I meant to put together this list earlier, but somehow this month is already getting away from me! I have been getting a TON of DMs about what books I recommend, especially from newer followers. In case you are new, or just getting into reading, I have a lot of book content. I share all of my book recommendations in blog posts that are filed under the “Books” section of my Lifestyle category.
And then I also keep track of all of my reading on Goodreads. I started doing it for tracking my reading personally, but anyone can look at it or follow me there– and I also include ratings there. [Five is a no-brainer, 100% loved; four is a really liked; three is a toss-up, like a “meh, not bad”; and everything else is a dislike/do not recommend.]
PS I’m considering a little bit of a website makeover right now, and one thing I’m thinking of doing is having a static book page? Is that something you’d be interested in??
BEST NON-FICTION:
Educated by Tara Westover
No question, this was my favorite non-fiction read of the year. I’m seeing it as the top of every reading list right now and it’s for good reason. I will say that although I loved this book, it’s a painful story about a daughter growing up in a religious family with limited access to education. I found the abuse almost too hard to handle at times as a reader; I can only imagine what it must have actually been like for Tara Westover.
BEST FICTION:
I have a tie for best fiction:
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
Even though I had a harder time getting into the book than most, once I was in, I WAS IN. Don’t give up. It offers an interesting and unique perspective on feminism from all angles. I think it’s a relevant read considering the current climate. I particularly related to the book as I, too, graduated from college and started working at a female-focused startup. In fact, at times, I felt like I was reading my own story and post-graduate experience.
A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
Wow, I loved this book. It’s long, but I think the writing and the story are equally powerful. It’s a story about family, religion, and love– and how they intertwine and change generationally.
MY FIVE STAR RATED BOOKS OF 2018:
A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
Digital Gold by Nathaniel Popper
Educated by Tara Westover
Faithful by Alice Hoffman
Florida by Lauren Groff
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
The Late Bloomers’ Club by Louise Miller
The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
You’re Not Lost by Maxie McCoy
I have a goal to read 52 books this year, so definitely leave your recommendations below if you’ve had any good reads lately!!!
Just read The Lost Man by Jane Harper and really enjoyed it. Mystery, thriller set in Outback Australia.
I would love a static book page on the site! I really enjoy Grace Atwood’s and find myself referring to it often when I need a new book
The Heart’s Invisible Furies was one of my faves for 2018.
Ugh! I’m right in the middle of Educated and I really need to get my hands on more Lauren Groff. She’s really good. Good picks!!
xx GE
The Interestings – Meg Wolitzer
Into the wild – John Krakauer
Wild – Cheryl Strayed
His dark materials- Philip Pullman
The Incorrigible Optimists Club – Jean-Michel Guenassia (Must read if you love Paris!)
Great book recomendations! Your dogs are darling,are they labradoodles?
The American Marriage! It is emotionally heavy but sooo good!
I am currently rereading Harry Potter, so for oldie but goodie reads HP is my rec!! But for some newer reads I would say Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan.
https://premedwearspearls.blogspot.com
xoxo Libby
I can’t wait to check out these books!!
https://alexagmarsh.blogspot.com
I would love a books page! Grace Atwood’s set up is great and very user friendly. I am always over there looking for a new book to read!
Ready Player One and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine were probably my favorite fiction books this year. For non-fiction Evicted is one of my recent favorites. Super eye opening read.
I would love a static book page! Your recommendations are so helpful and I like to check your blog when im looking for my next book.
Adding Educated and A Place For Us to my list! Some of the best books I read this year (besides a few of the ones on your list, esp Where the Crawdads Sing and Little Fires Everywhere) are The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Great Alone.
Re: redesign, I’d personally love a dedicated Books landing page.
If you liked Educated, you would love Jeannette Walls’s books. The Glass Castle is my all time favorite, but Half Broke Horses is also great!
Yes to The Glass Castle. So good.
I really liked For Better and Worse and Orphan Train…completely different type of books but I loved them both the same!
Design by Sydnee | January Reading List 💗
One Day in December by Josie Silver – it is an excellent read. Great to listen to as well. A romance that sucks you in for sure! Highly recommend.
I loved “Dark Matter” and “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.” Also just finished “Becoming” by Michelle Obama and it was a fantastic read!
‘The Rules of Magic’ by Alice Hoffman if you haven’t already read it. It’s a prequel of sorts to Practical Magic. I just loved it. Also, ‘The Night Circus’ by Erin Morgenstern is simply a beautiful read (someone bought the movie rights to it but nothing so far…it would make a great movie).
I completely agree with your choice of The Female Persuasion! Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down and finished it so quickly – I was so drawn into the characters and their lives.
I just finished The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman, and it is the most beautiful book I have ever read! It was made into a movie recently, but can’t recommend the books enough!! Easy 5 stars!
Nightingale is fantastic! Also enjoyed Lilac Girls.
love your book posts!
So many great reads! I didn’t like All We Ever Wanted 🙁
Some of my favorite reads of this year for Next Year in Havana, Hunting and Gathering and I’m sure there are many more but these just came immediately to mind.
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The two books I recommended most last year were The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin and Caroline by Sarah Miller. Very different but both very interesting and entertaining!
Try The Library Book by Susan Orlean. Non fiction. As a lover of books you will enjoy this.
Americanah is a beautifully written book! And as always my favorite 1984 by Orwell
I follow you on Goodreads and loving seeing what you’re reading! Some of your favorites were mine too. I also really liked Next Year in Havana, From Sand and Ash, and The Storyteller’s Secret.
Defending Jacob, very good thriller!
In December I read One Day in December by Josie Silver! That book was especially popular that month, but it’s perfect for any winter month 🙂 It’s a cute YA romance! It’s been marketed as perfect for fans of Love Actually, and I think that it’s also perfect for fans of One Day and Love, Rosie -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
Some of these are on my list to read this year. My top reads of 2018 were : The Alice Network, The Gilded Years, and Small Admissions
I literally could not put down “Bad Blood:Secrets and Lives of a Silicon Valley Startup.” It’s the true story about the bogus multi-billion dollar fraud biotech startup Theranos and its leader Elizabeth Holmes. She was a media darling who was on the cover of all these magazines, but she had faked the entire operation— even fooling Walgreen’s!
I just read Beautiful Boy– it’s a memoir by a father whose high-achieving son battled a methamphetamine addiction. It was just made into a movie with Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet, and was incredibly touching and as well as informative, since addiction is such a sadly relevant cultural issue. Now I’m reading Fruit of the Drunken Tree, which is a fictional story told from the perspective of two young girls in guerilla-occupied Bogota–it’s a quick read and I’m enjoying it a lot!
One Day In December by Josie Silver is a bit of a lighter, romantic read but the story and voices are so authentic and utterly charming! The History of Love by Nicole Krauss and The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton are also excellent books!
This year, some books I loved were Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, Circe by Madeline Miller (probably my favorite book of the year!), and Still Lives by Maria Hummel. I’m current reading I’ll Be Gone in the Dark which is so intense and outright scary at times, but seriously a page turner (I’d only recommend it if you’re a true-crime fan)
Happy new year. Love your blog.
Now I read “Little fires everywhere” by Celeste Ng and it seems very interesting.
finally reading A Place for Us after you sharing it with us a while back!
chevrons & éclairs
so many great reads here!
52 books this year?! that’s awesome
xx
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Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly is incredible. I highly recommend!
I finished “Bad Blood” by John Carreyrou recently and loved it more than any book in a long time. It’s nonfiction about the Silicon Valley unicorn, Theranos and it’s rise and subsequent fall from glory. I work in a startup and thought it was fascinating, as I’m sure you would with your startup history!
I had a really weird time with The Female Persuasion. I raced through it on a overseas flight and then towards the end I got so bored with the main character and the book in general…it seemed a little contrived to me?? Or something..not sure? Maybe I should pick it up where I left off… As for a book or 2 that you MUST read: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (just beautiful) and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (wrote my senior thesis on this book and it will fascinate me forever).
I love the Little Book of Hygge, such a helpful way to make your home cozy during the winter! Yes a book page would be awesome!
great list and I agree with so many of your choices..in the middle of Girl, Wash Your face right now!
One of my favorite reads of 2018 was erotic stories for punjabi widows! I would HIGHLY recommend it! The right amount of light and hilarious with a good amount of cultural learning!
I love book recommendations so I will check some of these out!
Yes, a static book page would be a great addition to your site. Do it!!
I just checked out “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” from the library yesterday and I finished it today! It was so incredibly heartwarming and funny that I just couldn’t put it down. They’re making a movie out of it, which made me finally decide to make time and read the book. Honestly one of my favorite fiction reads yet!
Good luck with your reading goal this year! I’ve set a goal to read about the same amount 🙂
Great post! I definitely need to read some of these books you suggested.
Kate Christine/LifestyleBlog
https://daysofkate.com
The Lake House by Kate Morton. Final Girls by Riley Sager.
I love that you made a list of your 5 star books! Mine for 2018 were:
– Turtles All the Way Down
– The Virgin Suicides
– Pride & Prejudice
– The Handmaid’s Tale
– The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
– You Think It, I’ll Say It
– Someday, Someday Maybe
– The Female Persuasion
– To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (1-3)