2018 Reads

Well, well, well. Here we are again with the deluge of end of year lists, thoughts, and commentary on the year in review. And here's my personal list of my 2018 reads that I share every year, with a little bit of commentary at the end.

2018 Books:

Do Your Om Thing - Rebecca Pacheo

All Grown Up - Jami Attenberg
The Universe Has Your Back - Gabrielle Bernstein
Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng
Braving the Wilderness - Brene Brown
The Immortalists - Chole Benjamin
The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware
The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey
Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling
The Goldfinch - Donna Tart
The All of It - Jeanette Haien
Gratitude - Oliver Sacks
A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out - Sally Franson
My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante
Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
Joy in the Morning - Betty Smith
The Nix - Nathan Hill
The Dollhouse - Fiona Davis
Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake - Anna Quindlen
Everyone Brave is Forgiven - Chris Cleave
An American Marriage - Tayari Jones

I read 23 books this year, which I'm rather proud of considering that a lot of my year was wrapped up in moving and all of the adjustments that come with a move. Still, I did my best to carve out time to read whenever I could - if for no other reason than it made for a great escape during a stressful, anxious time of jumping cities.

Top 3 reads for me in 2018: The Goldfinch, The Immortalists, The Nix. I loved all three of them; couldn't put them down. There are so many so/so books out there in the world...but these three were knock outs. Without hesitation, The Goldfinch was my best read of the year - perhaps one of the best in several years. I loved that book so, so much.

The duds were the ones I probably could have guessed were duds as I sometimes fall prey to giving the mass market best sellers a chance and usually find myself disappointed (I'm looking at you, The Dollhouse, The Woman in Cabin 10, and The Lady's Guide to Whatever the rest of that title is.)

I also finally dipped my toe into the world of Harry Potter, which is fun even if I'll never be fully swept up in Potter Mania.

Now, to start my 2019 list, fresh and blank and ready for plenty of beautiful novels and timeless stories.