The Books of 2018

I’ve always loved books. As a kid, I remember spending hours carefully combing through the scholastic catalogue to decide what titles I would beg my mom to buy for me. I have fond memories of my mom taking all of us to the library for an afternoon and I would spend hours sprawled out of the floor surrounded with stacks of books, with the delusion of somehow getting through all of them that afternoon. I’ve probably spent more in library late fees then I have in makeup during my lifetime.

Somehow that got a little lost as an adult. I still loved reading but “never had the time”. So two years ago I decided I needed some goals. I’ve found that basically nothing gets done in my life if I don’t have goals or checklists. Is my nerd showing yet?

Two years ago I started small, just making 25 my goal, and still I didn’t quite hit it, only reading 19, but I decided to double by goal anyway to 50 for this year. Guess what? Still didn’t hit that goal, but I’d say getting in 38 and doubling the amount I read from the year before still counts as a win.

This year I tried to focus on diversifying my reading too. I can easily get caught up in reading the same type fo book over and over again, so I tried to pick up something different every time I finished one. If I finished a fiction, I’d grab a non fiction. If I finished a true crime, I’d grab a self help book. I know if I didn’t make myself I’d probably just read Harry Potter over and over again.

So here it is, my book list of 2018

• “Not a Sound” Heather Gudenkauf

• “Girl, Wash Your Face” Rachel Hollis 

• “At the Waters Edge” Sara Gruen

• “Trigger Warning” Neil Gaiman 

• “The Creative Curve” Allen Gannett 

• “Here Lies Daniel Tate” Cristin Terrill

• “The Alienist” Caleb Carr

• “Go Set a Watchman” Harper Lee

• “The Night Gardener” Jonathan Auxier

• “The Fountainhead” Ayn Rand

• “Onward” Howard Schultz

• “Devil in the White City” Erik Larson

• “Stolen Innocence” Elissa Wall

• “I Suck at Girls” Justin Halpern 

• “Everything I Never Told You” Celeste Ng

• “Furiously Happy” Jenny Lawson

• “Lost Girls” Robert Kolker 

• “True Story” Michael Finkel

• “Chasing the Devil” David Reichert

• “Pointing from the Grave” Samantha Weinberg

• “The Graveyard Book” Neil Gaiman 

• “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” Michelle Macnamara 

• “Lean In” Sheryl Sandberg 

• “Extraordinary Ordinary People” Condeleezza Rice

• “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” Caitlin Doughty

• “Shutter Island” Dennis Lehane 

• “My Life Among Serial Killers” Helen Morrison

• “Above Suspicion” Joe Sharkey

• “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” Mindy Kaling 

• “Misery” Stephen King

• “Smarter Faster Better” Charles Duhigg

• “In a Dark, Dark Wood” Ruth Ware

• “Monstrous Creatures: The World of Lore” Aaron Mahnke

• “Good Omens” Neil Gaiman + Terry Pratchett

• “Paddle Your Own Canoe” Nick Offerman

• “Greenglass House” Kate Milford 

• “American Heiress” Jeffrey Toobin 

• “A Life in Parts” Bryan Cranston 

And just for fun, here are two favorites by category (because I can never pick just one)

Fiction – “Everything I Never Told You” Celeste Ng & “Good Omens” Neil Gaiman + Terry Pratchett

True Crime – “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” Michelle Macnamara & “Above Suspicion” Joe Sharkey

Self Help –  “Girl, Wash Your Face” Rachel Hollis & “Smarter Faster Better” Charles Duhigg

True Story & Biography – “American Heiress” Jeffrey Toobin & ““Lean In” Sheryl Sandberg

If you’re trying to get yourself to read more, I definitely would suggest starting with some goals, something challenging but still realistically attainable based off of how much you’ve been reading already, and then up your goal as you progress. I have so many books on my “to be read” list, hopefully this year I make a big dent in it – although I have a feeling I’ll just find more to fill it up anyway 🙂