As we draw to the end of not just the year, but the decade, I thought I’d put together a list of my top reads, best books, all time favourites, you name it, here it is. Fifteen of them, because narrowing it down to ten proved just that bit too hard, and they’re in no particular order – unless you count the order in which they popped into my head.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tart (2013)
The Dutch House by Anne Patchett (2019)
Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver (2018)
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton (2019)
The Good People by Hannah Kent (2016)
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman (2012)
Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan (2018)
The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal (2018)
The Signature of all Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (2013)
The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth (2013)
The Second Cure by Margaret Morgan (2018)
Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss (2014)
We Are All Made of Stars by Rowan Coleman (2015)
Euphoria by Lily King (2014)
Skylarking by Kate Mildenhall (2016)
Theresa Smith Writes 
Well done, Theresa, as I said before, I can’t even begin to think about this at the moment…
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Coming up with my top reads for this year is a different story. That will prove more challenging – I’ve read some great ones this year.
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Ooh fantastic list! I can’t imagine this was an easy pick, so well done you! Some of my all-time favourites here too, as well as some I haven’t read … so now I’m off to update my library holds! Have a wonderful holiday season, Theresa, and all the best for 2020. xo
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Thanks Kim! Not easy to narrow it down to this but it was fun.
I hope you and yours have a wonderful festive season as well, and thank you for your support of the blog. I really appreciate it. xox
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I love this list. I think Kate Forsyth’s The Wild Girl is too frequently overlooked so I was really pleased to see it on here!
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Oh, I agree! I’ve read all of Kate’s books and that remains my favourite. It really moved me.
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I’ve read quite a few of these and they’re very good. It must have been so hard to narrow it down. I’m thinking of Sofie Laguna’s The Choke. I’d probably put that on my list, if indeed I had a list. I’ll have to have a really good think. So hard!
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It was very hard! 😁 I had to cool off and cull three times. The Choke was actually one I initially included, funny enough!
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I’ve been thinking long and hard since I read your post and have concluded that you were very strong and brave to even cull down to the list you produced. I just can’t seem to do it. Good work.
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😁 At least you tried!
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I haven’t read most of these, I loved Becoming Mrs Lewis and The Second Cure, both curtesy of you. I didn’t think The Light Between Oceans was fantastic or The Good People, but I was definitely in the minority for those ones. I do want to check out The Goldfinch and The Dutch House, and have Trent Dalton’s one on my kindle that I’ll eventually get to. My list will go up next week, it was a hard call.
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I love it when someone reads books I love and ends up loving them too. I’m keen to see your list!
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Very different to yours
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Even better! Who wants to keep reading the same list? 🤷♀️😁
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I love this post! I also admire you for putting it together, I would find it so hard to reduce the list to 15, so well done again!
There are some familiar and not so familiar ones on this list. A few I definitely need to check out!
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You just have to not overthink it, go with your gut, and forget about knowing any of the authors. Otherwise you fall into the trap of picking books to be nice.
But I’d love to see your favourites. 😍
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That’s a great tip, I should go with what immediately comes to mind and not my connection to the authors. Fabulous list again! I’ll keep plugging away…!
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Love this list (we’ll agree to disagree on the Kent, although Burial Rites would make my list of the decade). Pleased that The Dutch House is there because I’m saving it to read on Boxing Day 🙂 You’ve made me start thinking about what my own list of the decade would look like…
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I liked Burial Rites too but I have this weird Irish folk/historical fiction thing that I can’t seem to shake, so it nudged over.
Honestly, Confession with Blue Horses should be on this list but I was worried about being too 2018/2019 heavy. But you can consider it number 16. 😁
Enjoy The Dutch House. One of those books I want to read for the first time again.
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Confessions is on my summer reading list so now I’m doubly happy.
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It’s top of the 2019 list!
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I’m with you Kate on the Kent book.
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😂🤷♀️
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Great list, I really enjoyed seeing your favourites of the decade. I haven’t read many of your selections, but definitely agree with you on The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.
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Will you be putting a list together? I’d love to see what’s on it.
The Signature of all Things – it’s destined to be a classic one day…I hope!
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I might consider a list like yours around NYE (like Shelleyrae) but I have to do my Top 5 list for 2019 before that. I did a double take to see your comment about The Choke, did you see the review I published today? LOL
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Not yet, no. Bracing myself! 😁
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Oh that’s good, if you haven’t read it yet it means we’re still friends 😉
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🙈🙉🙊
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Well done, and a great list!
I’m going to give it some thought for a New Year’s Eve post 🙂
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That’s a good idea. I’ll look out for it. 😊
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Wow, a list of a decade! I can’t even remember what I read this year! I love lists like this, they always provide good inspiration. Can’t wait to read The Dutch House. I must admit *whispers*, I wasn’t that keen on The Goldfinch, though.
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You aren’t the only one. It’s 50/50 with The Goldfinch. I read it with an online book club and I was the ONLY ONE out of fifteen people to finish it, much less love it. 🤷♀️
I hope you love The Dutch House as much as I did.
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Huh, quite remarkable that you were the only one who finished The Goldfinch out of 15. I didn’t consider to DNF, it wasn’t that bad 😉 , but I liked The Secret History so much better.
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I bought The Secret History immediately after I finished but still haven’t read it!
I think it was the length, in the end, that stopped them. But it was disappointing and really killed the book chat.
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Okay I’m a little surprised that I have actually only read 4 of the books that made your list! Some I haven’t even heard of, so I’m definitely going to have rectify that and soon. Some are on my TBR pile…..some are on my wishful thinking TBR pile, aka books I will never get to but pretend I will! I actually should try and do this, at some stage before 2019 closes out.
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So am I?! 😱 Now I really want to see your list. How funny if it ends up with me having only read four off yours?
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Oh man, I’ve not read any of those and I’ve only heard of four of the 15 books on your list. They all sound interesting and I hope one day I can read them all. I absolutely loved Burial Rites but I’ve heard The Good People is even better, and I can’t wait to read Boy Swallows Universe. I always put together my top reads for each year just for myself but I also have an all time favourites list and To Kill a Mockingbird has just been added to it.
Loved reading your list, Theresa, always fun to see what books other people choose and love.
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You’ve read none of them? 😱😂
Thanks, I too enjoy seeing the lists people put together.
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Wow! A round up of the decade! That’s very ambitious. I’m thrilled that I’ve only read 3 of these. Now I can add all the others to my TBR 😊
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😁🙌 I like the sound of that! Do you think you’ll do a list of the decade?
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Oh! This list is SO you! I love it! And I’m so in awe of how you managed to narrow it down – I’m not sure that I could! 😅
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Ha! I love how you can see me in it. 😁 I had to be ruthless…
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