Books I Read in 2018

2018 has been a busy year, but a good year. I read 68 books, including 7 rereads. 9 books got 5 stars (including a new favorite, Davita’s Harp) and nothing got 1 star, though The Passage was close.

Rating the Books I Read

If you’re unfamiliar with the rating system, here’s how it works:

• * I couldn’t finish reading it, I hated it so much
• ** I finished the book, but I wish I had the hours back I spent on it
• *** It was about as expected, glad I read it but I wouldn’t recommend it
• **** I really enjoyed reading the book, and would definitely recommend it to others
• **** I MUST OWN THIS NOW! ! I want to reread it over and over and over

Looking for past years? Here’s 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012.

Books I Read in 2018

Here’s the full list: the books I read in 2018.

• Lives of Girls and Women, by Alice Munro***
• Herzog, by Saul Bellow***
• The Grace of Kings, by Ken Liu****
• Blues for Mister Charlie, by James Baldwin*****
• I Am Charlotte Simmons, by Tom Wolfe**
• Clariel, by Garth Nix*** (reread)
• My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante****
• God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, by Kurt Vonnegut*****
• Just Kids, by Patti Smith*****
• Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green*****
• The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy***
• Oathbringer, by Brandon Sanderson****
• Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke***
• The Attack, by Yasmina Khadra**
• Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson*** (this book has the distinction of being one of my favorites in spite of me recognizing it is not a very good book)
• Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky***
• The Story of a New Name, by Elena Ferrante****
• Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall****
• Timeline, by Michael Crighton*** (reread – did not hold up)
• Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, by Elena Ferrante****
• I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov***
• Running Man, by Charlie Engle***
• Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury***
• The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov****
• No Time To Spare, by Ursula K LeGuin***
• The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, by Lisa See****
• Beartown, by Fredrik Backman***
• Abundance, by Sena Jeter Naslund***
• Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory, by Deena Kastor and Michelle Hamilton***
• The Member of the Wedding, by Carson McCullen***
• Chocolate Wars: the 150 Year Rivalry Between the World’s Greatest Chocolate Makers, by Deborah Cadbury**
• The Story of the Lost Child, by Elena Ferrante****
• The Killing Moon, by N.K. Jemisin****
• The Shadowed Sun, by N.K. Jemisin****
• The Passage, by Justin Cronin**
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot****
  
• Cane River, by Lalita Tademy***
• The Magician’s Assistant, by Ann Patchett**
• Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood***
• A Darker Side of Magic, by V.E. Schwab***
• The Paper Menagerie, by Ken Lio***
• 11/22/63, by Stephen King***
• A Gathering of Shadows, by V.E. Schwab****
• A Conjuring of Light, by V.E. Schwab****
• Edgedancer, by Brandon Sanderson****
• Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury***
  
• The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt****
• The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver****
• House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton*****
• Under a Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes**
• An Invisible Thread, by Alex Tresniowski and Laura Schroff***
• Those Who Save Us, by Jenna Blum***
• The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater***
• The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern***** (reread)
• Davita’s Heart, by Chaim Potok*****
• Master of Ceremonies: A Memoir, by Joel Grey****
• Ahab’s Wife, or The Star Gazer, by Sena Jeter Naslund**
• The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman***** (reread)
• The Lowland, by Jhumpa Lahiri***
• To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee***** (reread)
• Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas*** 
• The Odyssey, by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson***
• The Rice Mother, by Rani Manicka***
• Crown of Midnight, by Sarah J. Maas***
• Orange is the New Black, by Piper Kerman***
• The Subtle Knife, by Philip Pullman **** (reread)
• Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng***
• This is a Book, by Demetri Martin***