This year was not a good reading year. I hit a slump and I just didn't feel like reading much at all. I've read 21 books and here are my top 3.

1. Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney. (This was my book of the summer. I just love the writing and I can't put it down)

2. I Hope You Stay by Courtney Peppernell (The best poetry book I've read so far)

3. Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman (An oldie but a goodie)

It's that time of the year again where I select my top 5 books of the year. This year I have read 95 book!  The most number of books I have read in my life. It's pretty amazing. I enjoyed a lot of poetry this year and I wonder how that will change in 2020. But without further a do,  here are my top 5 books of 2019.

1. Becoming by Michelle Obama (Hands down the best book I've read this year. What strike me the most is how raw and honest she is about how she feels to be on the spotlight, on finding her place, of being a woman along side her husband. Highly recommend this to everyone.)

2. Before We Were Strangers by Renee Carlino (Beautifully written and it has all the feels I needed in a book. I remember just enjoying this and I can't put it down. It was that good. Worth a reread.)

3. Please Don't Go Before I Get Better by Madisen Kuhn (A poetry written by a young lady that is so raw and real.)

4. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy (Everyone should read this! It's a quick read but it's magical and it makes you think about life too.)

5. Unfiltered by Lily Collins (I'm surprise by how much I enjoy this book. Perhaps because I can relate to her a lot and her book resonates with me.)

If you want to read about my past top books here are the links. 2018 - Goodreads
2017 - Goodreads, 2016  - Goodreads , 2015 - Goodreads, 2014 - Goodreads.

This year I only read 11 books, definitely the lowest number in the last 3 years. I just couldn't get myself around reading because I was focused on exploring other creative activities. Hopefully in 2019 I get to read more. In the meantime, here are my top 5 books of 2018.

This year I'm proud to say that I have read 28 books. Whoohoo! In the past 2 years I've only read 18 books and I think reading graphic novels and poetry help up my number. You can see all the books I've read in Goodreads here.  So what made it to my top 5 of 2017? Here are the books in order.

1. Turtles All The Way Down by John Green (Damn this book gives me all the feels and it's hands down my top book of 2017)

2. Naked Human by Christopher Poindexter (His works just speaks to me so much that at one point I want to get a tattoo of his work.)

3. Note To Self by Connor Franta (This book is very relatable and I like that it's a mixture of photographs, poetry and essays.)

4. Love and Gelato by Jenna Evan Welch  (I wasn't expecting to love this book as much but I did and it makes me want to visit Florence and Tuscany after reading it.)

5. The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon (The plot is everything and I remember enjoying the characters and the twist and turn of the events.)

Runner Ups:
1. The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas (It's the first book of it's kind that I've read it speaks volume about racism, politics and violence)

2. Little Black Book by Otegha Uwagba (A very useful and informative book for any working women)

If you want to read about my past top books here are the links. 2016  - Goodreads , 2015 - Goodreads, 2014 - Goodreads.

1. A book made into a move you've already seen
2. True crime
3. The next book in the series you started
4. A book involving a heist
5. Nordic Nor
6. A novel based on a real person
7. A book set in a country that fascinates you
8. A book with a time in a day in the title
9. A book about a villain or antihero
10. A book about death or grief
11. A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym
12. A book with an LGBTQ + protagonist
13. A book that is also a stage play or musical
14. A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you
15. A book about feminism
16. A book about mental health
17. A book you borrowed or was given to you as a gift
18. A book by two authors
19. A book about or involving a sport
20. A book by a local author
21. A book with your favorite colour on the title
22. A book with alliteration on the title
23. A book about time travel
24. A book with a weather element in the title
25. A book set in a sea
26. A book with an animal in the title
27. A book set on a different planet
28. A book with a song lyric in the title
29. A book about or set in a Halloween
30. A book with a character who are twins
31. A book mentioned in another book
32. A book from a celebrity book club
33. A childhood classic you've never read
34. A book that is published in 2018
35. A past Goodreads Choice Awards Winner
36. A book set in a decade you were born
37. A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to
38. A book with an ugly cover
39. A book that involves a bookstore or a library
40. A favorite prompt from 2015, 2016 or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges
41. A bestseller from that year you graduated in high school
42. A cyberpunk book
43. A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place
44. A book tied to your ancestry
45. A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title
46. An allegory
47. A book by an author with the same first or last name as you
48. A microhistory
49. A book about a problem facing society today
50. A book recommended by someone else taking the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

It's that time of the year again! This year I've read a total of 18 books same as how I did back in 2015.  No shame on that because clearly it wasn't my top priority nonetheless I've read some pretty awesome books. If you want to know my top 5 books of 2015 and top 10 of 2014 you can check it out over on that link.

This year I'm ranking them in order, 1 being my most favourite. So which books made the cut?

1. Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (OMG this book is just my FAVOURITE. I love the characters so much that I can't believe it's a stand alone. I can't wait for her next book to come out which is The Upside of Unrequited due on April 2017.)

2. The Plant-Based Journey by Lani Muelrath (This books has helped me A LOT. She doesn't only give you information why we should eat a plant based diet but also she maps out how you can incorporate it into your life, from prepping at home to eating out to strengthening your mind to overcome challenges as you begin your transition, this book is just a gem)

3. November 9 by Colleen Hoover (There's definitely an unexpected twist but if you've read Colleen Hoover's books for awhile you know that's her writing style. Luckily for me I don't read much of her works so it was a good surprise.)

4. This Modern Love by Will Darbyshire (This book reminds me that there's love in the world despite heartbreaks and false anticipation that we tend to have when we're beginning to love someone.)

5.  Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas  (It took me a while to finish this book but what makes it interesting is the love triangle between the characters.)

And oh! How well did I did on my 2016 reading challenge? I read 14 books out of 40! LOL barely half but it was a good challenge!

I saw this on Pinterest and I figured since I'm getting back into the reading bandwagon that this would be a good way to broaden my reading horizon and try on different genres that I probably won't tap on myself. So let me get my reading hat on ready and let's get right into it!

2015 wasn't the best reading year. I read a total of 18 books compared to 28 books back in 2014. And the quality of books I've read aren't all that great, mostly short poems and biography. Sad times but hey I still manage to read some amazing contemporary and started reading Harry Potter! I'm planning to continue on reading it but for now I feel like getting myself into more contemporary feels. Let's see where 2016 readings will take me but for now let me share with you my top 5 books on 2015 in no particular order.

Since You've Been Gone - Morgan Matson
Paper Towns - John Green
The Girl On The Train - Paula Hawkins
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
The Perk's of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

One of the very first book I read this year is All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. Normally I don't read a lot of young adult books but what draws me to this was its premise. It's story about mental illness and depression, about Violet and Finch who met on the ledge of the school bell tower when one of them supposedly wanted to commit suicide.

It might sound a bit off for some of you but this book really talks about what life is from a young adult's perspective, in which I believe we can all relate to. Needless to say, this book brought tears to anyone to reads it.

"I know life well enough to know you can't count on things staying around or standing still, no matter how much you want them to." - Finch

photo via barnes and noble

I've seen this book quite a number of times but I always give it a miss. Mainly because I thought it's just a dictionary all about love as the title suggest but it turns out there's more to it. It's a story but not a story.

This book makes you feel. The words may not exactly be the simplest but the writer makes it easy to read. He weaves in a story that makes the book all the more intriguing. I couldn't put this one down probably because it allows me to feel a lot of emotions that is very much relatable. If there's one book that I highly recommend for you to read it's definitely this. And surely it's going to be one of my top books of 2015.

photo via pop sugar and djamesauthor

I find myself reading a lot of poetry lately. Perhaps because I find that I could relate to it more compared to a fantasy or contemporary read. It also allows me to connect with the writer in a more in-depth way as  he observes love, relationship and his views of the world.

I'm pretty sure someway, somehow you've already come across Robert M. Drake or more popularly known as r.m. drake. He is one of the few authors who can really describe and capture the essense of human emotion without it being too dreamy or unrealistic.

In this book he uses a lot of earthly metaphors such as the sun, moon, stars, fire and nature to describe a feeling or a relationship. But then as I read along, it kind of gets too repetitive and that's where I start feeling a bit off about it. Nonetheless, I still suggest you grab this book. It's beautifully written and it's a good read when you just want to have a sweet escape.

photo by goodreads

I wasn't so sure how I feel about John Green after reading The Fault In Our Stars. I just find the story way too young and too predictable. I figured since everyone was reading it, I thought I'd give it ago. It turns out, it wasn't my cup of tea but thanks to the movie, John Green relieved himself to me and I figured perhaps I just wasn't reading the book properly.

I grab one of his book again, took my time and surprisingly, I did enjoy it. It reminded me how it was like to be young and be free. How there were less responsibilities back then and how little fears we have aside from just getting a passing grade. But now we tend to hold ourselves back because of fear. Like I can't do this because of this or I can't do that because of this. Whatever the reasons are we just forget how to live and we don't realise that there is more to life than where we are.

In short, we forget how to dream and live in those dreams and this book tells you otherwise. One of my favourite quotes from the book is "Nothing ever happens like you imagine it will… but then again, if you don't imagine, nothing ever happens at all." Yup, I'm a total John Green convert. Now on to the next.

photo via: zahid-c and risarodil

If there's one book last year that I didn't expect to enjoy was The Rosie Project. I wasn't so sure whether the buzz was even worth the read but after constantly seeing it and the cover looking so plain adorable, (Yes, I'm one of those girls that judge a book by it's cover. Don't judge me.) I decided to pick it up and give it a go.

True enough I wasn't disappointed, in fact it was quite entertaining. Two different personalities gel into one story was definitely something I haven't read before. Think about it as the Geek and the Beauty but beauty with brains that is. I don't want to give too much away because it's best to go into it without knowing anything. I didn't even read the plot when I first read it. But rest assured that I didn't give this book 5 out of 5 stars for nothing.

photo credit

1. Daughter of Smoke and Bones - Laini Taylor
2. The Paris Wife - Paula Mclain
3. Cinder - Marissa Meyer
4. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour  - Morgan Matson 
5. The Rosie Project - Don Tillman
6. The Paris Letters - Janice Macleod
7. City of Heavenly Fire - Cassandra Clare
8. Clockwork Princess - Cassandra Clare 
9. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
10. Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

• That's the thing about pain. It demands to be felt.
• I fell in love the way you sleep; slowly then all at once.
• Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.
• The marks that human leave are too often scars.
• Because you are beautiful. I enjoy looking at beautiful people. And I decide awhile ago not to deny myself the simple pleasures of existence. 
• You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world...but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.
• Some people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them," I said. "Right, of course. But you keep the promise anyway. That's what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway."
• Books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.