In January 2019, I blogged about the sixteen books which I’d read or dipped into during 2018 (My Year of Books). I’m a bedtime reader and often doze off with a book on my nose. Which is why I’m happy to report there were another sixteen fiction and nonfiction titles in my bedside books for 2019.
In last year’s blog post, I listed all the books I’d read with extracts from reviews I’d published on the writers’ website, Tall And True, or comments I’d posted about them to social media. I’m going to do similar this year, but only for my five favourites from 2019. It wasn’t easy to narrow down the list to five, but hopefully, this will give me more time for writing and reading.
Note: One of the titles below is missing from my 2019 bedside books photo because I’ve loaned it to a friend.
Also, click on a cover photo to learn more about a book or to buy it on Amazon.com.au — doing so helps support my blog posts.
All That I Am by Anna Funder
Beneath the Willow by Michael J Murphy
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton
Stasiland by Anna Funder
Do I have a number one among my favourites for 2019? Well, yes, but it’s from outside the five listed above. And it’s a favourite not because of the book itself (although I loved reading it), but for its inscription:
The Beatles 1962-1969 From Liverpool to Abbey Road by Ernesto Assante
Books bring so much joy to my life. I love reading and reviewing them, I love giving them as gifts, and I love receiving them, especially when they come with a message of thanks.
One month into the new year, and my pile of unread bedside books is already growing. Perhaps I need to go to bed earlier, so I can stop dozing off mid-chapter and read more books in 2020?
© 2020 Robert Fairhead
NB. This blog post is also published on the Tall And True. And you might like to read a selection of my books reviews on my blog.

About RobertFairhead.com
Welcome to the blog posts and selected writing of a middle-aged dad and dog owner. Among other things, Robert is an editor and writer at Tall And True, an online showcase and forum for writers, readers and publishers. In 2020, he published his first collection of short stories, Both Sides of the Story (available from Amazon).
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