My Chirstmas (book) wishlist

This year has been one of the best years measured in the number of books I have read. I started using Goodreads only around a year ago but I have been keeping track of the books that I've read during the years since I went to university. This year is definitely going to be a record year.

Last week I finished my 24th book of the year, and the next additions to that list are lining up. I am especially excited about Barack Obama's new book that was just released. 29 hours of him telling his side of the story. You bet I'm listening it.

Anyways. We have this tradition with my mom (also a reader) that I give her a list of the top books that I wish to read. She goes through the list and picks her favorites for me as a Christmas present. And before you judge, she might also decide to buy totally different ones. However, usually she gets at least one book from the list. Since growing up the best gifts have always been the book-shaped ones. Then once the presents have been shared and our tummies are full, it's time for everyone to dive into one of the books until late in the night.

Here is what my list looked like this year:

V.E. Schwab: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (2020)

There is always got to be at least one fantasy book. My first years of reading were spent with this genre and I'm still loving it. While today I read more fact based educational books, I still try to always have at least one fantasy book just in case I cannot sleep. I cannot really pinpoint what caught my attention in this specific book but it was an easy pick for my list. And as a bonus, there seems to be some type of love story involved.

Lori Gottlieb: Maybe You Should Talk to Someone (2019)

Lately, I've been reading many books in the psychology section, and more than that obsessing with series that focus on stuff like this (e.g. The Mentalist, Criminal Minds). The book talks about the world from a psychotherapist's perspective, it caught my attention with simply just that.

Etaf Rum: A Woman Is No Man (2019)

One of the big themes in the books I've read during the past couple of years has been the role of a woman in society. It all started with Naomi Alderman's The Power and we are still on that path. I've had super eye-opening conversations with my friends from Arab backgrounds about race and being a woman in society. I'm forever thankful for those conversations and I believe this book will show me even more.

Paul Kalanithi: When Breath Becomes Air (2016)

This is a book that has been on my to read list for a long time. For some reason, I've never gotten around it but maybe now is the time. One of the reasons is that I seldom like books that make me sad, and this book has all the makings of a book that will make me sad. However, by now so many people have recommended this book for me that I think I don't have a choice anymore.

There is no specific order to these books and I would like to read them all equally. What is interesting about this year's list is that only one of the books has been published during this year. Maybe I've read too much this year or just haven't found the gems yet.