What are the best books of 2018? The answer is subjective, of course, but it’s one I love giving my readers, complete with dorky statistics. While I may be the only one who geeks out on the stats, this list of my top books of the year may be helpful to those of you who always have a to-read list.
My year has not been a banner one for reading; I had trouble getting into many of the books I chose, and I noticed a definite lack of those “wow” reads that keep me up late into the night or cause me to ignore my family and their needs while I am engrossed in the story.
Nevertheless, I did read many decent books this year, and enough good or great books to make my Best of list. I choose based on the books I’ve read this year, but those books aren’t necessarily published in 2018. I rely on the GoodReads website to track my books, and it provides a year-end look at my reading activity.
I set the same goal I set for 2017, yet I barely met it. I blame quite a few “meh” picks, the addition of our foster-turned-adopted dog, and the successful completion of viewing all thirteen and a half seasons of Criminal Minds.
I challenged myself to read 55 books, and I did hit that goal. I read 37 books and listened to 19, for a grand total of 56 books.
As always, I rate every book from one to five stars, and my average is consistently 3 stars. I am a tough rater, and I feel like I was even tougher this year, so a rating of three stars is a good book that I would recommend. I’m picky about giving four stars, and downright stingy giving out five stars. This year, my ratings fell like this:
0 FIVE-STAR BOOKS
10 FOUR-STAR BOOKS
32 THREE-STAR BOOKS
14 TWO-STAR BOOKS
0 ONE-STAR BOOKS
Conveniently, I rated ten books as four stars, and these are my top ten books of 2018. A brief teaser for each is below, in no particular order. The title links to my full review, if there is one.
BOOK CLUB MATERIAL
The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond – The Pact is an exclusive group dedicated to maintaining happy and successful marriages.When one newlywed breaks a Pact rule, things start to get weird. Suspenseful and horrifying in a “The Firm” kind of way, this novel explores what makes a marriage work, and how a couple nurtures one another while remaining true to themselves.
The One by John Mars – What if there were a biologically certain soulmate for everyone? This novel explores many of these scenarios, and the result is a fast-paced, enjoyable ride through five couples’ experiences with finding “the One.”
YOUNG ADULT
Cinder by Marissa Meyer – This first in a four-book series is a clever reimagining of the classic fairytale. Cinder is a cyborg (human with robotic parts) indentured to her stepmother, and her chance meeting with the prince of New Beijing puts her in the middle of a struggle for the crown. A strong female lead makes this dystopian novel an easy, fast-paced read.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi – Set in a fictional West Africa, and filled with rich and complex characters and struggles that echo those of present day America, this novel tackles serious issues that make it an excellent read for teenagers and adults alike.
HISTORICAL FICTION
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn – Eve Gardiner is a British spy stationed in France during World War I. Charlie St. Clair is a pregnant American in 1947 who embarks on a search for her missing French cousin. This search brings her to Eve, and alternating timelines tell the story of how a vibrant young spy became a broken, drunk and miserable old woman.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – Kya Clark grows up alone in the marsh on the North Carolina coast, abandoned by her family. When popular local Chase Matthews is found dead, the “Marsh Girl” is an easy suspect. Alternating between present day 1969 after Chase’s death and the years of Kya’s childhood and adolescence, this novel is a beautifully written coming of age story, with a mystery thrown in for good measure.
JUST GOOD FICTION
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin – Would you live differently if you “knew” when you would die? Is it a self-fulfilling prophecy? Following four siblings over the four decades after they each find out the day of their death, this novel is a thoughtful examination of four individuals who handle this knowledge and their ability to exert free will in very different ways.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne – This is the story of Cyril Avery; it’s not necessarily an extraordinary one, but it unfolds magnificently. The writing is fabulous, the characters are magnificent, and it’s just the kind of book that settles into your soul and stays there. If you’re not afraid of a 582-page novel, this one is well worth your time.
Us Against You by Fredrick Backman – On the surface, this is a story about a small hockey town struggling to go on after a scandal and a tragedy. Below the surface, it is a story about what unites and divides us, and the choices we have in forging our own paths. It’s even better than its predecessor, Beartown, and while I recommend reading both, this novel stands alone.
Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin – Max is intersex, born with both male and female genitalia and reproductive organs. Family drama, teenage angst and romance, and identity exploration are all part of this introspective character study of a complex young man who is struggling to define himself.
*****
As always, you can find my comprehensive list of book reviews on the top menu under “Reading,” or by clicking on the graphic below.
May your 2019 be filled with great books!
You had me at Criminal Minds 🙂
The Cinder book sound like something my son might like. Thanks for the suggestion.
My pleasure!
I love Goodreads and use it especially to keep track of the books I want to read. It’s a great tool — I pull it out when I get to the library and walk the stacks with my “want to read” list as a guide. Your list has me intrigued on several counts — thanks for the recommendations!
You’re welcome, Debi! I use the GR app when a friend suggests a book, so I can mark it to-read. I wish there was a place to make notes, though – I look back at my list and can’t remember why I added certain books to it!
That’s a lot of books! Good job! And I loved Golden Boy – I think I found out about it right here. It was so good and the only one I know of on your list. What have you given five stars to? Just curious. Thanks for the list Dana, and Happy New Year!
I’ve given five stars to the Outlander series (my favorite ever), a Wally Lamb book or two…I can’t remember off the top of my head. Some of it depends on my mood, and the more I read, the stingier I get about giving five stars.
I’m very impressed you read so many books! I hope to read more this year. I am not familiar with many of these titles- thanks for sharing!
My pleasure!
I’ve heard so many good things about Crawdad. I hope to read it in 2019.
It’s a good one to listen too, Nina – if you decide to go that route.
Love love love “best books” lists. I really like how you have those first images – did you pull from Goodreads? I also use Goodreads but didn’t see anything so fun 🙂 Anyway, thanks for the recommendations! I posted mine today if you want to have a look. Here’s to more reading in 2019 (and congrats to 56!!!!)
I did pull the image from Goodreads – it’s a widget of the last 56 books I’ve read, and I screenshotted it and cropped it. I’m off to read your list now!
Thanks ladies- I wanted to know how Dana got that image too! 😉
Love our book lists! I have slacked off terribly over the past few months, but got a couple books for Christmas, so I am hopeful to get re-energized! The Marriage PAct has been on my “to read” list for a while, so I’ll definitely have to grab it next time I’m at the bookstore!
It’s a good one, Lisa – definitely worth discussing.
I always like to see if I’ve read something on your list. I listened to Cinder and some point this year. I wonder if it was based on your recommendation. I did enjoy it but haven’t listened to the next book. I’ve done really good this year with reading. However I’m seriously behind on tv series and commenting back on my website. Why can’t we have it all? I also own Children of Bone and Blood and haven’t gotten around to it yet.
I haven’t listened to the next book in the Cinder series, either – I’m worried it won’t live up to the first. You must read Children of Blood and Bone before it becomes a movie (which it’s optioned to be) – the world the author created is really amazing.
You crack me up:)!!!!!!! No five stars???? If I ever publish a book, I don’t know if I want you to review it – ha, ha. (Just kidding). I haven’t read any of your top ten. Strange, because we usually have some crossover. The Immortalists is on my list and I just got the Crawdad book at my book club party (I stole it from a fellow member).
Congrats on the dog! We finally got a puppy – and he’s time-consuming but totally worth it.
I don’t know what was going on this year, Allie- no five stars at all! I’ve seen your puppy on Instagram – he’s a cutie!
I aspire to read even a quarter of what you do in a year. You are amazing!
Well, I substitute reading for much less exciting things, like cooking and cleaning…
Thank you so much for this as I seriously have been struggling to read lately. I did make my goal last year, but fell off reading this past month or so. Still, I am toying with trying Audible as I was hoping that since I got an Amazon Echo Show for Christmas that I could listen as well as read especially when I am cooking and more in my home. So, I am definitely heading into your list to see what I haven’t read so far to add to my list and also hopefully help jumpstart my reading again.
Audible is awesome, Janine – I listen while I’m folding laundry or prepping dinner, and in the car. Such productive use of my time!