I tend to be quiet about what I’m reading, but this year I’ve benefitted so greatly from those who share their booklists OUT LOUD that I want to do the same. Plus, I can’t tell you how many years I’ve set a goal for book-reading via Goodreads and haven’t met that goal—it’s been a battle against my inner perfectionist for sure. However, in 2018 I read like crazy. I attribute this to kickstarting my reading habit in grad school and then taking an actual break from grad school where I had more margin to sit and dream and read for fun. I like reading. Final note: I read all kinds of stuff. There are few genres I’m not willing to explore, though, as you will see, I mainly read fiction. I’m listing title, author, and stars given with five stars being the highest ranking, and I am by no means fair in my attribution of stars. Read for yourself and decide if you agree with my standards, which 100% of the time is settled by how I feel upon completing a book.
JANUARY
Sleeping Giants – Sylvain Neuvel ****
Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir – Padma Lakshmi ***
Wool (Silo series #1) – Hugh Howey ****
The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins **
FEBRUARY
The Memory of Running Ron McLarty ****
Lost in the Middle – Paul David Tripp *****
The Ship of Brides – Jojo Moyes ****
The Nest – Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney ***
Scrappy Little Nobody – Anna Kendrick **
MARCH
The Versions of Us – Laura Barnett ****
Camino Island – John Grisham ****
Everything Happens for a Reason – Kate Bowler *****
The Golem and the Jinni – Helene Wecker ****
The Summer Before the War – Helen Simonson *****
APRIL
Raising the Barre – Lauren Kessler ***
James Herriot’s Animal Stories – James Herriot ****
A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter – Nikki Giovanni ****
Shift (Silo series #2) – Hugh Howey ****
Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore – Robin Sloan ***
MAY
An American Marriage – Tayari Jones ****
The Rooster Bar – John Grisham ****
The Sacred Enneagram – Christopher Heuertz *****
The Myth of the Nice Girl: Achieving a Career You Love Without Becoming a Person You Hate – Fran Hauser *****
JUNE
Children of Blood and Bone – Tomi Adeyemi ****
The Immortalists – Chloe Benjamin ****
Tales of a Female Nomad – Rita Golden Gelman ****
The Summer House – Hannah McKinnon ***
Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church – NT Wright *****
JULY
The Patron Saint of Liars – Ann Patchett ****
Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship – Kayleen Schaeffer ***
AUGUST
Kitchens of the Great Midwest – J Ryan Stradal ****
Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God – Rankin Wilbourne ****
Love May Fail – Matthew Quick ***
The Kind Worth Killing – Peter Swanson ****
North – Scott Jurek ****
Every Note Played – Lisa Genova ****
Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng ****
Educated – Tara Westover **
SEPTEMBER
Identify Theft: Reclaiming the Truth of Our Identity in Christ – Melissa Kruger ****
Girl Waits with Gun (Kopp Sisters #1) – Amy Stewart ****
Gay Girl, Good God – Jackie Hill Perry ****
Lady Cop Makes Trouble (Kopp Sisters #2) – Amy Stewart ****
Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions (Kopp Sisters #3) – Amy Stewart ****
OCTOBER
The Ambassador’s Wife – Jennifer Steil ****
Philippians: At His Feet Studies – Hope Blanton, Chris Gordon *****
A New Model – Ashley Graham ***
The Natty Professor – Tim Gunn ***
Good Morning, Midnight – Lily Brooks-Dalton ****
NOVEMBER
Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit (Kopp Sisters #4) – Amy Stewart ****
Us Against You – Fredrik Backman ***
Love and Ruin – Paula McLain ****
A Place for Us – Fatima Farheen Mirza *****
Lilac Girls – Martha Hall Kelly ****
DECEMBER
So Close to Being the Sh*t – Retta **
Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up – Ellen Braaten *****
Island of the Mad (Mary Russell #15) – Laurie R King ****
To Shake the Sleeping Self – Jedidiah Jenkins ****
My Antonia – Willa Cather *****