A Very Late List of my Favorite Books of 2018
Let’s be honest, I’m always late to this “end of the year” recap thing – but this year I am spectacularly late. Part of it is that I like to take my time thinking over all the books I read in a year (136 in 2018!), but also, this year, the first two months have been crazy busy.
But I love doing this list every year, however late I am. Just pretend this is a simple list of recent favorites!
The funny thing is, even though I went through a huge reading slump this fall, I actually had a great reading year in 2018. I’m not talking about the quantity (good too!) but the quality of my reading. I loved and discovered so many books, authors and series, it actually made this year’s list easier, in a way : instead of having only a couple favorites that stood out and many books I enjoyed, I have a bunch of favorites that I want to feature. And all these many, many other books that I enjoyed can be shared through future reviews and lists.
Enough talking, and let’s start, shall we?
I’ve added links to reviews(marked with *) when available, others links are Goodreads links.
BEST OF THE BEST
Red Sister*and Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence : It was hard to select a “best of the best” among all the books I loved in 2018, yet I don’t think another book had as much impact on me as these two. I loved the characters, the worldbuilding, the plot, everything. I kept thinking about them long after I finished them and they are, without a doubt, some of my favorite fantasy books.
FAVORITE AUDIOBOOKS
Scythe* and Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman, read by Greg Tremblay : I knew these two books would be somewhere on this list, and in fact, they could have landed in many spots : best of the best, best YA, best speculative… But what really made these two books stand out for me was Greg Tremblay’s stellar performance. He gave different characters different voices and intonations that made each of them stand out and gave life to Neal Shusterman’s unique idea.
GREAT FICTION
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid : Glamour, historical fiction, heartbreak, this book has a little of everything, and it is just as good as everyone says.
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan : I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The romance, the setting, the over the top decors, everything. I completely see where the Pride and Prejudice comparisons come from, but there’s also much more to it. And the movie was absolutely lovely.
STAND OUT SPECULATIVE FICTION
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant : This book was such a pleasant surprise. It had just enough of the speculative/horror elements with the pace of a great thriller. I loved that the characters were mostly female (I feel like that books with a similar setting usually have a mostly male group of characters), and even more, I love how diverse it was.
The Poppy War* by R. F. Kuang : This book happened in my life just when I needed it, and so I have a bit of a personal attachment to it; still, I felt it was a really strong fantasy debut. It’s not without flaws, but it’s original, brutal at times, quick in pace and ends in an interesting place. Can’t wait to see what comes next!
BEST NON-FICTION
Hunger by Roxane Gay : This was such an honest book and difficult to read at times, but it stayed with me (and certainly will) for a long time after reading it.
City of Light, City of Poison* by Holly Tucker : I listened to this one and it was a blast. It’s a mix of historical fiction and true crime that almost reads like a novel. I highly recommend it.
What’s next for 2019
2018 was an interesting reading year, great despite that horrible slump this fall. I think one thing that happened is that I’ve become incredibly impatient with boring books. 10 years ago when I started this blog (which I forgot to celebrate this January!), I was the kind of reader who couldn’t drop a book without finishing it. Now, I barely hesitate. There’s just too many books I want to read.
2019, I hope, will be as good. I’d like to start my “Read around the world” project I wanted to start in 2018, finish series I’ve started and discover new authors. Two months in, and I’d say I’m already off to a good start!
You can see more about my reading year on Goodreads!
Better late than never! I haven’t read any on your list but have several of them and hope to get to them soon.
That’s what I told myself! I’d rather have a late list than none at all. I hope you enjoy the books when you read them too!
Never too late to share your favs!
I have Red Sister and Scythe – I need to get listening to them.
Thanks for sharing your list.
I hope you enjoy them both!