my top 10 books of 2018

At the beginning of 2018, I set a wild new year’s resolution to read one book a week.

Thanks to a solid stint of unemployment, two months of traveling, and an eventual job in publishing, I’m happy to report that I exceeded that goal (cue baffled applause).

This list couldn’t be a more random smattering of books—new releases, obscure backlist, challenging essays, and escapist novels. Most of the books I read were either fine or mediocre, and honestly, I'm more excited for what’s on my nightstand for 2019. But nonetheless, some stellar gems found their way into 2018.

Here they are.

THERE THERE // Tommy Orange

Heartbreaking, eye-opening, and unflinchingly real, Tommy Orange writes masterfully about violence, drug abuse, and ethnic identity. It may be difficult to digest, but reading literature that makes us uncomfortable is essential. There There has important, hard things to say, and I want to be a person who listens.

GILEAD // Marilynne Robinson

Marilynne Robinson is possibly one of the most gifted writers of prose I’ve ever encountered. I read this in my dorm room at Oxford and on trains through the Cotswolds—its pages now bent and torn in the most fitting way. It took about a month to finish, but I think a slow meander is the way this work of art is meant to be read.

ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE // Gail Honeyman

THE GREATEST MOST HEARTWARMING BOOK YOU WILL READ THIS YEAR. I want to curled up by the fire and read this for hours and hours. I fell in love with this Eleanor and Raymond and their weird British life. I have vivid memories of reading this on the Eurostar from London to France, so there’s that for nostalgic and sentimental value. Also, the UK cover is better than the American cover. There. I said it.

BEHOLD THE DREAMERS // Imbolo Mbue

This is the first book I read after moving to New York, and I was caught up alongside the characters in living my New York dream while simultaneously having that dream disillusioned by reality. I read it on the sunny benches of Riverside Park, surrounded by aggressive pigeons in Columbus Circle, and sitting next to smelly, strange people in Washington Square Park. This beautiful story of the true life of dreamers is magical, harsh, and hopeful, reminding us that it’s always worth it to dream, to try, even to fail. This book was a lovely subway and park companion before I got a job.

AUTUMN // Ali Smith

Poetic and philosophical, Autumn is story about companionship, love, art, and the coexistent melancholy and vibrancy of life. Though the title and cover may suggest it, this isn't a cozy read. Extremely literary in nature while subtly discussing British politics, this was a lovely, mournful, challenging read.

SLOUCHING TOWARDS BETHLEHEM // Joan Didion

THIS. I felt very academic whilst reading it in the top floor of Waterstones on High Street in Oxford. Essays that make my mind stretch, soar, and feel things are my favorite.  

UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE // Bel Kaufman

So so good! A throwback classic (1964) with a hilarious and poignant take on the public school system. I couldn’t put it down and got so invested in the students, teachers, and the protagonist—a young idealistic teacher who dreams of saving her students through kindness and Chaucer. I think this is accessible for all readers but ESPECIALLY teachers.

HOW TO STOP TIME // Matt Haig

Unbelievable. I read this book so fast, devouring it in all my unemployment spare time. About overcoming fear and learning to truly live, moment by moment, Matt Haig is a genius and writes so well about what it means to be human.

SING UNBURIED SING // Jesmyn Ward

WELL DAMN. This book scratches an itch for depth and intensity, with an emotional hang-over that left me weirdly satisfied. When I finished, I wanted to do nothing but sit in silence and stare at the wall. Although I read it slowly, I wish I had knocked it out in one or two sittings to better absorb the character development. Because this story IS the characters—completely. 

THE FEMALE PERSUASION // Meg Wolitzer

Beautiful and achingly realistic, I didn't know I would love it as much as I did until the end. There are mixed feelings about the ending, but I honestly loved it. I love that it paints people as flawed and power as fleeting and human nature as exactly what it's always been, while delivering hope and championing our responsibility to pass passion along to others. 

Complete 2018 List
- Unseen by Sara Hagerty
- Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist
- Turtles all the Way Down by John Green
- I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
- Dance, Stand, Run by Jess Connelly
- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
- Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin
- The Mingling of Souls by Matt Chandler
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
- Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Young Pioneers by Rose Wilder Lane
- Tell Me How it Ends by Valeria Luiselli
- Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance
- Cultivate by Lara Casey
- The Transforming Power of the Gospel by Jerry Bridges
- Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
- 7 Women by Eric Metaxes
- My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
- The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
- How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry
- Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller
- Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
- Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole
- The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones
- Roots & Sky by Christie Purifoy
- Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider
- If You Only Knew by Jamie Ivey
- Be Still My Soul by Elisabeth Elliot
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
- My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan
- Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
- The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
- Loving Your Husband Before You Even Have One by Kim Vollendorf
- A Prayer Journal by Flannery O’Connor
- Gracelaced by Ruth Chou Simons
- In His Image by Jen Wilkin
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
- Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
- Autumn by Ali Smith
- Gay Girl Good God by Jackie Hill Perry
- This is Water by David Foster Wallace
- Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
- How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
- The Very Worst Missionary by Jamie Wright
- A Different Drummer by William Melvin Kelley
- Winter by Ali Smith
- Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman
- Almost Everything by Anne Lamott
- There There by Tommy Orange
- The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
- Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
- English Lessons by Andrea Lucado