Reading 2018

It's time to publish the one guaranteed post per year: my year in books.  2018 was an excellent year for reading.  There were very few duds in the mix, though The Year of Less, One True Loves, and The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning all fell a bit flat for me. I found myself rereading a lot of C.S. Lewis, as well as reading as much Fredrik Backman as I had access to.  I discovered how much I enjoy Ann Patchett, Dani Shapiro, and Joan Didion's work; I hope to read more of their work in 2019.  I also discovered a few lovable series this year, including The Penderwicks, L.M. Montgomery's Emily books, Backman's Beartown series, Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy, and Jennifer A. Nielson's Ascendancy trilogy (I loved The False Prince and bought the trilogy for my nephew for his birthday; however, the sequel didn't catch me enough for me to read the whole series.).  There were many great reads this year, and I've put some of the most memorable titles in bold.

Due to the influx of reading, I'm changing up the format a bit, cutting out the numbering (there are 64 total) and date finished. I still indicated the format in which I read the book.  If I read my own copy, there is nothing indicated.

January

• The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl
• Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Currey Mason
• The Four Tendencies: The Indispensible Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better by Gretchen Rubin (Kindle)
• Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage (The Crosswicks Journal, #4) by Madeleine L'Engle
• Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman (Overdrive/Libby App)

February

• Beartown (Beartown #1) by Fredrik Backman (Overdrive/Libby App)
• The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg (Overdrive/Libby App)
• My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout (borrowed from Vanessa)
• The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford (borrowed from Vanessa)
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo (Overdrive/Libby App)

March

• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
• Encounters with Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Life's Biggest Questions by Timothy Keller
• Yes, Thorn by Amy Munson

April

• This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett (Overdrive/Libby App)
• The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy, #1) by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Libby App)

May

• Emily of New Moon (Emily #1) by L. M. Montgomery (Libby App)
• Emily Climbs (Emily #2) by L. M. Montgomery (Kindle)
• Stargirl (Stargirl #1) by Jerry Spinelli
• Love, Stargirl (Stargirl #2) by Jerry Spinelli (Libby App)
• Miss Peregrien's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #1) by Ransom Riggs
• I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon (Libby App)
• My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues by Pamela Paul
• The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (The Penderwicks #1) by Jeanne Birdsall (Libby App)

June

• The Penderwicks on Gardam Street (The Penderwicks #2) by Jeanne Birdsall (Libby App)
• Emily's Quest (Emily Part 3) by L. M. Montgomery (Kindle)
• Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy (Libby App)
• The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease 
• State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (Libby App)
• The Penderwicks at Point Mouette (The Penderwicks #3) by Jeanne Birdsall )Libby App)

July

• One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Libby App)
• The Penderwicks in Spring (Penderwicks #4) by Jeanne Birdsall (Libby App)
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson 

August

• The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Rightby Atul Gawande
• A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza (Libby App)
• Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
• Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis
• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (Libby App)

September

• The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Libby App)
• Valentines by Ted Kooser 
• The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (Libby App)
• The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy #1) by Katherine Arden
• Glory in the Ordinary: Why Your Work in the Home Matters to God by Courney Reissig (borrowed from Jana)
• Family History by Dani Shapiro (Libby App)
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Libby App)

October

• The Gardener's Year by Karel Capek
• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
• High Wages by Dorothy Whipple (borrowed from Vanessa)
• Blue Nights by Joan Didion (Libby App)
• Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Charlie Bucket #2) by Roald Dahl (Libby App)
• The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman (Kindle)

November

• Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York by Sari Botton (borrowed from Vanessa)
• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport (Libby App)
• Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin (Libby App)
• Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry (Libby App)
• Messenger by Lois Lowry (Libby App)
• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (Libby App)
• Us Against You (Beartown #2) by Fredrik Backman (Libby App)

December

• The Girl in the Tower (Winternight Trilogy, #2) by Katherine Arden (Libby App)
• The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson (Libby App)
• Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything by Anne Bogel (Libby App)
• El Deafo by Cece Bell (Libby App)
• The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders (Libby App)
• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King