Ahh, it’s that time of year. Time to reflect back on all the books we’ve read and rank them based on completely subjective opinions. I love seeing everyone’s new favorites, and I hope you all are excited to see mine! Any book I read for the first time in 2018 was eligible for this list, but here were the best 10 that I read, in my extremely humble opinion:
10. Emergency Contact by Mary HK Choi
A cute, contemporary NA romance about a relationship that blossoms through text messages. While not life-changing, it was definitely one of the most enjoyable books I read this year.
9. Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
One of the few books I did not review this year, Red Clocks is set in the not-so-distant future and tackles a lot of issues surrounding reproductive rights, and one’s place as a woman. I went through a gamut of emotions while reading this and writing about it makes me want to reread it again in 2019.
8. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Two unreviewed books in a row on this list! Crooked Kingdom was SUCH a fun fantasy novel and I absolutely devoured it. I definitely recommend the Six of Crows Duology if it sparks your interest, you’ll end up sucked into the world and will fall in love with the characters.
7. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Certainly one of the most influential books I’ve read this year, I already want to pick this up again. Shirley Jackson creates such a spooky atmosphere out of so little and I am wildly impressed with her mastery of writing. I’m actually thinking of getting a small tattoo inspired by this work and might reach out to my artist about it sometime in early 2019.
6. Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
I am apparently very bad at reviewing books I love, but this was another one that I just raced through. I’m really enjoying The Raven Cycle and have been putting off reading the last book in the series because I don’t want it to end! I basically lived for the romances in this one because I’m a hopeless romantic and love mushy books, sorry.
5. A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
Fun fact: this is the only book on this list that I consumed as an audiobook. I listened to almost the entire thing in one day because it was so compelling. And I had a long bus ride after work. I just loved how the story was laid out and can’t wait to pick up another one of Paul Tremblay’s books. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long!
4. Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake
Honestly, my heart hurts even thinking about my reading experience with this. There was no way I couldn’t include it. This was one of the most meaningful books of the year for me. I read it all in one sitting and ended up just sobbing my eyes out by the end. It deals with a lot of intense subjects, but imo it was all handled in such a great way. I definitely recommend reading this if you’re in a place to do so.
3. Ask Me About My Uterus by Abby Norman
Possibly THE most meaningful book I read this year, this was a timely experience for me. This is a memoir detailing the author’s life with and diagnosis of endometriosis. I’ve talked about this a bit on twitter, but I’m currently dealing with an undiagnosed medical issue, potentially endometriosis, potentially not. I’m glad I started off my year reading this, as it’s been helpful in making me advocate for myself as well as making me believe in what my own body is telling me. I really, really highly recommend everyone read this.
2. The Pisces by Melissa Broder
This book struck me so deep that I put Melissa Broder’s memoir on my Christmas wishlist because I just know I’ll love it. This is an extremely divisive book, as I note in my review, but it was the perfect read for me. I wanted to pick it back up as soon as I finished it so that I could experience it all again. Ugh, I just can’t even express how much this book means to me.
1. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
I think I knew within the first 20 pages that this would be making my end of the year list, although I don’t think I realized it would be #1. The writing in this just cut me right to my core, Jeff VanderMeer is such a talented author. While I’ve enjoyed the rest of the books I’ve read by him, nothing has held up to Annihilation so far.
And there you have it! Those are my top 10 books of 2018. I’m glad I got to read so many wonderful books this year and can only hope I’m just as blessed in 2019. Make sure to let me know what your top books were in the comments, and drop a link if you’ve made a similar post!
Yay for A Head Full of Ghosts! I’m also thrilled to see We Have Always Lived in the Castle on there; it was one of my top reads in 2017, and it has stayed with me so strongly that it’s now amongst my all-time favourites.
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I think it’s going to stick as one of my all-time favorites as well! It was such an incredible read.
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I still really need to read Annihilation! I loved the movie of it but still haven’t gotten around to the book.
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The book is quite different from the movie but they are both very good!!
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Great list. A few of these are on my TBR and We Have Always Live in the Castle is a favorite of mine.
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I hope you get to them soon, I’ll be intrigued to see what you think. 🙂 I feel like We Have Always Lived in the Castle is such an unsung classic! The Haunting of Hill House seems to get all the fame.
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I agree, but I think I actually prefer We Have Always Lived In the Castle.
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The Pisces! God, I love that book!
I really need to get to Ask Me About My Uterus because it seems like something I would just adore.
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I want to sing praises of The Pisces forever!
I think you’d definitely love Ask Me About My Uterus, it was definitely eye-opening for me.
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Totally agree about Ask Me About My Uterus – I thought it was an absolutely brilliant read. I’ve been shoving it into the hands of all of the junior doctors that I know.
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That’s such a good idea!! I’ll have to start doing the same.
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I received Girl Made of Stars as a Christmas gift, and this makes me even more excited to read it!
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It is SUCH an intense read, so definitely make sure you’re in an ok emotional space for it, but if you can get through it, it’s so so worth it!
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I’m actually really surprised that The Pisces isn’t your #1!!! I’m not totally convinced Annihilation will be my cup of tea but you’ve definitely piqued my interest in it.
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I’m honestly surprised too! I think a lot of these slots could be interchangeable, but that was definitely a tough one. The nice thing about Annihilation is that it’s pretty short! I think it would be worth it for you to check out. Idk if you’ve seen the movie yet but the book is waaay different.
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Oooh cool, a book I’m on the fence about being short is the best way to get me to give it a try lmao. I haven’t seen the film, I’ll definitely read the book before I do!
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Read it and DM me about it [eyes emoji]
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A Head Full of Ghosts was sooo goooood! I love the audiobook for it—it was the first non-full cast audiobook to ever really captivate me so I’m forever grateful to the narrator for that, haha.
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These do all sound like great reads! I’ve only read Annihilation and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, but they’re also favourites of mine. I think I will add Castle to my reread challenge for this year….
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That’s a great idea! And a reread challenge sounds fun. 🙂
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