Top Ten Fiction Reads of 2018

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

Last week I shared my favorite nonfiction reads of the year. I definitely had a longer list of top-notch nonfiction for this year, but I still managed to come up with ten fiction reads that I enjoyed the most in 2018!

1. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
In a rare move for me, I actually read this book twice after it was published in September. (I recommend the audio version.) It's fast-paced and engaging, but also grapples with questions of fame and power in a way I can't remember seeing in another book. Just be prepared that the ending is a setup for the sequel!

2. The Belgariad series by David Eddings
This series was a childhood favorite of mine and still the only high fantasy series I really like, and it was fun to revisit old friends through the audiobooks. I did not get to the Malloreon (the sequel series), but I plan to listen to those books in 2019.

3. The Clocks by Agatha Christie
I finished off the Hercule Poirot novels this year, and this was my favorite of the ones I read in 2018. It's creepy and unpredictable and different from many of the other Poirot books.

4. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
The full-cast audiobook production of this book was delightful; I love the world-building and the action-packed plot. Unfortunately the rest of the series went downhill for me.

5. I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
Although this was in some ways a predictable YA romance, it was also something different, set in a rural town with a love interest who's come back mentally and physically wounded from Afghanistan at nineteen. Much of the plot, particularly involving side characters, did not go where I expected, and I appreciated the balance of realism with happy ever after.

6. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
I adored this sequel to Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I laughed, I cried, I related hard to Leah's perfectionism, and I liked getting the chance to see the characters from Simon from a different perspective.

7. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
This is the rare series that just gets better and better with each book. I liked the mystery itself, I liked the slow-burn romance, I liked the representation of PTSD, and I liked the exploration of different kinds of unhealthy relationships. I don't recommend reading this if you haven't read the first three books in the series yet, but if you have — definitely pick this up!

8. The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater
I've seen people losing their minds over this series for years, but YA fantasy has never been my thing so I put it off until this year. And then it was so flippin' good! Three out of the four books were 5-star reads (it's hard to have a perfect series ending), so unlike some series, I wholeheartedly recommend the entire thing.

9. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
This is like a tour of Australia filled with heartbreakingly real characters who face impossible decisions. It's unpredictable in the best way. It's slow to get into, but it's very much worth it.

10. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
This lived up to the hype as an adorable, feel-good romance that was predictable but not as much as I expected. I can be nit-picky about YA romances, but I genuinely enjoyed this read.

What were your favorite fiction reads this year?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Sophie's Choice and Americanah
Five years ago I was reading: David and Goliath and War and Peace
Ten years ago I was reading: Traffic

Best of the Bunch: December 2018

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in December.

I had an excellent reading year, but I ended on a bit of a slump. Of the 8 books I read this month, I only had one 5-star read, which was a reread from earlier this year. Since it wasn't my Best of the Bunch for September, though, I will share it now!

As a longtime Nerdfighter, I was always going to pick up An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green's novel. I was impressed by how well it was crafted, and I liked it even better the second time on audio. It's fast-paced and engaging, but also grapples with questions of fame and power in a way I can't remember seeing in another book. The main character, April May, isn't exactly likable, but she feels real and her decisions seem understandable from her point of view. Just be prepared for an ending that's a setup for the sequel.

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Sophie's Choice and Americanah
Five years ago I was reading: David and Goliath and War and Peace
Ten years ago I was reading: Traffic


InLinkz has completely changed their site, so I have no idea if the new format is going to work! If you can't link up, please comment and let me know!

Inlinkz Link Party

Top Ten Nonfiction Reads of 2018

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

This week's topic is about books we want Santa to bring, but since I so rarely ask for hard copies of books, I decided it was a good chance to go back to the format I used before last year's crappy reading year and share my ten favorite nonfiction reads from this year, followed next week by my ten favorite fiction reads of the year. I had so many good nonfiction reads this year that it was hard to narrow it down! Here are my favorites.

1. Ask a Manager by Alison Green
This book is a must-read for anyone in the workforce. It's a compilation of useful scripts for the most common and most difficult conversations you're likely to have at work. Of course, I also highly recommend the Ask a Manager blog.

2. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Noah explores the complexity of race and class in South Africa not through the shock value of dredging up his worst memories, but in between the lines of the stories about his pranks, his friendships, his failed attempts at dating, and his complex family relationships. I laughed, I cried, and I wished it were longer.

3. Fed Up by Gemma Hartley
It's not an exaggeration to say that this book has transformed my marriage. Hartley articulated my personal experience (and that of many, many women in different-gender relationships) so perfectly that I told my husband, "I'd do almost anything to get you to read this book." He listened to the first 15 minutes, said everything suddenly clicked for him, and before I knew it I had an equal partner in the running of our daily lives. Women will appreciate it, but men need to read it.

4. Inspired by Rachel Held Evans
This puts aside common paradigms of the Bible as a handbook for living or a puzzle to be solved and instead highlights the themes that recur throughout this book of stories, why they're there, and how they're relevant to our daily lives.

5. March (Vols. 1-3) by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
These books tell the story of Lewis' involvement in the civil rights movement in clear and compelling detail. I knew some of the key pieces about this history already, but it was fascinating to be told the entire story as a complete narrative, and the integration of the story with the artwork was excellent.

6. Radical by Michelle Rhee
This is both a memoir of Rhee's controversial career in education reform and a battle cry for parents, teachers, students, and politicians to use their voices to fight for every student to have a quality education. Rhee focuses heavily on the importance of teachers — both why effective ones should be better rewarded and why incompetent ones should not be protected.

7. Small Animals by Kim Brooks
Brooks captures perfectly what it is like to be a parent in modern-day America, how the majority of your decisions are spurred by fear — fear of what will happen to your child if you don't do everything correctly and/or fear of what others parents will say or do if they believe you aren't parenting correctly.

8. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
Through the lens of a specific girl's medical drama, Fadiman shows just how difficult it is for Hmong culture and Western medicine to even begin to understand one another if neither has the time or resources or inclination to make the effort. It's a comprehensive look at the importance and difficulties of crosscultural communication.

9. Strangers in Their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild
This was a difficult but important read about the way Tea Partiers and Trump supporters think about themselves, their country, and the environment. It doesn't provide a clear plan for getting these folks to use the same set of facts as the rest of us, but it does provide a fuller picture that can hopefully prevent progressives from making missteps in trying to reach across the aisle.

10. The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose
Roose's story of leaving his liberal bubble to spend a semester at Liberty University was at turns fascinating, amusing, enlightening, and confirming of my own thoughts and beliefs. I'm astounded that he wrote this while in college, as the writing ranks up there with some of the best memoirs I've read.

What were your favorite nonfiction reads this year?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Sophie's Choice and Americanah
Five years ago I was reading: Code Name Verity and War and Peace
Ten years ago I was reading: Traffic

Top Ten Books on My Winter TBR

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

I only have one book left over from my fall TBR list, which is pretty good!

1. Becoming by Michelle Obama
I was very excited when I heard about this book! I've been giving myself more permission to read new releases lately if they really interest me (rather than pushing them off in favor of my current TBR list) so I put a hold on the audiobook and am looking forward to it.

2. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Goodreads had a post about short audiobooks you can get through in a few hours and several of them were books I've been wanting to read, so I decided to put holds on the audiobooks. I didn't realize this one was so short but I keep hearing it recommended and I'm looking forward to it!

3. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
This is a classic that I listened to on audio CDs in my car a long, long time ago, and I don't remember any of it. I've been wanting to reread it, and it was also on that post as a relatively short read, so I plan to get to it soon.

4. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
This is my one holdover from fall. I just never had time to get to the Kindle version I'd borrowed, so now I have a hold on the audiobook that should be coming through soon.

5. Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
I mentioned a few months ago that I'd read everything John Green had published except this holiday story collection. Now that it's winter, it seems like a good time to finally read it.

6. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
I got a free copy of this book as part of a campus-wide read where I work, so I need to read it before the author comes to speak in February.

7. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
I'm doing a buddy read of all the Chronicles of Narnia with a friend in 2019, so I need to get through the first book by the end of January!

8. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
This is a book club read for which I'm a little nervous about my hold coming through in time. We don't usually pick books that are less than a year old, and there are so many holds on this one! But everyone raves about it so I'm very excited to finally read it.

9. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
This is another book club read for January. The theme was "Books with a country's name in the title" and I nominated My Life in France by got outvoted for this classic instead.

10. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
This is next up on my original TBR list. This has the highest likelihood of getting carried over to my spring list, but we'll see — maybe I'll get to it.

What will you be reading this winter?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Sophie's Choice
Five years ago I was reading: Code Name Verity and War and Peace
Ten years ago I was reading: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

What I've Been Reading Lately (Quick Lit)

Today I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit to bring you some short and sweet reviews of what I've read in the past month. For longer reviews, you can always find me on Goodreads.

Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons & Love Affairs by Pearl Cleage: This is not really a memoir but literally a collection of Cleage's personal journals from 1970 to 1988. On the one hand, she's clearly a talented writer, and she shares a lot of thoughts about womanhood and race and work and being an artist. On the other hand, she also spends a lot of time talking about getting high and pining over the married men she's sleeping with, so that got a bit old.

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah: This definitely lived up to the hype! Noah explores the complexity of race and class in South Africa not through the shock value of dredging up his worst memories, but in between the lines of the stories about his pranks, his friendships, his failed attempts at dating, and his complex family relationships. I laughed, I cried, and I wished it were longer.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain: I found Bourdain's insights into life in the restaurant industry to be interesting, horrifying, and entertaining, but his arrogance was grating after a while and I don't think his experiences are as universal as he made them out to be. If you were a fan of Bourdain, worked in the industry, or have lived in New York, you'll probably enjoy it more than I did.

Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward by Gemma Hartley: It's not an exaggeration to say that this book has transformed my marriage. Hartley articulated my personal experience (and that of many, many women in different-gender relationships) so perfectly that I told my husband, "I'd do almost anything to get you to read this book." He listened to the first 15 minutes, said everything suddenly clicked for him, and before I knew it I had an equal partner in the running of our daily lives. Women will appreciate it, but men need to read it.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green: I already liked this a lot the first time around, but it was even better on audio. I am deeply impressed that Hank Green wrote such an interesting, timely, fast-paced but philosophical novel, and I am definitely looking forward to the sequel.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan: I finally read this after hearing great things about the movie, and it was pretty meh. The writing isn't great, I didn't feel invested in the lives of the characters, and the voyeuristic aspect of "OMG they're so very, very rich" got old quickly. I'd still watch the movie, though.

Glittering Images by Susan Howatch: This was a super weird book. The best way I can describe it is a Christian soap opera with a large side of someone's personal therapy sessions. I think I got the underlying message but it could have been done in a much less problematic or dramatic way.

Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones: I don't usually like short stories, but I went in with the right expectations to enjoy this. Each story is a brief window into the life of one or more black Americans living in Washington, D.C., together making up a tapestry showing the diversity of life within a single community. It's definitely more about characters than plot, but that's not a bad thing if you know what to expect going in.

What have you been reading this month? Share over at Modern Mrs. Darcy!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Sophie's Choice
Five years ago I was reading: Red Azalea and War and Peace
Ten years ago I was reading: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

My Ten Most Popular Goodreads Reviews

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

This week it's a freebie! I use Goodreads to review all the books I read, and often when I finish a book I will look through other readers' reviews to find those who felt the same way I did about the book. I love when someone can put my own feelings about a book into words! For this week's freebie post, I decided to share which of my own reviews have received the most likes. It's always affirming when someone likes one of my reviews, particularly if my opinion was different from a lot of other readers. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who felt that way about a book and especially to know that my words resonated with someone else.

Here are the reviews, from fewest to most likes.

1. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (4 likes)
Sample line: "The book is aimed at an American audience, and he includes just enough context that you can understand what's happening (like why no one blinked at a guy in his neighborhood being named Hitler) without bogging down the story in a history lesson."
5 stars: Read the whole review here.

2. The Science of Mom by Alice Callahan (4 likes)
Sample line: "She does a great job of continually reminding the reader that different families do different things with just as much success, and that no research studies will ever be perfectly crafted to prescribe exactly what your child needs."
4 stars: Read the whole review here.

3. Small Animals by Kim Brooks (4 likes)
Sample line: "Brooks doesn't exactly leave the reader with hope (you can't really say, 'Forget what other people think!' when you may face criminal charges or even lose your children for giving them more independence than someone else thinks you should) but she does offer commiseration and reassurance that yes, this really is as bananas as it seems."
5 stars: Read the whole review here.

4. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (5 likes)
Sample line: "I had to keep putting the book down because it was sickening to see just how flimsy the evidence could be that put someone on death row, just how blatant the discrimination, just how willfully ignorant the people in power could be of the mounds of evidence pointing to someone's innocence."
5 stars: Read the whole review here.

5. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (6 likes)
Sample line: "Their emotions at every moment rang true to me — they felt like the college freshmen I live and work with and remember being."
5 stars: Read the whole review here.

6. Emotional Vampires by Albert J. Bernstein (7 likes)
Sample line: "Even when it's possible to recognize people you know in the profiles he sketches (and you will), you'll probably find yourself saying every time, 'Well, they're not that extreme.'"
2 stars: Read the whole review here.

7. Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber (7 likes)
Sample line: "Her raw honesty, complete with appropriately placed curse words, is like balm on the soul of a Christian who wants to follow Jesus' example but can't figure out how to apply typical Christian platitudes to real life."
5 stars: Read the whole review here.

8. Love Does by Bob Goff (9 likes)
Sample line: "I kept thinking that this book would be better subtitled Love Does: A Story of Wealth and White Male Privilege."
1 star: Read the whole review here.

9. Spark Joy by Marie Kondo (13 likes)
Sample line: "The stories from the first book were what inspired me to actually undertake the full process in the first place; this book is more nitty-gritty for those who get stuck or, like me, just want to organize what they have left a little more neatly."
5 stars: Read the whole review here.

10. This Star Won't Go Out by Esther Earl (25 likes)
Sample line: "I wish someone had not been content to let this ride on the coattails of John Green / The Fault in Our Stars but had instead used it as source material to write a compelling true story about a girl with cancer who brought joy to the people around her, one that people who didn't know Esther would actually read and appreciate."
1 star: Read the whole review here.

Do you review books on Goodreads?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Sophie's Choice
Five years ago I was reading: Red Azalea
Ten years ago I was reading: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Top Ten Heartwarming Books for Cold Winter Nights

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

This week's theme is "Cozy/Wintry Reads." I know from experience that the last thing I want to do when it's gross outside is read a dark, depressing book or one that's set somewhere freezing cold. This is the time of year I want to read something sweet and heartwarming. In case you're the same, here are ten heartwarming books I recommend.

1. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
This book (a loose memoir written under a pseudonym) recounts the adventures (and misadventures) of the author as a new veterinarian in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1940s. He clearly cares about the animals he treats, even when he's poking fun at them, their hapless owners, and most of all himself.

2. All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
This is a children's book about a family of five sisters growing up in New York City in the early 1900s. The stories are simple and sweet but also provide insights into life at the time and place, particularly for a Jewish immigrant family, and there are some lovely surprises that tie it all together at the end.

3. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
The overall writing in this book is admittedly not the best (plot holes, unanswered questions, unrealistic dialogue), but I couldn't help loving it anyway because it's just so damn sweet and the sentence-level writing is beautiful. It's a love story between a boy who is blind and the girl with deformed feet whom he carries around on his back as she acts as his eyes. It sounds cheesy summarized like that, and maybe it is, but it was 100% heartwarming to read anyway.

4. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
This is another children's book (a lot of heartwarming books seem to be in that category), about a girl who's new to town and the dog who helps her make friends, land a job, and reconnect with her father. It touches briefly on some heavier topics like alcoholism, death, and mentally challenged individuals, but primarily it's a light-hearted read about overcoming prejudices and finding your community.

5. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
This is also a dog book, though not a children's book this time. It centers on a dog who is reborn each time they die, though they retain the memories of their previous owners. If you've ever known the love and loyalty of a dog, you'll appreciate this book.

6. George by Alex Gino
This children's book tackles the experience of being a transgender child in a way that's accessible and not too heavy for children. While George's experience isn't exactly easy, she has a supportive best friend and ultimately has the opportunity to share her true identity with the world.

7. One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern
I don't want to spoil too much of the book's mystery, so I'll just say that this book is an exploration about how each of us has something special about us. It's a story of redemption (for the main character) and of helping others recognize their unique value.

8. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
You've probably heard of this by now even if you haven't read it yet. (What book lover doesn't want to read about a bookstore?) It's a sweet if predictable story of growth, tracing a bookseller's journey from lonely, cranky widow to happy family man whose bookstore is a pillar of the community.

9. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
This quiet coming-of-age novel follows Francie Nolan from age 11 to age 16: the questions, the obstacles, the small pleasures, the moments of confusion and embarrassment, the life lessons, the shift in perspective over time. Although Francie grows up in poverty — which Smith neither romanticizes nor oversimplifies — it's clear that she is well loved by her family, and that makes the biggest difference.

10. What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
This is an adorable YA romance with an unlikely couple at its center — Ben has just broken up with his boyfriend and isn't ready for someone new, and Arthur has never been in a relationship and nearly ruins everything with his over-eagerness. A bit predictable and not exactly a happily ever after, it's still an adorable and sweet read.

What are your favorite heartwarming reads?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Stranger in a Strange Land and The New Jim Crow
Five years ago I was reading: The Buddha in the Attic and Roots
Ten years ago I was reading: The Complete Sherlock Holmes Vol. II