watson


message 135: by Sandra (new)

Sandra And The star giver by Jojo Moyes. Great read!


message 136: by Jodi (new)

Jodi Gustafson Katherine wrote: "I have read a lot of good ones this year but these 3 stand out as extra special!
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert"


William Kent Krueger <3 <3


message 137: by Anissa (new)

Anissa I've read many good books this year.

My top read in 2019 (in no particular order: Wanderers by Chuck Wendig, Necessary People by Anna Pitoniak, & Skin Deep by Liz Nugent.

Honourable mention to: The Favorite Daughter by Kaira Rouda.


message 138: by Pam (new)

Pam The Bartender's Tale - Ivan Doig
City of Girls - Elizabeth Gilbert
Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith - Anne Lamott


message 139: by Fay (new)

Fay Blaney Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
Son of a Trickster By Eden Robinson
Reclaiming Power and Place : The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls


message 140: by Carolyn (new)

Carolyn War on Women - Sue Lloyd-Roberts
Bad Blood - John Carreyrou
The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett


message 141: by Laura (new)

Laura Flores My top 3 are 1. Chances Are ,..,.Richard Russo 2.The Secrets we kept Lara Prescott 3. The Guest Book Sarah Blake and so many more 2019 had Great Books looking forward to 2020


message 142: by Emily (new)

Emily I had a good book year. My top three are: 1) Circe 2) The Overstory 3) What the Wind Knows


message 143: by John (new)

John The top 3 in order:

The Dreamt Land, by Mark Arax

Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck,

Less, by Andrew Sean Greer


message 144: by mrs t j hunt (last edited Dec 17, 2019 11:17AM) (new)

mrs t j hunt 1)The five chimneys - a survivor's story
2)The light in the hallway - Amanda Prowse
3)The Planets - Proff Brian Cox
I love history and science, hence books 1 and 3
Amanda Prowse is one of my very favourite authors and have read nearly all of her books, each time within days of receiving it.


message 145: by Abigail (new)

Abigail So many good books, but my top 3 this year were:
1. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier (my all-time favorite book but I reread it this year, so that counts, right??)
2. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
3. Helen of Troy by Margaret George

I was on a Trojan War kick this year and those last two were my favorite retellings!


message 146: by Alisa (new)

Alisa Still expect to finish two more by end of the year (one currently reading and one to be selected), but my top three at this point:

1. Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
2. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
3. The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton


message 147: by Emily (new)

Emily Recently acquiring a job at my city's public library, I read more this year than I have since before college (though 27 books hardly puts a dent in my 183 (and ever growing) to-read list). I'm so glad reading is a part of my life again. I don't know how I would have survived without these three wonderful stories.

Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi Light from Other Stars by Erika Swyler There There by Tommy Orange


message 148: by Pam (new)

Pam The Heart's Invisible Furies, definitely.
The Women in the Castle
And the 3rd... hmm. Reading The Nickel Boys now, that might be it


message 149: by Justine (new)

Justine For Fiction:
1. Gone With the Wind -- Margaret Mitchell
2. The Haunting of Hill House -- Shirley Jackson
3. The House of Silk -- Anthony Horowitz

For Nonfiction:
1. The Diabetes Code -- Jason Fung
2. Lost in Math -- Sabine Hossenfelder
3. A Crack in Creation -- Jennifer Doudna


message 150: by Jen (new)

Jen My top three are
The Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mytting
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
A Fortunate Life by A. B. Facey
A hard choice but all very good books.


back to top