Unlike every other person and place on the internet, I can't bring myself to make my Best Of list before the year actually ends. Call it optimism (hope springs eternal that one of the last books I read will be positively amazing) or contrariness (the year's not over yet, ya cheaters) or what it probably is, a combination of forgetfulness and laziness, but I don't pull it all together until the previous year is officially in the rear view mirror. I read 192 books in 2018 across categories including literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, graphic novel/memoir, mystery, romance, and true crime(!) to name a few. I had great reads, good reads, mediocre reads, and reads that made me shake my head wondering how they were ever published. Some books surprised me (in both directions) and some fulfilled all my expectations. I am certain I acquired more books than I read, a circumstance that never changes no matter what else is going on in my reading life. Even if my fellow readers can echo pretty much everything I've said here, reading remains intensely personal so everyone will have their own favorites. Here are mine, in no particular order from my 2018 reading life:
1. The Reluctant Cannibals by Ian Flitcroft
2. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
3. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
4. In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills by Jennifer Haupt
5. Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson
6. The Lido by Libby Page
7. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
8. Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce
9. Second Wind by Nathaniel Philbrick
10. The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sunjata Masssey
11. Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
12. Maggie Boylan by Michael Henson
13. All Over the Map by Betsy Mason and Greg Miller
14. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
15. The Art of Failing by Anthony McGowan
16. What Luck, This Life by Kathryn Schwille
17. The White Darkness by David Grann
18. The Golden Egg by Donna Leon
19. Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton
20. The Mercy Seat by Elizabeth H. Winthrop
What were your favorite reads of 2018?
When I first looked at your selections, I didn't recognize any. But now on a second look, I see five of them I recognize and maybe even one I'd like to read (GASP! ;) ).
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