I’m a huge bookworm, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite books that I read in 2018.
One of my goals for 2018 was to read 25 books this year. I made that goals with a couple weeks to spare. This year I’ve read a good mix of fiction and non-fiction. I was on a personal development kick for awhile earlier in 2018 so I read a couple of those books too.
In terms of the non-fiction books that I read, I’m typically drawn to books that are about things that are different from what I’ve experienced. Breaking Free (affiliate link) was about polygamy, Educated (affiliate link) was about a woman who grew up in a family of preppers who didn’t believe in schools or getting an education. I read Adnan’s Story (affiliate link) because I had listened to the Undisclosed podcast for years now. I had it on hold for awhile from the library and I was finally able to read it.
As far as fiction goes, I read two books by one of my favorite authors, Tatiana de Rosnay – A Secret Kept (affiliate link) and The Other Story. If you’re new to Tatiana de Rosnay’s books, I’d suggest starting with Sarah’s Key – it was so good!
I also read The Luxe and Rumors (affiliate link) by Anna Godbersen. This of the Luxe series as Gossip Girl set in the early 1900’s in New York City. There were fun, quick to read books with lots of twists and turns.
I discovered another favorite author this year: Sarah Jio. I read both The Violets of March (affiliate link) and Always (affiliate link) by Sarah and I couldn’t put down either one.
There was a year or two in my twenties where I read a lot of chick lit, but I only read one chick lit book this year, My Not So Perfect Life (affiliate link) by Sophie Kinsella. I had forgotten how much fun books like that can be.
The saddest book that I read this year was Before We Were Yours (affiliate link) by Lisa Wingate. It’s fiction, but based on Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. Georgia Tann sold kidnapped children to adoptive parents, passing the children off as legally adopted. It was heartbreaking to hear about what those kids went through. It’s hard to believe that sh got away with it for so long.
I usually like historical fiction, but I only read one historical fiction book in 2018. The Atomic City Girls (affiliate link) by Janet Beard. IT follows a couple characters who live and work in Oak Ridge in 1944. Oak Ridge is where the Americans were working on the atomic bomb, and as a result there were a lot of rules surrounding security and paranoia. The writing wasn’t the best, but I found the story lines and characters intriguing.
The personal development books that I read this year were Big Magic (affiliate link) by Elizabeth Gilbert, The ONE Thing (affiliate link) by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, and The Slight Edge (affiliate link) by Jeff Olson. The ONE Thing was definitely my favorite out of all of them. It made sense how they suggested you break down goals into little chunks.
I only read one thriller this year, which was The Girl on the Train (affiliate link) by Paula Hawkins. It’s not my favorite genre, but The Girl on the Train was pretty good, I liked it a lot.
I Was able to surpass my goal of reading 25 books in 2018 this year because of the Libby app. I use it on my phone to borrow ebooks from my library. I’m able to read while I’m waiting for an appointment, in line, or on transit. Taking advantage of those times makes all the difference. I saved a ton of money by borrowing most of the books that I read in 2018 instead of having to buy them. Plus, there’s no having to drive to the library to return them – I can do it right from my phone instead.
What’s your favorite book you’ve read in 2018? Do you prefer physical or ebooks? Do you use your local library?
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