TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2019

[@dusanvajagic6954]

"The more I love a book the harder it is for me to think of the positive merits and put them into like nice boxes and good descriptions and i just wanna like scream about them instead." Kayla, 2019

[@wellwithmeri8222]

Who else saw Middlegame and Illuminae coming 😂

[@bookswmadi]

I was literally about to comment that they're somewhere on the list

[@BooksandLala]

Literally everyone.

[@BooksandLala]

😆🤪🥰

[@OctopussysGarden]

Middlegame, the turn of the key, lock every door, iluminae and some A. S. King, that's my bet.

[@kierracarlisle9630]

Everything you hate, I love and everything you love, I hate 😂 I still watch all of your videos though!

[@SimplySaraReads]

Kierra Carlisle lol. I was just saying this myself. But I still love watching. Either way I get books to read :p

[@JulEnglefaris]

Same, verbatim

[@fan4infinity611]

Same

[@kennedygifford5966]

I read middlegame bc of you, completely thinking we didnt like any of the same books and I'm OBSESSED

[@rebecca___578]

ive been loving your 12 days of falalala so much :’)

[@HerMakeupIsRad]

Same!

[@tillytomjones]

1. Middlegame - Wilder Girls - The Turn of the Key - When the Moon Was Ours - Lock Every Door - Illuminae - Dig

[@ClaireRousseau]

Anyone else frantically planning a "reading Kayla's favourite books of 2019" project?

[@priscillareads]

Claire Rousseau Claaaaire! Fancy seeing you here!

[@saradjaroud971]

It just hit midnight here!!! First thing I’m doing in 2020 is watching your video! It’s gonna be a great year 🥰🥰🥰

[@taraelliott5676]

Hasn’t been very good...

[@Bookishlynicole]

That’s me! I don’t read any of your books but I love watching your videos. I love your descriptions and your creativity. Ok. I pledge this year to try one of the books you love!

[@TheJabberCrew]

This year I rediscovered my love for Harry Potter and my love for reading! Lets see what 2020 brings =)

[@juliabattishill2028]

picked up middlegame bc of you & I read it in less than 24 hours. it took over my life. it’s so. good. everyone: read it. even if you don’t like the genre, just trust me

[@mokyorokyotokyo868]

Illuminae was also in my favorites this year❤️❤️

[@tryingtoputitintowords]

You are probably the one booktuber I disagree with the most on books and yet I will never stop watching every video because you are just delightful. 😀 Happy New Year!

[@JesseOnYoutube]

I love “dready” books Watch us rise has been catching my eye and is on my tentative TBR. I want to see more books represent conflict in friendships and provide healthy tools for adults to navigate conflict

[@WeightwatcherswithCarrie]

My top three of the year were Illuminae, Turn of the Key, and Poppy War was my all time fav!. Ordered Illuminae right after watching your readathon on it and I never expected to like it at all because you hadn't read it. SO glad you did or I would have never read it. Just ordered Wilder Girls and recently got Middle Game and cant' wait to read them.

[@lyndsayreads]

The only favorites we have in common, I think, are Illuminae and Dig (two that I love so much and am so happy to have read). But soooo many of your favorites are on my TBR and are books I definitely plan on getting to in 2020!

[@crushgoil]

Haha my favourite part of endings is when they give me tons of info and epilogues are great for that

[@mads2327]

I'm starting 2020 right by starting illuminae. I've had it for at least a year but have passed by it each time I pick a book. No more! Starting it tomorrow 😍

[@peanuthead5280]

Hope you like it! It was such a good book for me :)

[@retenn1099]

And after you read it, listen to the audiobook. Super interesting

[@rebecaa7482]

I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been wanting to read Illuminae for years, but it was your glowing review of it and excitement for it in your reading vlog that you read it in that made me finally buy it and Obsidio during the Book Outlet Black Friday sale and I’m super excited to hopefully get to it soon. I’m hoping to simultaneously read it with both the physical book and the audiobook book because I think that’ll make it a really fun and immersive experience for me. Thanks for getting me one step closer to finally reading this book! I’m going to go watch your stats video now. 😁💕

[@Dani__Happy]

I plan to read most of these next year! Also I can't wait for your 2019 stats video, those are my favourite ones to watch!

[@madisonc310]

I'm one of those people who read literally none of the same books as you 😂 You've sold me on Middlegame, though

[@ilrayali6121]

You have me very curious about Middle Game. I just finished an odd book 's told in an epistolary format that you may like. It's called This is How You Lose the Time War and it's letters by time travel agents to each other as they fall for each other. It's short and quite good.

[@j.oan.n.e]

ilrayali hi! What genre is the book? I want to pick up some more odd books this year it sounds really interesting!

[@KotaCakes]

Omg I loved This Is How You Lose the Time War too, I’d probably consider it in my top five of the year. So good!

[@ilrayali6121]

@@j.oan.n.e I think I'd count it as scifi because technically there's time travel but it's very accessible. The book is about the letters and their relationship more than anything else.

[@ThoroughlyModernBri]

I want to read so many of these now, especially Middle Game! Also, I just read Eliza and her Monsters because of you, and it was the most amazing thing ever. I don’t read much contemporary, but I’m a sucker for heavy hitting books, so thank you!

[@R3BECCAK]

I love that books are so perspective to each person because you thought Bunny was weird and loved it....and I thought Bunny was weird and HATED it. Literally my worst book of the year so it goes to show each book has a reader for it!

[@KotaCakes]

Wow, ok, I think I kind of expected this but out of the six books from your top ten that I read this year FIVE would also be in my top ten absolute favourites of the year (Lock Every Door, Moon of the Crusted Snow, Dig, Bunny, Wilder Girls), so I think that means I should prioritise reading the four I haven’t read. Probably starting with Middlegame and Illuminae? I also love an open ending, I don’t find myself coming back and thinking about a book after I’ve finished it if it has a really definite ending? I like something for my brain to keep working over and wondering about after the last page is turned, plus sometimes I feel like what happens next doesn’t really matter to the story and it would spoil it to know (I’m thinking of Wilder Girls in particular here). I like to experience narratives like I do parties: arrive late, leave early. 😅

[@sarahjanefrost]

As far as I can see, our reading tastes have little to nothing in common, but this year I’m looking to test that belief by starting a project to read everything you’ve read (both the loved and the hated books). I spent way too many of my teens, twenties and early thirties focusing on romance and now as I enter middle age I’ve decided that I want to branch out into other genres and the best way I could think of to do that was to find someone who read totally different fiction than me and copy their reading list. I’ve just finished Out There Screaming for the Literally Dead February 2024 read, one of the first adult books we’ve both read.

[@kopratic]

Middlegame was also my top read of the year! Also, based on your descriptions of what you like in books, there's a chance you might like Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente. It's written in a super interesting format that might be polarizing to some. It's hard to describe, but GR says it's a "history space opera mystery."

[@rossb6739]

The only one on your list I read was Lock Every Door, which I did hate and rated one of my lowest of the year, but I still love hearing your commentary on a book! Different opinions are great, they get you thinking even more!

[@BriSotkovsky]

Dig, illuminae, middle game, turn of the key, lock every door, that’s all I got.

[@MarianaQuesada]

I read Dig thanks to you, and it ended up amongst my favorite reads from 2019. I also read Bunny, too weird but brilliant.

[@alexatiletile3257]

I’m one of those subscribers that doesn’t have any similar tastes in books as you at all, but you’re my favorite booktuber regardless 😂 I actually read Turn of the Key last month because you raved about it in another video, and really liked it! I’ve been interested in Illuminae for a while so I’ll give that a shot, but Middlegame doesn’t interest me at all. Your love for it has me wanting to read it though, and try to understand why you love it so much.

[@CendaquentaBooks]

I just read "When the Moon Was Ours" the other day and it's definitely one of my favs of the year too. It's literally inspiring me to possibly get my first tattoo.

[@CamiVillalba]

Middlegame, Illuminae (which I had completely forgotten about), Bunny and The turn of the Key are now in my Amazon wishlist. I hope I enjoy these books as much as you did (when I eventually get to buy them, because they're kinda expensive for a Brazilian teacher like me hahaha). I don't think we like the exact same type of books, BUT I really am intrigued by your descriptions of those four!

[@michaeladimick8795]

Illuminae was a book I had tried to read three different times, but I finally got through it this year and it’s my favorite book that I’ve read all year

[@Aftin148]

I was on the fence about Bunny, but seeing as Heathers is one of my favorite movies I'm now invested in reading it

[@lucieradova8378]

samee

[@monflo123]

Already placed two of your books in this list into my Book Outlet cart. Definitely will read Illuminae as its in my TBR shelf now and realized I have another TBR book from an author that made your top 10. Just so you know, I've also included The Raven Boys as part of my 2020 TBR per your recommendation. The reading for this year is going to be very exciting. Thank you!

[@bookgalerin]

I read a book recently I think you'll really like - it has a group of friends, a game, an open ending, and its YA horror: Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall

[@Maren617]

When hearing what you liked about Illuminae and Middlegame, it makes me think you'd probably like a lot of other science fiction novels, as well. You could try an SF short story anthology to find more authors you like. I'll check out Illuminae for sure, maybe also Middlegame.

[@JordansShelves]

Middlegame is definitely on my list too. I’m so excited to read Moon of the Crusted Snow this winter. You’ve also single handedly convinced me to read Bunny.

[@ZaineyLaney]

Turn of the key was one of my favorite books of last year. I listened to illuminae a few years ago but I need to go back and relisten and continue the series.

[@evam6961]

I love this video cause so far all the books i read from your "best books of the year" have been 5 stars for me

[@notesfromjulia]

Wilder Girls is in my Top 10 as well. I bought and read it because I remembered that you liked it and I never thought I could enjoy weird/speculative books like that. But now I want to read everything you mentioned in this video, especially Bunny and Middlegame! 😂

[@babs8809]

I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned this, or if you already knew about this, but this is very important: check out the Illuminae Files series in audiobook format. I read it physically while I listened to it on audiobook and it was a wild experience. The audiobooks are so so so good and I even feel like they add to the story, especially in Gemina. 💙

[@beccadoingstuff]

One of my 2020 goals is to read the 10 books on this list, since you’re my favorite booktuber💛I’ve already read Illuminae, which I loved, but I’m interested to see how similar our reading tastes really are

[@aster_3188]

my guess before watching the video: 10. Moon of the Crusted Snow 9. Lock Every Door 8. Love From A to Z 7. Bunny 6. Illuminae 5. Dig 4. Watch Us Rise 3. The Turn of the Key 2. Wilder Girls 1. Middlegame

[@aster_3188]

okay, so I got 9 out of 10, but the order quite surprised me :)

yesss we have such similar tastes i'm super excited to read bunny and wilder girls! i haven't read illuminae but it reminds me a bit of 17776 (what football will look like in the future) it's a work of digital fiction and it is so, so good! it's a weird kind of found footage multimedia narration and it's just genuinely beautiful and human i think you'd like it!

[@jordyn2442]

I read wilder girls in two days a week ago because my hold ended at the library and I didn’t want to wait months to get it again. I’m so glad I did, it was also my third favorite of the year. And I read it because of your recommendation so thank you!

[@tiffani_reads]

I also read Illuminae for the first time this year and then proceeded to binge the rest of the series because it was just soooooo good! Definitely will be picking up Middlegame and Dig in 2020

[@cozybruna]

I love Middlegame so much!! I did not think Illuminae would be on the second spot at all, but yay, because I also love it.

[@lenaertsjelke]

You uploaded this on almost exactly midnight January 1st where I live. I think that's a great acomplishment

[@Moralinaaa]

I think i'll read illuminae. Idk, doesn't look like the type of book I would read but maybe I'll give it a go

[@joshhedgepeth]

I just got Wilder girls for Xmas. I was debating reading it this month or if I want to push it off. I read Middlegame in November I think. Maybe October. It was pretty soon after I started following you in September.

[@sk8tie]

Happy New Year Lala! I drunk ordered Bunny on amazon because your description sold me so cheers to that

[@MaryAmongStories]

Bunny sounds so intriguing, it's been on my tbr since you first mentioned it!

[@lestay40]

No surprise what your top 2 books were for the year!!! Illuminae is on my 2020 TBR. Dig is at the bookstore waiting on me to pick up. I still can't find the McGuire book at discount so I am patiently waiting! Thanks Lala!

[@samsquatch...]

I guessed the top 5! I read Illuminae and loved it and have loved a lot of your faves (Dress Codes, Wayward Children Series, Girls of Paper and Fire, Raven Cycle, etc. etc.) so I'm planning on reading all of these! Such a great place for weird book recs 😂

[@WeightwatcherswithCarrie]

Whenever you say a book is in your top 10 I KNOW I will love it. I usually love everything you do. A HUGE thank you for helping me now waste my time on reading things I won't enjoy!

[@sarahlamarche5866]

I’ve read Middlegame because of your recommendation earlier this year and have finished Dig just hours ago - both incredible! Tempted to read Bunny next. But first I’m going back to your guide to A S King to see which one of hers you said was closest to Dig! Cause wow! Thank you!

[@Saconi12]

I really enjoyed Illuminae. I liked Middle March. I will now pick up Bunny because of your glowing recommendation. Thank you for the video. Happy New Year to you and your family.

[@kuhteen]

Definitely going to try Turn of the Key! I don't really read mystery/thriller ever, but I love all your videos.

[@history_lover63]

I feel like I have to read Illuminae in 2020, just due to the amount of hype its gotten from booktubers with very different reading tastes. Like, whether or not ya'll like sci-fi, ya'll always seem to like Illuminae. (Also I guessed turn every key, middlegame, and Illuminae)

[@greendayfanatic17]

Middlegame was one of my favorites of the year, and I only read it because of your recommendation. That being said since you loved it so much, you NEED to read The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins. It’s been years since I read it and I still think about it all the time.

[@sofiareads4668]

I loved this! I read Lock Every Door this year too and I felt all the feels too. Cannot wait for his next book in summer 2020! Thank you for all of the recommendations too 😊 I may be picking up some with my Christmas money in the new year.

[@honeydew75]

I saw a few of these coming haha I've been loving your 12 days of falalala so much it cheers me up cause I usually start to feel sad around the Holidays and the New Years haha love you🥰🥰

[@zoedanielle565]

I do have somewhat similar taste and tend to read a lot of the same books so I've read a good chunk of these, although I'm only about 30% through Watch Us Rise and didn't read Dig, Bunny, When the Moon Was Ours (although I love their writing and want to get to that) or Moon of the Crusted Snow. So I guess I only made it through half your list this year so far. I don't really disagree with any of the ones you put there, except the thrillers weren't five star for me. Favourite books this year not on your list, I really loved The Lovely Wife (probably more than the thrillers you put on the list, although I did enjoy those), Sawkill Girls (but I know it's slightly older, can't remember if it made your list previously), Bad Blood (I know you don't read a lot of nonfiction, but so good!), Final Girls (my favourite Riley Sager, did prefer it to Lock Every Door), Afterlife of Holly Chase, In An Absent Dream. According to my stats I only gave 14 books (out of 80) five stars this year so I should really check what those were, but these were some I loved even if I can't remember if they got five stars. Also--new buzz word idea: moon, or other solar terms (sun, star, galaxy?) That would give me an excuse to read the two I missed!

[@zoedanielle565]

Apparently my 5 star reads of 2019 were: Sawkill Girls In An Absent Dream Watcher in the Woods Shout The Water Cure Salem's Lot My Lovely Wife Brave Face: A Memoir The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup Let Me Hear a Rhyme With The Fire on High Bitten Middlegame

[@Lamo309]

I read turn of the key because of your love for it and it was the best thriller I’ve read in so long. It was everything I never knew I needed in a book.

[@JesseOnYoutube]

Dig sounds amazing how have I not read it!? Perfect synopsis for me.

[@PaolaMancera]

I just love hearing you talk about books you love

[@nessalossehelim5026]

We don't read many similar things, but I have now bought Illuminae and I will get Middlegame when it comes out in paperback!

[@stephmorgan286]

Illuminae is one of my all time favorite books.

[@AbiofPellinor]

There are quite a few that I knew would be here! One or two surprises cause I've been gone for a couple months now and so haven't heard you hyping up books for a bit

[@rach799]

I’m going to guess Middlegame, Wilder Girls, illuminae and miracle creek. Not too sure on the others. Dig maybe? You read a lot!

[@shreyabooked9309]

Totally looking forward to the stats! I've read Turn of the Key and Wilder Girls from this stack and loved them! So I think I do have some tastes which match yours. I've got Lock Every Door and Illuminae so I will read those soon. I want to read Middle Game so badly, but it's too expensive in my country (maybe I'll treat myself, LOL).

[@lostfaiths]

LOVED Middlegame, probably my favorite book this year.

[@katk2265]

Library at Mount Char will give you that confusion you like, it has secret knowledge in the real world as well!

[@rubyyro]

You and I don't read a lot of the same stuff but I still use a lot of your videos for book recommendations! Absolutely wanna read Middlegame because of how much you love it. (Also planning on reading Bunny because of both you and Kat)

[@jhamaicarose9870]

Currently watching this in 2020 😁

[@katecollins2471]

2021 😂

[@tracey7241]

One of those people who reads very different books than you do, but I love your videos. I gave Bunny a try based on your recommendation, and it's one of my top books of the year. I also gave Wilder Girls a try, but couldn't get past the first chapter because I hated the authors writing so much.

[@ainsleemcnamara7514]

I wasn't going to originally recommend it to you, but the more I hear you talk about Middle Game, the more I think you MIGHT enjoy The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland. It's STRANGE, which I feel like you'll appreciate. Basically, this linguist from Harvard named Melisande gets recruited by an Army Major to translate some historical documents, which end up all talking about the existence of magic. Magic, in this universe, used to exist (though that fact is not common knowledge), until some event in the late 1800s got rid of it for good. But the government is trying now to find a way to bring magic back, specifically to leverage the power of time travel magic. It's whacky, and has a bit of an achronological narrative, and it's told in different formats like Illuminae. It also pulls off some great plot twist stuff that you might enjoy. Or if not you, then other folks who enjoyed Middle Game and Illuminae!

[@ivonajuraskova4783]

I finally started Illuminae because of you and I am loving it!

[@readem_blog]

Yesss!! Illuminae!! I can’t wait to get to Middlegame too ;)

[@crazybooklady8682]

The only book of your top 10 stack that I have read so far is Lock every door and I really liked it! I'm still in line at the library for The Turn Of The Key

[@MangaManda30]

I just told a coworker about Illuminae - told her the trilogy is probably my favorite trilogy of the (past) decade! (I'm loaning them to her later this week.) It's one of my favorite books and I had picked it up on a whim because it looked pretty. xD

[@Elix90]

Ok, here goes my guess: 1. Middlegame 2. Turn of the key Then, in no particular order Dig, Illuminae, Lock Every Door, When the Moon Was Ours, the Renee Watson and another author about two Girls in highschool that I don't remember the name of and Wilder Girls. And that's eight, so I'll add the Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and Call Down the Hawk, though I don't have much faith in the last ones.

[@veroagustine4310]

When lala said illuminae is her everything my heart melted. Book 2 is even better!

[@sofie3246]

Wilder Girls in my number one book of 2020. I loved it more than I can explain. I can't describe it, I can only scream.

[@TheeKookyWildflower]

Love this series. I've read five of your favorites this year. Bunny (I gave it a 2); Watch Us Rise (I gave a 4); Wilder Girls (I gave a 3); Lock Every Door (I gave a 2); Turn of the Key (I gave a 4). I watch you because our reading tastes are similar. Look forward to what you bring in 2020. Happy New Year!

[@sweetly1634]

I love that you say you watch her because you have similar reading tastes but gave two of her ten favourite books of the year 2 stars. 😂 (obviously not saying that means you don't have similar reading tastes, but just found it funny)

[@jedibookmasterivy]

Bunny was one of the books that blew my mind this year. Wilder Girls is definitely in my top 5 as well.

[@smoakqueen1002]

i am one of those people who don’t have the same reading taste as you but i will watch every video anyways😂😂but im always open to read something i don’t usually read so i definitely added some of those book to my tbr!!

[@Frea_]

I would give middlegame and illuminae a try btw, in which video did you talk about moon of the crusted snow? I feel like it's the first time i see you mention that book, so i must have miss a video

[@BooksandLala]

I think it would have been my August wrap up, and then in a recommendation video around the same time 💕

[@Frea_]

@@BooksandLala thanks Lala! I definitely missed that one

[@ReadByJess]

The Turn of the Key was also my favourite thriller of the year!

[@kaydeeandavery426]

Lock every door was one of my favorites this year 🖤

[@Raen83]

Your top two were in my top of this year. I was also very late to the game for Illuminae. 😬 And I’ve been practically trying to shove Middlegame down the throats of everyone I know.

[@oliviaburnette4077]

I’m just discovering your channel, but if you love being confused for most of a book, you should read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro!! It’s amazing, and it seems like a book you would love!

[@kozer30]

I too was late on the Illuminae train. Listened to the audio book for the first time this year, and OH MY GOSH, it was fantastic! The humor had me laughing out loud like a crazy person.

[@GrowingUpHills]

got a glass of wine, some m&m's, and got all comfy to watch lala! Love your videos!

[@MzPinayx3]

Recently read Lock Every Door and loved it. Feeling great about getting to a book you’ve read and knowing exactly what you’re talking about lol

[@lindsayfabian]

okay you NEED to read the water cure by sophie mackintosh, it sounds like wilder girls is a similar to it but more of a YA version. the water cure is one of the most beautiful and weird as hell books i’ve ever read, and you definitely have no idea what is going on while reading. one of those books that i finished and went... okay, what? but in the best possible way

[@KatieHill-bj9ow]

I am positive that The Turn of the Key and Illuminae will be on there. And Middle Game I think too!