My #newyearsresolution in 2018 was to read more.

My goal was an achievable 12 books which was also paired with a ban on podcasts during daily subway commutes. By summer I switched to a backpack so a heavy load would never be an excuse to not have a book of any size with me and I hit a stride of more than one book a week. And here I am on the last day of the year looking back at the 70 (!!!) books I’ve read: 34 library books, 14 used books, 10 new, 7 books that were on our shelves already, and 7 generously gifted to me. Fiction ruled the year. Post-apocalyptic and anthropomorphic shape shifting.

My favorite books I read this year were:

• Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
• The Changeling by Joy Williams
• M Train by Patti Smith
• An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
• How To Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan
• Eleanor Oliphant is Completly Fine by Gail Honeyman
• Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
• American Veda by Phillip Goldberg
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

For 2019, I would like to keep my pace. I’m trying to build an appreciation for poetry, read more from the authors I’ve enjoyed this last year, and read more from women writers as well as A.O.C. who’s lives and experiences are different than mine.

Big shout out to the NYPL — making learning and reading accessible to all New Yorkers and allowing me to explore genres and wonderful books which I wouldn’t ordinarily pick up!

What were your favorites???