My Year in Books – 2018

As any good, nerdy bibliophile would do, here are the books I read this year with a 0-5 ranking scale (and a few other unsolicited comments).  Since I started commuting about 25 minutes each way this year, I have listened to a few of these books.  But otherwise, read the hard copies.  Without further ado, here are my books in the order I read them.

1.  Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller  3.0
2. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate 5.0 ***One of my absolute favorites!!
3. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee 4.0  (Very dark)
4. Daring to Hope: Finding God’s Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful by Katie Davis Majors  3.5
5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas 5.0  ***Very important book!!!***
6. Hum If You  Don’t Know The Words by Bianca Marais 4.0
7. Fates and Traitors by Jennifer Chiaverini 4.0
8. Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin  3.75  I knew nothing about this part of Jim Thorpe’s life, very interesting.
9. The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected by Nik Ripken 4.0
10. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley 1.0 CNF (Could Not Finish)  So Boring!!!
11. Sweet Tea Tuesdays by Ashley Farley 4.0  Great summer read!
12. Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren 4.0
13. Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank 4.0 Rough start, but then gets better.
14. Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout 5.0  ***I love this author.  Had me hooked on page 1!!
15. Everything I Never I Told You by Celeste Ng 4.0 
16. The High Tide Club by Mary Kay Andrews 5.0  Great summer read!
17. The Last Days of Cafe Leila by Donia Bijan 4.0
18. The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty 5.0  *Another one of my favorite authors
19. A Long Way Home by Saroo  Brierly 5.0  **This memoir touched my heart!  Even though our stories are very different, I certainly could relate to a lot of Saroo’s feelings as an adoptee.  (Listened to this one.)
20. The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty 4.0
21. Seven Women: And the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas 3.75  Dry, but good.  Loved learning more about these women of faith!  (Listened to this one)
22. Every Note Played by Lisa Genova 4.0 Both beautiful and horribly painful!  Characters are difficult and hard to love, yet you just can’t stop.  (Listened to this one.)
23. Beartown by Fredrik Backman 3.0 I love this author, but this was my least favorite of his books.  There was just no light in this book!
24. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama 4.0  (I listened to this one and really enjoyed it.)
25. The Whole Town’s Talking by Fannie Flagg  3.75  Loved the first 3/4 of the book, then it went a little south for me.  (Listened to this one)
26. No One Ever Asked by Katie Ganshert  4.0 
27. Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion 4.0
28. Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson  5.0  It’s a book full of letters…what’s not to love!  If you loved Guernsey, you’ve got to read this one!
29.  The Man I Never Met: A Memoir by Adam Schefter  3.0
30. Class Mom by Laurie Gelman 5.0  FUNNIEST BOOK OF THE YEAR!!!  I laughed until I cried!!!  Totally irreverent, very cheeky.  Hilarious!!!
31. All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung 5.0  *** This book speaks out loud the words my heart has been saying!***
32. Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult 5.0  ***Powerful.  Poignant.  Articulate.  Haunting**
33. Educated by Tara Westover 4.0  I wanted to love this one, but had lots of mixed feelings.  Wished she had really gone more into her story about education too.
34. The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield 3.0 Really struggled with this one…mixed feelings.
35. David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell 4.0  Really interesting.  Great for teachers and parents.  I listened to this one…might have struggled to finish if I was reading hard copy.
36. Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate  4.0
37. Why Not Me?  by Mindy Kaling 3.0
38. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead ***CNF…wanted to love it, but it was hard to follow and kind of went around in circles.***
39. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarity 4.0  
40. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama 4.0
41. Turtles All The Way Down by John Green 3.0 
42. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton  3.5   Needed a cheat sheet to keep up with all the characters and centuries it’s written in.  SO.  MANY.  WORDS.
43. Come, Let Us Adore Him: A Daily Advent Devotional by Paul David Tripp  4.0

Here’s to another year full of learning, laughing and getting lost in books!  Cheers!