#Sub5orBust: Week 14 Training Update (January 21 - January 26, 2020)

Tuesday, 1/21 → Rest

Wednesday, 1/22 → 7 mile run (treadmill) + stretch

Thursday, 1/23 → Rest

Friday, 1/24 → 35 minute run (treadmill) + phase 3 lift + stretch

Saturday, 1/25 → 10 mile run
Sunday, 1/26 → Rest

Third to last week of training is COMPLETE! ✔ I'm not sure why everyone says they get "taper crazies" because honestly I'm really enjoying the extra time in my schedule to hang out with Brett, read, and do normal things that I haven't had time to get to while I've been training! Maybe I'm weird? Haha. 😂

I did my FINAL DOUBLE-DIGIT RUN of the training cycle on Saturday morning! I went out for 10 in the morning and while it was a chilly one, I felt really motivated to try and beat my 10 mile run from week 3 of training. I wanted to see if I could see any difference 11 weeks later, and I definitely did! I pushed myself harder than I think I would have if I didn't try to beat this time, but I managed to shave off a whole 4:46 of my 10-mile time! It definitely was tough (dem hillz) and my legs and lungs were burning like crazy for most of the run, but I beat my time by almost 5 minutes. I LOVE seeing results of my training written out in black and white!

I'm not sure I've ever seen that average pace over that many miles! 😱

Crazy splits as usual. You can probably tell which miles had long stretches of uphill running. 😂 

I also love that Garmin gave out a Lunar New Year badge! 🐭

I'm honestly really proud of myself for this training cycle, and I think that's the first time I've been able to say that about any marathon training cycle. I really put in a lot of hard work this time around. I really fought against making excuses and lack of motivation. There were a lot of times where spending hours at the gym or on the roads was the very last thing I wanted to do, but more often than not I pushed through. My training was by no means perfect, but I can say that I've tried my very hardest and I'm going to continue trying my hardest moving forward. My attitude has shifted when it comes to training and I can't wait to continue to see what I do as a runner.

This week I have a 3-miler, a 5-miler, and two 7-milers on the schedule. The good news I'm now done with strength training so I can just concentrate on my runs! I also plan to do lots of stretching and foam rolling (I'M SERIOUS THIS TIME 😂 ) and some research on pre-race diet. These next two weeks are critical in getting muscles stretched, diet right, and mind in a good place to toe the line on race day. We're firing on all cylinders, people! 

What I've been up to these last few weeks! // Weekly Round Up 1.19.20 - 1.25.20

Hey, team! It's been a bit since I've done a weekly round up post, even though I said I'd be bringing them into the new year with me. 😂 WOOPS! Students are back on campus which means my weeks are a bit busier now, but I think I'm back into my usual work week rhythm now which has been nice. As much as I love my time off, having a routine is definitely helpful for the ol' mental health. Anywho, here are some things that I've been up to over the last couple weeks to get ya up to speed.

The Circle on Netflix - If you aren't on this train yet I NEED YOU TO GET ON IT! I'm a big fan of reality TV and I ate this series up like candy. 8 strangers are all in an apartment building and cannot see or hear each other. The only way they can communicate is via a social networking platform called The Circle which is voice activated. The players can play as themselves OR they can play as someone else, and there's no way of knowing if they're really who they say they are. It's a simple concept but I was HOOKED! I need season 2 immediately!!!

runDisney Vlogs - With the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend happening a couple weekends ago, I've been REALLY into watchng runDisney vlogs the past couple of weeks! I love watching different people's experiences of running various runDisney events and I've been picking up a whole ton of tips and tricks that I'll definitely be using to navigate Princess Half Marathon weekend next month. I think my favorite runDisney vloggers I've found so far are TriTwinsMom and The Brookhart Project who both have done the Dopey Challenge multiple times. Dopey is on my race bucket list so these vlogs not only have gotten me amped for Princess but also for my future Dopey Challenge adventure, whenever that might be! Here's a couple vlogs for you all to check out:




Marathon Maniacs Newsletter - My photo from Newport was featured in the Marathon Maniacs quarterly newsletter! I was also featured last quarter, so it's become a bit of a tradition. 😂 I wonder if any pictures of mine will be featured next quarter? I'll be rocking my MM yellow on the NOLA course, so you never know! 💛

#BRProud - This week the BibRave Pros were challenged to take photos in our swag, so Cassie and I decided to do a bit of a photoshoot in our BibRave beanies! We even got Abby involved but I'm not sure she was too excited about it. 😂 Sorry, girl! If you'd like to snag som BibRave swag for yourself (and tbh there's some really cool stuff!), check out the BibRave Gear Shop. (That "Easier Said Than Run" tee tho... 👀) Here's a couple of my favorite snaps from yesterday:

Making a return to YouTube - ICYMI, I have started posting to YouTube again over the last couple of weeks! After giving it quite a bit of thought, I finally have felt ready to return to the platform and start making videos again. I know I'm going to be going on quite a few adventures this year and I love making videos of my travels. I also really missed making readathon vlogs which I hope to do more of in 2020! I've posted two videos so far, and you can check them out below:



This weekend I have to run 10 miles in the morning then work sorority recruitment in the evening (😳), then I'm hanging with Cassie on Sunday! I'm hoping I can finish one of the books I have on the go this weekend since it's been a while since I've finished something, and get some serious resting and stretching in. I can't believe I leave for New Orleans 2 weeks from today, but I am SO excited to kick off spring racing season!

I'M IN!!!: Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon 2020

Disclaimer: I received entry to the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

As I continue to build up my 2020 marathon calendar*, I'm noticing a severe lack of shorter distances lined up for myself. I tend to prefer stay local when it comes to non-marathon distances (because you know, MONEY) so I was thrilled when the opportunity to run the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon with Team BibRave came about! I knew I had to jump at the chance and I am so excited to say that I'll be toeing the line in Hampton Beach on October 4th wearing my very best orange gear. 🧡

The Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon has been a race I've been wanting to run since I started running long distances. It's in Hampton Beach, NH during one of the best times of the year in New England, and, from what I hear, has an *unreal* after party for its runners! Being a Southern NH girl myself, I am so excited to head back to my old stomping grounds and run along the coastline of what I will always consider to be my home state. I hope you all consider running the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon or 5K this October with me!

RUNNER PERKS

-13.1 or 3.1 miles of scenic New Hampshire coastline during one of the best times of the year in NH!

-Tired of getting a t-shirt with every race you run? Well, for this race you get a participant FLEECE! I'm so psyched about this!

-Access to the Smuttynose Rockfest after party featuring a festival including live music, beer (21+), and tons of delicious food!

It's going to be such a fun day and I cannot wait to head to Hampton Beach in the fall. I'll be sharing my training updates and more details about the race during the months leading up to October. If you're interested in registering for this race and running with me, head over to hamptonrockfest.com and use "SAVE10" for 10% off your race registration. Prices increase on Friday, January 24th so register soon for your best possible price!

*Seriously, y'all - it's getting out of hand. More on that on a later date.

#Sub5orBust: Week 13 Training Update (January 13 - January 20, 2020)

Monday, 1/13 → Rest

Tuesday, 1/14 → 5 mile run (treadmill) + stretch

Wednesday, 1/15 → Rest

Thursday, 1/16 → Rest

Friday, 1/17 → 3 mile (treadmill) + phase 3 lift + stretch

Saturday, 1/18 → 4 mile run (treadmill) + phase 3 lift + stretch
Sunday, 1/19 → 4 mile run (treadmill) + phase 3 lift + stretch + therapy gun
Monday, 1/20 → 14 mile run (treadmill) + stretch

I'M SO DANG TIRED, Y'ALL 😩

I know I'm in taper but I am SOOOOOOOOO FREAKING TIRED. It was a struggle to get myself out of bed all week last week. All I wanted to do was sleep. I'm going to choose to believe that this is my body's way of telling me that I'm doing a good job of doing the hard work of training and I need to do a better job of doing the easy work of resting. That's logical, right? 😂

Because of my tiredness I did flip around my scheduled runs a bit. Of course, I was supposed to run 14 over the weekend, but I wanted to take advantage of my days off this weekend and sleep in as much as I could. On Sunday I woke up when my watch went off at 7 (it starts pestering me to move at 7am every morning) but knowing just how tired and sore my body was, I chose to get some more sleep instead. I ended up sleeping until 10 FREAKING AM which I haven't done in a long ass time. It honestly felt so good and I know that my body needed it so much. So, instead of pushing myself to fit in the 14 miler on Sunday, I switched in my Monday workout (which is from the week 14 schedule) and then did my 14 miler on my day off yesterday. Easy peasy!

It has been truly January the last few days. I'm not a runner who will suck it up and run in single-digit weather for more than 2 or 3 miles, so yesterday - with a real feel of 5-degrees outside - I sentenced myself to 14 miles on the treadmill. It's never fun to run for that long of a distance, no matter how much Netflix or YouTube you have queued up. I've been watching a lot of runDisney vlogs from Marathon Weekend and getting so excited for our trip for Princess Weekend. I watched a few of those in addition to ultra marathoner vlogs (which always keeps me inspired). I also fueled the way I have been fueling on my long runs for the past two weeks, but for whatever reason the Clif Blocks did not sit right in my tummy yesterday. I think it might because I ate a breakfast sandwich *right* before running, but there's always a number of factors. I'm hoping it was just a fluke!

Post-long run scene of the crime.

(For those who are curious, the treadmills at Planet Fitness only allow you to exercise at 60min intervals, so it looks like I didn't go too far. Trust me, I did! 😂)

This week -- because I did my 4 mile run & phase 3 lift on Sunday -- I only have a 7 mile run tomorrow, a 35 minute run & lift on Friday, then I'm thinking I want to do my 10 mile long run on Saturday so I can just be lazy on Sunday. Friday will be my final lift day which is exciting! So proud of myself that I stuck with both my running and lifting plan during this cycle (with a few exceptions) and I'm hopeful that it will make a huge difference on race day.

19 days til I toe the line in New Orleans!

TBR: #ReadYourFaceOff 24 Hour Readathon // January 2020

This weekend is the January 2020 #ReadYourFaceOff 24 Hour Readathon and I'm so excited to finally be making a return to these monthly bookish weekends! The official readathon lasts from 9AM on the 18th in your time zone to 9AM on the 19th in your time zone, but lucky for me I get Monday off for the holiday! I'm going to extend RYFO across the three days and enjoy getting lost in some really great books. (If you want more updates for all things Read Your Face Off, check out our Twitter page!) For this weekend, I have one major focus:

Re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling!

The weather is looking like it's going to be really snowy and gross and I am in desperate need of some rest for my body, so getting lost in my very favorite Harry Potter novel is exactly the kind of weekend I need. I do have to fit in a 14 mile run and there's a good chance I'll be working on Saturday night (depending on the weather), but when I'm not doing those things I'll be reading my face off and returning to Hogwarts for the first time in over a year. I'm so excited!

 

I'm also adding The Complete Persepolis and Dear Edward back to my weekend reading list. I didn't get nearly as much reading done as I was hoping to last weekend so neither of these titles got touched. Having The Complete Persepolis on my TBR will be great to break up all of the novel-reading I will be doing, and I will be starting Dear Edward before the weekend as I'm almost done my current read - Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell. Wish me luck - hopefully I can finish all 3!

#Sub5orBust: Week 12 Training Update (January 6 - January 12, 2020)

Monday, 1/6 → Rest

Tuesday, 1/7 → Rest

Wednesday, 1/8 → 4 mile run (treadmill) + phase 3 lift

Thursday, 1/9 → 5 mile run (treadmill) + stretch

Friday, 1/10 → Rest + therapy gun on my legs

Saturday, 1/11 → 20 mile run + stretch
Sunday, 1/12 → Rest

Peak week is over and it's now time to taper! I will admit that my second 5 mile run and second phase 3 lift that was scheduled for the week did not happen. Not really sure what the deal was with that, but we're back on the horse with the first week of tapering. Tapering has historically been me just.... not running. 😂 So this time around I want to focus on:

-Continuing to hit my scheduled work outs

-Eating well and keeping junk to a minimum where I can

-Stretching and foam rolling
-Getting my mental game right; THE POWER OF POSITIVITY, Y'ALL

-Hydrating until the cows come home

I want to have a good taper this time around. It's the last four weeks of preparation before the big day and every moment counts. I can't slip back into bad habits when I'm so close. I want that sub-5!

With week 12 being peak week, I had my 20 mile run over the weekend! The forecast called for beautiful a 60-degree and sunny day on Saturday and 60-but-rainy on Sunday. The weather changed and BOTH days ended up being beautiful, but I had already planned to run on Saturday so I got the weekend off to a productive start. Again, I had a really great long run which I'm so happy about! I stuck to the fueling and hydration plan I used for my 18 miler and it still worked so well. My legs were feeling pretty tired a bit sooner on in the run, and that could be because I had done my 18 miler just 6 days before, but I still managed to stay well under the 11:26/mi target pace. I can't tell you what a confidence booster that is heading into the taper!

My splits look a bit wonky in the first few miles. I accidentally bumped the lap button on my Garmin when I stopped shortly after mile 1 to fix the hose on my Camelbak (it had a nice kink in the hose so I couldn't drink anything 😂). I didn't realize I did this until the mile 2 split didn't beep and I had to manually hit the lap button to get back on track at mile 3. RUNNER PROBS! Either way I'm still quite happy with my splits. I really tried hard to push in those later miles when I got down to that 11:26/mi split on mile 17 & 18, and it helped me feel confident enough to go a bit faster for mile 19 & 20. It always feels so good completing that last long run before the taper, and I'm really proud of Saturday's run.

So now it's the taper - arguably the trickiest part of the training cycle. The name of the game is to rest your body as much as possible while still staying active, getting stretched, eating enough but eating well, sleeping sleeping sleeping, and getting your mental focus in place. At this point I've put in the hard work and now I need it to settle into my legs (and mind!) before race day. It's a lot to manage but I'm looking forward to actually doing the things I need to do during this taper instead of turning into a coach potato for 4 weeks before my race which I've definitely done in the past. 😂 WE'RE SO CLOSE, YOU GUYS!!!

Friday Reads // 1.10.2020

Happy Friday, peeps! It's been a long-ass week. The first full week back after break is always a struggle, but you gotta re-acclimate to the routine at some point. Luckily things are pretty mellow for me at the moment, and even though I've been struggling with wanting to do ALL THE THINGS, I'm trying to embrace this downtime while I have it as it definitely won't last. 😂 Aside from a 20 mile long run I have scheduled for tomorrow (😳), there really isn't a ton going on this weekend. I do hope that it can be somewhat of a big reading weekend for me, so I thought I'd share what books I'm hoping to get to over these next three days.

Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell - I've been reading this book since November and I honestly have no idea why I put it down. I asked Twitter earlier this week if I should start a new book or continue reading a "currently reading" book for my next read, and folks voted to continue reading a "currently reading title". I picked this back up yesterday morning and immediately fell back into the narrative. I'm not sure if I'm just craving non-fiction lately or if this book is just going to become a favorite of mine (maybe both?) but I'm excited to continue on with this title and hopefully finish it early on this weekend.

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi - It is extremely coincidental that the month that I put this title on my TBR that the US is all of the sudden in majorly scary conflict with Iran. I bumped this title up to the top of my list because I feel like it's important to try to understand cultures and people that might be getting painted as "the enemy" in the media. I really don't know much about Iranian culture but I hope reading a graphic memoir about an Iranian family will help present a different perspective.

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano - This is my BOTM December Box pick, and I wanted to make sure I was getting this started before we got too deep into the month as it's one of my goals for 2020 to read from my most recent BOTM box each month! From what I've heard, this is a really heart wrenching novel about a young boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash and his journey to deal with the loss of everything while captivating the entire nation. I feel like this book with be a gut-punch and I am so intrigued to pick it up and start reading. 

Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch - Since all of the other books on this list are extremely serious and sometimes sad, I really needed to incorporate a light-hearted YA contemporary to the mix! I've been utilizing OverDrive a bunch to take out audiobooks from the library, and when I saw that Love & Luck was available (sequel to the super cute Love & Gelato), I knew I had to snap it up. I'm going to definitely start listening to this on my commute home tonight, and likely listen to a bunch of the story during my long run tomorrow!

What are you reading this weekend?

Out of Control

I took the day off of blogging yesterday for the first time since late November and it felt SO WEIRD! It was nice to not have to force myself to try to think of something to blog about - I'm back to the normal daily work grind and things are fairly boring - but it definitely felt like part of my routine was missing and I did feel a bit off. So we're back to writing & posting today! 😂

I'll admit that I'm a bit of a control freak. I'm a big BIG believer in taking action in your own life and not just letting things happen for you, so my natural instinct is to try and take steps towards achieving the things I want to achieve at all times. At this point in time, however, I'm feeling a little (a lot) out of control. I have ideas of where I'd like my life to be at this point and time and they're not there yet, and that's not because I haven't done the things I believe I have to do in order to get there. It's mostly due to other factors in my life having to fall into place *first* which are beyond my control. It's a scary feeling and dealing with it is a really big challenge for me. Does anyone else ever feel this way?

I think when I feel like this the best thing for me to do is focus on the smaller things in my life that I can take control of - blogging, working out, reading... Things that make me feel like I'm accomplishing something productive (because I am!) and can scratch that itch of needing to take charge of things. While the big things may still be on my mind, I can at least give more attention to the smaller things in life that may fly under the radar while I'm working toward my bigger goals.

In the meantime, I've been getting SO excited for my February races! I'll be in New Orleans in less than a month for the Rock n' Roll New Orleans Marathon weekend, and a few weeks after that I'll be down in Orlando with Cassie for the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend! I just received all the pieces for my costumes for both the Enchanted 10k and the Princess Half which has gotten me so much more excited. You won't be getting a glimpse of my costumes until we're much closer to the race, but I have been looking at runDisney costumes online all week in my excitement for the big weekend. I wanted to share some of my absolute favorites!

I'm not sure if these first two are runDisney costumes, but they are amazing nonetheless and I would LOVE to see either one of these out on the course! 😂

"I AM MRS. NESBITT!!!"

Is it me or what this character the most terrifying Disney character to date? 😂

This last one is definitely a runDisney costume and probably the best costume I've EVER seen. I practically did a spit take at how genius this is!:

With this weekend being WDW Marathon weekend, I'll be following along with all of the runners on social and getting myself even more hyped for Princess Weekend. It's going to be such a blast! I'm especially going to be following along with the folks who will be attempting the Dopey Challenge as that is one (four of?) of my bucket list races. Hopefully Cassie and I can make our Dopey attempt sometime in the next few years!

Tonight I'm back on the running horse after my 18 miler that left me in shreds, and I'm hoping to wrap up reading Bunny which has honestly been one of the weirdest books I've ever read. 😂 Really trying to embrace this low-key time as much as possible as I know as soon as January's over my life will be action-packed until May!

What are some things you're looking forward to?

What do you do when you feel a little "out of control"?

#Sub5orBust: Week 11 Training Update (December 31, 2019 - January 5, 2020)

Tuesday, 12/31 → 6 mile run (treadmill) + phase 3 lift

Wednesday, 1/1 → Rest

Thursday, 1/2 → Rest

Friday, 1/3 → 6 mile run (treadmill)

Saturday, 1/4 → 3 mile run (elliptical) + phase 3 lift
Sunday, 1/5 → 18 mile run

I think it's safe to say I'm back on the horse. Motivation is still a bit of a struggle (maybe it will always be for me!) but my workouts are feeling good and challenging - right where I need them to be. It is noticeably more packed in the gym these days which makes me feel happy that so many people are getting out and moving their bodies, but equally a little stressed because it's not as easy to do my workouts the way I would like to. On Saturday all the treadmills were taken so I rocked my 3 miles out on the elliptical. 😂 Not *technically* the same thing but it got the job done. I've also started phase 3 of my strength training and it's KICKING MY ASS.

It's a circuit where I need to move around the gym a little bit to get all of my exercises in, so I'm always slightly concerned that someone is going to see an unattended stability ball and take it to use on their own. 😂 This circuit is super tough but I'm actually really loving it! I feel like I'm getting an amazing workout and I feel like it does a lot to strengthen my lower body.

I've been doing my short and mid-distance runs at 10min/mi pace this week and I feel like with quicker paced short runs + my strength training, I really saw results on my long run yesterday! I really tried to focus on my fueling and hydration plan on this run. I pre-gamed with a salt tablet (these have honestly been a game changer for my long runs), English muffin with chocolate hummus, and a banana. I then made sure to hydrate every mile, took a gel or blocks every 45 minutes, and a salt tablet every hour. It was actually nice to have something to remember to do at certain times of my run and it made the miles go by faster, and I felt great for most of the run! I will say that I didn't take in any fuel for the last hour or so of the run (just water) and I was definitely feeling it at the end. Just goes to show, fueling is important, y'all!

In addition to my fueling/hydration plan, I tried to really focus on maintaining a good pace. In order to hit sub-5 on race day, I need to maintain an 11:26/mi pace, so on this run I tried to keep myself slower than a 10:15 and faster than a 11:26. I'm still getting the hang of pacing and I still feel like I my splits were a little all over the place. However, focusing on my pacing made my run enjoyable and I felt pretty strong nearly all the way through! You'll see I get pretty tired for the last 3 miles but hopefully that's to be expected when you run that far. 😂 I am THRILLED with the pace I ended up with (10:42/mi!) and am so proud with my ability to maintain for the entire run!

I always always always get the long-run-scaries these days. I always doubt myself for some reason and I have a long way to go with my mental game (it's an every day battle!). Saturday night before this run I felt really bad and my nerves were going crazy, so to be able to perform the way I did yesterday makes me feel really great. I have my 20 mile long run this weekend and I hope that I can remember how good this 18 miler felt and bring a little bit of confidence into my longest run of this cycle. Fingers crossed that I can duplicate these efforts! 🤞

I basically spent the rest of the day yesterday in bed because (fun stuff) I ended up chafing THE FUCK out of my thighs on this run. I was wearing a pair of fleece-lined leggings for the first time (since it was windy and in the 30s!) and I have lived to regret that decision greatly. I'll get some thigh chafing on most of my long runs but this was next fucking level. 😭 So I'm on the mend for the next few days while I shop for much better leggings. Luckily Brett is the sweetest guy and was nice enough to make me some post-run food and deliver it to me in bed while I was in agony. 😂 Lessons learned, people!

Week 12 is PEAK WEEK! I have a 4 miler, two 5 milers, and a 20 miler to get under my belt, plus two phase 3 lifts. Then it's time to taper! I really need to start stretching and/or foam rolling (both if we're being honest with ourselves here) so I'm going to challenge myself to work in one or both every day for the rest of training. I need to make sure my legs are at their best so they can perform their best on race day. I leave for New Orleans a month from tomorrow - SO CRAZY!!!

Favorite Books of 2019

It's finally time to share with you all what my favorite books of 2019 were! As I logged off of BookTube a little over half way through the year, this list is probably more of a mystery than it has been in year's past, but I love curating this list each year and sharing what my top reads were. Before we dive in to my top reads of the year, I wanted to share some stats with y'all:

2019 Reading by the Numbers

-I read a total of 112 books and 38,459 pages, averaging at 343 pages per book.

-It took me an average of 3 days to finish a book.

-I averaged 9 books per month and 3,205 pages per month.

-I read the most books in June at 30 books, and I read the least books in March, August, and October at 4 books.

-I read the most pages in June at 8,350 and the least pages in March at 1,172.

-My average star rating was 3.8 (which is actually higher than I thought it would be!).

-The genre I read the most was Contemporary at 37 and the genre I read the least was Historical Fiction at 1.*

-The format that I read most of my books was Physical at 68 and the format I read the least was Kindle at 3.*

-The age group I read the most was Adult at 44 and the age group I read the least was Middle Grade at 4.*

-I ended the year with 7 books on my "Currently Reading" shelf.

*For those curious, here were some genres/formats/age groups I read 0 books from, but I just didn't count those for the sake of these stats! 

I always think it's so cool to see how my reading year has turned out by looking at various statistics! I feel like I had a better reading year than I originally thought, and it's encouraging to see that I can still make time to read when the going gets tough. Crazy! For those that might be wondering, I've been using this tracking spreadsheet made by Sophie from Portal in the Pages for years. I've since modified it here and there to make it work for me, but I think this is a great base if you're looking for something to capture a lot of information about your reading. She has published newer versions of this sheet which might also work better for you so feel free to compare and find what fits your needs! 

I also wanted to share my GoodReads Year in Books with you all, for those that are curious! I always love looking at the end of the year stats on GoodReads as well which automatically captures data that I don't usually track, as well as shows *all* of the books you read within a year. I think this end of year wrap up is the main reason why I participate in the GoodReads reading challenge every year. 😂

And without further ado, let's talk about my favorite books of the year! I tend to not cap my favorites list at any particular number so I usually end up with a weird number of favorite books. This year I had 12! I order this list in order of when I read each book because ranking them is just too difficult as they're all so different. Either way, I totally recommend you check out each and every one of these books because they are all incredible in their own ways!

Favorite Books of 2019

The Line That Held Us by David Joy - This book was SO TENSE. This is one of those books where you're in the shoes of a character that is up against a wall, and any misstep would mean his doom. I was on edge the entire time reading this and while it can get quite graphic at times, I could not look away. I have always said that if a book can make me react to the story in some kind of physical way, then it's a 5-star read, and this is a story that will make you tense up your entire body any make you feel sick to your stomach. And if you're a fan of thrillers, you'll love every second of it! If you're looking for a thriller that will keep the pages turning, check out The Line That Held Us.

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi - This one is on my favorites list because I don't think I've ever related to a character in a novel more than I related to the main character, Penny. She's an awkward ball of anxiety that has trouble feeling comfortable in her own skin. She wants nothing more than to be seen and feel understood by the people in her life, and is trying her hardest to accomplish that. While I'm older than Penny is by about 10 years, I so understand that feeling and was going through the same things she goes through when I was a freshman in college. I really enjoyed Mary H.K. Choi's writing style as she makes her characters really dynamic and complex, which I think is rare in a lot of YA novels. I can't wait to read more of her work!

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman - You know how when you stumble across one of those books that you love so much that it sometimes gives you butterflies to think about? This is that book for me. I ADORED this story and these characters oh so much. My heart broke when their hearts broke, I swooned when they swooned - I felt every single emotions that these characters felt and I just wanted the best for them so much. I had no idea how much I would love this story but I truly did and I now need to read Practical Magic and every book ever written by Alice Hoffman. 😂

No Exit by Taylor Adams - This was another SUPER intense thriller which I could not put down. I love thrillers where the stakes are as high as they possibly can be over a short period of time, and this 100% fits that bill. There is truly no predicting what might happen by the end of this story and I feel like there were twists until the last 2 pages. I honestly felt a little out of breath by the time I turned the final page! If you're looking for something extremely gripping and fast paced with characters that you're not sure if you can trust, look no further. I highly recommend reading this in the wintertime as well, because it has a lot to do with getting snowed in and would make it that more scary! (Thought to be fair, I read this in the middle of May and was still just as spooked!)

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli - THIS IS SUCH A PERFECT YA NOVEL!!! Becky Albertalli is so good at creating such honest and accurate YA characters that handle problems the way a teen would actually handle a problem. I thought this book explored the ideas of high school friendships, romantic relationships, and sex in such an honest and true way. I remember being 16/17 years old and feeling the same ways that the main character Molly feels throughout this book. At the same time, Albertalli tells the story in such a way that I fully enjoyed reading this book at age 29 as well. I so wish I had The Upside of Unrquited in my hands when I was in high school, but I'm so glad that I had the chance to read it as an adult. 10/10 YA novel. Would recommend 100%!

Heartstopper vol. 1 & vol. 2 by Alice Oseman - Okay this is the *cutest* stinkin' graphic novel series I've ever read. I believe more volumes are going to be released, but even the first two books are so adorable that you could melt into a puddle and I practically did. This is an adorable love story between two high school boys and talks about their budding relationship in the somewhat scary environment of their all-boys school. This is an extremely lighthearted story but it still tackles some really tough topics like coming to terms with your sexuality, abusive relationships, and navigating what it's like to come out to your loved ones. I absolutely loved this series and I'm looking forward to any/all future installments!

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne - This book had been sitting on my TBR shelf for YEARS and I knew I was going to be so mad at myself for putting it off as long as I did. Lo and behold, I was right. I absolutely loved this heart wrenching book oh so much. It's a story of a little boy named Bruno who is the son of a high-ranking member of the Nazi military and his family lives right outside of Auschwitz, as his father is in charge of running the camp. He doesn't really understand what's happening, and because it's written in Bruno's perspective, he is telling the story in a way that a nine-year-old would understand it. He doesn't realize the atrocities that are being committed just over the fence. It's a heartbreaking story in all the ways you would imagine it to be, and if you haven't had the opportunity to read it yet, please do.

Recursion by Blake Crouch - BLAKE 👏 CROUCH 👏 IS 👏 SO 👏 GOOD! This is the second year in a row that one of his novels has wound up on my favorites list and he has officially sealed his status as an auto-buy author for me. Just like Dark Matter, this book was so cool. It had elements of both memory alteration and time travel. Crouch creates ideas and worlds that you just want to get lost in and it makes it so hard to put down. As soon as I finished this book I instantly bought a copy for my friends Erin & Cullen to enjoy because they also loved Dark Matter, and I also got Cassie hooked on both books this year as well. I can't wait for him to publish his next book, whenever that might be!!!

Bloom by Kevin Panetta & Savanna Ganucheau - Bloom was another one of those super adorable, so-cute-you-want-to-cry graphic novels about falling in love, making mistakes and learning from them, and also lots and lots of baking. 🥐 The story is very simple, but you see so much learning and growing from the main character, Ari, that it feels like you get to know him so well and you just want him to be happy. Through a tough year, I was really drawn to these super lighthearted graphic novels, and this one in particular made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. This is a book you could easily just fall into and it will warm your heart right up!

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emie Lang - One of my favorite things a book can do is take place over the course of a lifetime, and this one fit that bill so beautifully. We see the development of Weylyn Grey and his strange powers through the many people who crossed paths with him throughout his life. We see him struggle to maintain a normal life and be rejected by many, but so loved by a few core people across several decades. This is an incredible story of growth, acceptance, and both familial and romantic love, with many magical elements weaved throughout the story. I absolutely loved this book and if you're looking for a story that will totally sweep you away, you should pick this one up soon.

Fullmetal Alchemist vol. 25-27 by Hiromu Arakwa - This is the final volume of the Fullmetal Alchemist series and I am so please with the way it ended! It's so difficult to end any series in a satisfying way, especially one that is 27 freaking volumes long, but Hiromu Arakawa did a great job of taking her time and telling this story is the right way and making it feel truly complete with the finale. I needed to have this final volume on the list of my favorites of 2019 as I will always remember this as the year I finally completed the series that I loved so much. The list would not feel complete without it!