2018 Reading Faves
Happy 2019, blog friends! A friend of mine asked for a list of the best books I read last year, so that she could have a jumping-off point for getting back into reading, so I decided, why not post it on the ol’ blog for all of y’all to see.
I went through my list of 100 books that I read in 2018, and these were all my 5-star reads. I’m a fairly liberal 4- and 5-star giver so this isn’t a small list. But I’m pretty happy about having read so many books I loved last year.
They are listed in the order I read them, within their categories. As you’ll see (which, you already know, if you know me at all), this is a very YA-heavy list, as that’s my go-to favorite kind of book, and also what I’m currently writing. Within YA, my tastes are varied, but— I’m getting ahead of myself. That’s the last category on the list. ;)
Without further adieu, here they are. And these are Amazon affiliate links, so if you click them, and then buy anything from Amazon, you support my writing, for which, I thank you!
Nonfiction Faves
Cookbook: Artisan Sourdough Made Simple // Emilie Raffa // This book changed my life. I had already been baking with sourdough for a couple of years, but this is exactly what the title says, simple. These recipes aren’t for long-fermented traditional breads, but her methods and recipes are hands down, the most accessible way to incorporate sourdough into my daily life. I read this cookbook cover-to-cover (which I rarely do), and I bake from it almost weekly, sometimes multiple times a week.
Christian Living: Crazy Busy // Kevin DeYoung // We read this with our church and I found a lot to be encouraged and convicted by in it.
Memoir: At Home in the World // Tsh Oxenrieder // Somehow, my friend Tsh seamlessly wove together the deep affection for home with wanderlust for the world in this memoir of her family’s 9-month long trip around the world. So good.
Education: The Book Whisperer // Donalyn Miller // This book, and its application in my kids’ schooling, changed the way I look at literature education and literacy. This is the education philosophy for reading that I never knew I always wanted. We are following an adapted version of her methods in our homeschool/classroom hybrid.
(Bonus: Advent Devotional: Come, Let Us Adore Him // Paul David Tripp // Will definitely read through this again for advent 2019.)
Middle Grade Faves
Brown Girl Dreaming (audio) // Jacqueline Woodson // Since this is a novel in verse, I loved listening to it to hear the proper rhythm of the poetry. Plus it was a beautiful book and an insightful look at an African-American experience in our country’s history.
Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets (reread) // JK Rowling // We continue with an HP-book-a-year as our winter family read-aloud. It obviously holds up in a reread. ;)
Kimchi & Calamari // Rose Kent // This is slotted as YA at the library, but I’d put it at high middle grade/early YA. It’s a great story of a Korean-born boy who was adopted into an Italian family, and has to do an ancestor report, and therefore starts really searching for his own identity for the first time in his life.
The Penderwicks at Last // Jeanne Birdsall // (5-star series!) I could not have loved the conclusion to this beloved series more.
Adult Fiction Faves
Apparently I didn’t read a lot adult fiction that I loved this year, although there were quite a few 3- and 4-star reads on my list.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (screenplay) // JK Rowling // I enjoyed the movie, and then loved reading the screenplay a few months later.
The Cafe by the Sea / A Very Distant Shore / The Endless Beach // Jenny Colgan // These are books in a series about the fictional Mure Island in Scotland. I love Jenny Colgan so no surprise that I loved these. There’s one more I haven’t read yet (a Christmas book).
YA Faves
And now for my favorite category! Side note: I’m pleasantly surprised to see that some of my favorite reads last year were written by authors of color or from other countries. It turns out part of that is that (when applicable) I really love reading about other cultures, and part of that is that these are just all darn good books.
How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You (reread) // Tara Eglington // I loved this one because it’s funny, a little cheesy, and just plain cute. And, as it’s a story about a girl trying to protect her first kiss for her perfect “prince", it’s a pretty clean read, too. I only wish it contained more Australian references as its author is Australian.
The Radius of Us // Marie Marquardt // An unlikely love story, and one character is an immigrant so I loved reading and learning about that experience.
The Case for Jamie // Brittany Cavallaro // Part of one of my favorite YA series, this is book 3 in the Charlotte Holmes series. Can’t wait for book 4 this year.
You Bring the Distant Near // Mitali Perkins // I don’t usually love generational sagas, but I did love this one, about several of the girls in an Indian-American family, following each of them in their respective teen years.
The Illuminae Files series (Illuminae / Gemina / Obsidio) // Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff // This series is probably my top rec of the year. I loved it’s unique format, fast pace, and intense relationships & conflict… in space. ;) Can’t wait for their next book/series.
I Believe in a Thing Called Love // Maurene Goo // A cute unlikely romance, my first exposure to K-dramas, and why do I love Korean culture so much suddenly? I don’t know, but I do.
Arc of the Scythe series (Scythe / Thunderhead) // Neal Shusterman // My love for this series completely took me by surprise. My advice to you is to not worry about the synopsis, and just dive in. Also, there is no pub date for book 3 yet and we ended on one of the biggest cliffhangers I’ve ever read, just sayin’.
Trouble series (Trouble is a Friend of Mine, Trouble Makes a Comeback, Trouble Never Sleeps) // Stephanie Tromly // I reread books 1 and 2 this year before reading book 3 and it completely held up and I loved them all so much. Think Veronica Mars meets Sherlock with a kickass hodgepodge (read: slightly strange) group of friends.
Sky in the Deep // Adrienne Young // I wasn’t expecting to like a viking fantasy so much, but because I follow and love the author I gave it a try, and I loved it. While action-packed, it was also a slow-burn in many ways. Looking forward to the companion novel.
Anna & the French Kiss // Stephanie Perkins // Loved the setting, loved St. Clair, loved the friendship and relationship drama. Part of a trilogy of related/companion books that I also read, but this was my fave.
Unearthed // Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner // This book is a YA Indiana Jones-Lara Croft mashup. These are 2 things David and I love, so I immediately handed it to him after I loved it. He reads incredibly slow because of sports (insert shrug emoji) so he’s still working on it but he’s really enjoying it, too. The sequel just came out and I’m on the library waiting list. ;)
Caraval (reread) // Stephanie Garber // I personally didn’t love the sequel as much as this one, but I think I actually liked Caraval even better the 2nd time I read it. Looking forward to the finale this year (and yes, it’s called Finale).
Ignite Me (of the Shatter Me Series, the rest of the series I gave 4 stars) // Tahereh Mafi // Do not read this series if you can’t handle too much YA angst. Parts of the series were even a bit whiny/angsty for my tastes, but I loved this one SO much that it made the rest of them well worthwhile for me. There’s another book coming out this year which I will devour as soon as I can.
Renegades // Marissa Meyer // It’s possible I will love anything she writes, as evidenced by the fact that this was the first superhero book I’ve ever read, and I (surprise) loved it, along with Archenemies which is a 2018 consolation because I read most of it last year and then finished in 2019. Book 3 comes out in November (dang it).
Daddy Long Legs // Jean Webster // I think this was one of the only classics I read this year, oddly enough. This book is so cute and funny, and one of my all-time favorite books (Dear Mr. Knightly by Katherine Reay) is a retelling of it, so it was about time for me to read it. (Bonus: it’s a classic, so it’s only 99 cents on Kindle!)
The Way You Make Me Feel // Maurene Goo // This was about a food truck in LA (so win-win for me) and more fun Korean culture glimpses, friendship, family relationships, and a sweet romance.
My Lady Jane // Cynthia Hand, Brodi Aston, & Jodi Meadows // This book was a fantastic historical fantasy that sounds absurd but is sweet, funny, romantic, and did I mention funny? Perfect timing for me because we studied the time period of Edward/Elizabeth/et al this year in history. I can’t wait to read the rest of their books but first I have to read Jane Eyre (I know, I’m the worst classic lit fan, right?) before I can read My Plain Jane.
Whew! So there you have it! I hope that gives you some good book recs for 2019, Amanda, and others. Happy reading and let me know if you love any of my 5-star reads as well. If you’d like, you can see all the books I read last year on GoodReads, and of course, follow me on Bookstagram for the all the latest.