Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where Necee and I each share our top 5 Bookish Discoveries of 2019. This prompt was not limited to books, but any book related discovery or experience. As a result, we had a lot of fun putting together a very different list of bookish discoveries which we hope you will enjoy! I love this mix of books, experiences, authors, and websites that show that a love of books can mean broad and far reaching experiences, new people, fabulous new stories, and new ways to discover authors and books and more.

Necee’s top 5

Fiction Reader’s Summit

2019 was an amazing year for me in the reading community. I made so many new friends, contacts, made my first reading retreat, and even made a trip to my favorite blogger and author supporter, Rel Mollet. I can’t even describe how much this past year impacted my reader heart. So my “Bookish Discoveries” is actually a long list, that I will try to pair down!

#1 My Alaska to Australia adventure with Rel Mollet (you might have heard of her from RelzReviewz) We will be posting more on this exciting trip!

#2 My first reader’s retreat was in August for my 50th birthday celebration! It was at Fiction Reader’s Summit in Grand Rapid’s Michigan.  If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it!  It’s a great opportunity to meet your favorite authors, bloggers and other readers like you! Visit their website here.

#3 Supporting authors in real life…I was able to meet author Ronie Kendig and Lynette Eason who I have supported online for years. It was great to go to an event that I could actually talk with them in person and then share the experience with others. It was a great way to spread support.

#4 Meeting new authors…the FRS was a great way of meeting new to you authors. I made lasting relationships with some pretty amazing new to me authors. Kimberly Woodhouse

#5 Finding a new book on social media…Bloggers have amazing lists of books and recommendations that can help you find the right book for you. I’ve found RelzReviewz, Reading is my Superpower, and Fiction Aficionado are my new favorite lists.

Relz Top 5

Space opera, Brand of Light

#1 Introducing an in-house reviewer to Relz Reviewz. My blog has been a solo affair for thirteen years (aside from the amazing assistance I had for years behind the scenes from the amazing, Kelli Standish), so it was a big step to invite someone else to provide content for my blog. I couldn’t be happier with the friendship and support I’ve found in Necee Lomelino, and I hope you are enjoying her contributions too.

#2 Mimi Matthews. Discovering a new author with a backlist, outside of the Christian Fiction bubble, is such a joy and Mimi’s clean Victorian romances have brought me hours of delight. I only have two more to read before I’ve finished her backlist, so I’m pacing myself now and spreading the last two out! Visit her website, here.

#3 Space opera, Brand of Light. It’s no surprise to anyone that I am a HUGE fan of Ronie Kendig’s writing having read every single books she’s written multiple times…but a space opera? That’s a genre I hadn’t explored until her epic first novel in the Droseran Saga. Admittedly, I read it a few years ago now, but now this beauty is finally published and out in the world, I’m claiming space operas as a 2019 bookish discovery!

#4 Booko.com.au. I can’t remember if this website was a discovery in 2018 or 2019, but it’s another I’m claiming. Booko is website that will find the best price for a book for you. You can also set yourself alerts and Booko will email you when a particular book is reduced to a price you specify. It’s brilliant. It operates in the US, UK, and New Zealand, too.

#5 Sunrise Publishing. I’m super excited about this new venture by the amazing Susan May Warren and Lindsay Harrel. These two authors are mentoring and nurturing the careers of new writers and in the 2020/2021 season will be bringing readers new novels set in Susie May’s world of Deep Haven. Be sure to follow Sunrise on FB, Instagram, and Twitter – and check our their website here. Full disclosure, I’m also Sunrise’s Administrative Assistant, but my bookish heart loves what Sunrise is offering to writers, and in 2021, to readers!

What bookish discoveries did you make in 2019?