I read 176 books in 2018, a number that still floors me. Here are my favorites. Since I’ve already talked about why I liked these books in my reading roundup posts each month, I’m just giving you a list here, sometimes with a quick note. This list does not include books I reread that are already on my book recs page.
My book recs page will be updated soon to include my 2018 favorites.
Favorite books of 2018, in no particular order:
- The Children of the Red King books 6-8 by Jenny Nimmo (I read the first 5 in 2017, and while the series could have ended there, these rounded things off nicely)
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars by Dava Sobel
- Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love by Dava Sobel
- Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy by Lisa See (Shanghai Girls is better , but you need to read them together)
- Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O’Neil
- See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
- The True Meaning of Smekday and Smek for President by Adam Rex
- War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars by Richard N. Haass
- Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery (this is the last book in the Anne of Green Gables series, and in my opinion the only one worth bothering with after the third one. Just skip the ones in the middle.)
- The Sisters Grimm books 2-9 by Michael Buckley (I read the first book in 2017, and this whole series is just such fun)
- Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver
- Delirium series by Lauren Oliver
- Slaughterhouse Five or the Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death by Kurt Vonnegut
- A Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L’Engle
- The Giver series by Lois Lowry (The Giver is the best but the others are good too)
- Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
- Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
- Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan (if you like audiobooks, this is one to listen to, because it includes the music in the story and is really well-done)
- The Breadwinner series by Deborah Ellis
- Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
- Gingersnap by Patricia Reilly Giff
- Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
- Life After Life and A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
- The Underland Chronicles series by Suzanne Collins
- Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali
- Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (the plot is weird and just shouldn’t be there but I loved being in Aza’s head so much that it made my favorites)
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
- The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan (not as good as the first series but still a fun read)
- Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (don’t bother with the rest of the trilogy they aren’t as good)
- The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by Janet Fox
- Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
- Matilda by Roald Dahl
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (I’d skip the sequel. It’s weird.)
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- Maximum Ride books 1-3 by James Patterson (stop after book 3. I really mean it.)
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
- Rose series by Holly Webb (the last book isn’t what I wanted it to be but it’s still a delightful series)
- And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman
- Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (the sequels are fine but nowhere near as good as the first book)
- Wren series books 1 and 2 by Sherwood Smith (I haven’t finished this series but loved the first two so much I had to include them here anyway)
- The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis (these certainly have problems but nostalgia won the day.)
- Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (Another one where I haven’t finished the series but really liked the first one so here it is.)
- Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
- Smoke in the Sun by Renee Ahdieh (not as good as the first one, the pacing is weird, but it completes the series nicely)
- The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century by Amanda Hesser (lots of fun food history in here, and the recipes I’ve tried so far have been really good)
- The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: From Cauldron Cakes to Nickerbocker Glory—More Than 150 Magical Recipes for Muggles and Wizards by Dinah Busholz (I can’t vouch for any of the recipes yet but it’s great for an HP nerd).
- Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce
And here are a few books that I read and enjoyed but that I’m waiting to finish the series before I decide whether they’re favorites:
- Lady Midnight and Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare (The Dark Artifices series)
- The Magic Thief and Lost by Sarah Prineas (the Magic Thief series)
- Caraval by Stephanie Garber (the Caraval series)
- Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (The Expanse series)
Stay tuned for how I feel about these books once I finish the series and/or once the rest of the books come out.
All in all, it was a pretty good reading year. I read so many books that I really, really loved. I’ve set a goal to read 100 books in 2019, and I hope I discover another abundance of good books. What are you planning to read in 2019?