Various

2018 on Goodreads

Jaden Nelson

I read some of my new favorite books this year, but I feel like I also let myself down. Especially towards the end of the year and the start of 10th grade, I let my reading habits slip, I wasn't really reading books I enjoyed, and I seldom in the mood to read. I listened to quite a few audiobooks this year which are a new-found favorite. I discovered the amazing John Steinbeck (although I am finding it hard to get back into his work). I finally read some non-fiction and I loved it! Also, I was a little more varied with my reading this year and the genres I read. One thing I want to do better in the next year is to set aside more time for reading, but also don't start getting angry or anxious when I have spent more than a week on a book. Hopefully next year will be an even better reading year and I hope to find some new favorites, learn a lot, and reignite my passion.

Helena

So, in a couple of days 2019 begins and 2018 ends, 3 days actually as I'm writing this review. This year is my first full year on Goodreads. I started reading again in September last year. i guess i missed it after a long period not reading. For some reason I stopped. Maybe it was because I got caught up with this 'new' thing called a smartphone, or because I had a lot of homework. Maybe it was a combination of these two. Either way, I stopped reading.

I found myself enjoying English books more than my native language (Dutch). From the 77 almost 78 books I've read this year, there are 'only' 8 books in Dutch. The rest of it are all of it in English. When I tell people I read in English, 99,9% of the reactions are like "You read in English? Wow! That is so amazing!" Which makes me kinda uncomfortable when they say that. No idea why.

This year there were a couple of books that weren't exactly my fave. I struggled to finish with one book called 'call me by your name'. After that I tried to not finish it if I did not like it. So since then I did not finish two other books. Kinda made me feel guilty when I look at it but oh well.

I also had a few favorites from this year. 8 in total.
Those books are:

● The beauty that remains
● One small thing
● Turtles all the way down
● It ends with us
● The exact opposite of okay
● Warcross
● Holding up the universe
● The hate u give

I also notice by myself that I barely pre-order and if a book gets released I mostly wait a couple months (maybe years) to finally buy it. I suck at buying it immediately.

Hopefully you enjoyed my review of the year. I certainly liked writing it!

Colleen

2018 had a lot of ups and downs for me both personally and reading-wise. I got in a major review slump and was behind on my reviews for literally the entire year.


  

 
Stats:
122 books read
43,582 pages read
Average rating: 3.4
 
My average rating was only .1 higher than last year, but it felt like I had fewer frustrating reads overall even if I didn’t have as many exceptional reads. I also increased the number of ARCs I’ve been reading, so that was fun. Sadly, my most anticipated read of the year, Muse of Nightmares, didn’t remotely live up to my expectations (though I seem to be in the minority on that opinion). But I did read some great books this year. I also picked a different color each month(ish) and read books with that color covers for that month. It was a lot of fun and helped me clean up my To Read list!


  

 
Here is an overview of my favorite and least favorite books of the year. Please note that these are books I read in 2018 but were not necessarily published in 2018. As always, these are my personal opinions; no hissy fits if you disagree.
 
 
Let’s start with my Worst Books of the Year:
 
#5 Worst Book – aka that Awkward Recommendation
Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Snippet: This was like a grown-up, trashier version of Twilight that managed to be even more toxic. Like many readers, I’m more lenient on content when it comes to romance novels, but this was so terrible! The male lead was a complete asshole with zero redeeming qualities (or any qualities, really). The female lead was a TSTL helpless ditz. There was a lot of questionable content about consent, victim blaming, masochism, sexism, and just all around ickiness. And the sex scenes were horribly written! Not sexy in the least! I was utterly disgusted by this book.
 
#4 Worst Book – aka False Advertising & the Curse of Bookclub
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Snippet: Don’t believe anyone who tells you this is a Mystery! It’s nothing but a drawn-out drama where a bunch of manipulative narcissists whine about their lives. There wasn’t a single redeeming character. If you’re going to write nasty people, then there needs to be something else to balance out the story. The writing was bland. The plot was almost nonexistent. This book was nihilistic and depressing and boring as all get out. Unless you are obsessed with drama or want a guidebook of 101 ways to psychologically damage your children, skip it.
 
#3 Worst Book – aka a Reminder that just because the topic is tragic does NOT mean the book is well-written (also, another round of the Curse of Bookclub)
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Snippet: I know a lot of people were moved by this book, but I’m not going to pretend to like a book just because it involves a tragic topic. By far my biggest issue with this book was that Hannah bastardized a real-life hero and turned her into a selfish snot. Look up Andrée de Jongh if you want more details. Instead of honoring real sacrifices, Hannah reiterated time and again that the most important thing was that Isabelle was beautiful and in love. She admitted in multiple interviews that the story is based on de Jongh but didn’t mention that anywhere in the book. And her attitude about the whole thing was extremely flippant. It was disgusting to use the death of millions of people as a prop for a trite romance. The writing was also sloppy. There is an abundance of anachronisms. She forgets to age her characters and there were many inconsistencies regarding time, setting, weather, etc. She also went overboard using national stereotypes. This story isn’t a tragedy; it’s a travesty.
 
#2 Worst Book – aka why awards are not a reliable indication of quality
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Snippet: I have no earthly idea how this won a Pulitzer. This book was a mess. The narration is inconsistent. The story skips all over the place both in time and content. It’s extremely crude and vulgar. It’s violent and nihilistic and engages in stereotypes. There is a ton of violence particularly sexual violence towards women, and it’s all relayed nonchalantly as normal and acceptable. It’s a story that should come with a whole lot of trigger warnings. It was gross, poorly written, and boring.
 
#1 Worst Book – aka why personal grudges make terrible books
Natural Causes by Barbara Ehrenreich
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Snippet: Wowwww. This is what happens when someone sets out to validate their own opinion based on a long-held personal grudge. Far from what the synopsis advertises, this book is a bitter, rabid rant against the medical profession that’s right up there with antivaccers and flat-Earthers. Like any conspiracy theorist, Ehrenreich picks and chooses her “facts.” Anything that doesn’t fit her own viewpoint is automatically false information contrived by the enemy. If you think I’m exaggerating, check out the quotes in my full review. She thinks doctors are sexual sadists out to demean and abuse people and steal their money. This is unfortunate, because there are problems that the medical field needs to address. But trash like this just causes more problems with its self-involved tin-foil-hat rantings. It’s particularly dangerous, because Ehrenreich is outright telling people to forego medical treatments. This is blatant fear-mongering. If you do read this book, please, please, PLEASE cross-research the content!!!
 
 
Best Books of the Year:
 
#5 Best Book – aka some things are things are classic for a reason
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Snippet: Not much puts butterflies in my stomach, but Jane Austen certainly can! Persuasion is my second favorite Austen book. But what imitators fail to recognize is that her works are much more than romances. She employs her skills to make witty commentaries on society and human nature. There are some great life lessons in Persuasion. But the romance is swoon-worthy too! Unrequited love and/or second chance love stories aren’t usually my thing, but this is such an endearing story. I completely empathized with Anne as she tried to find herself and happiness.
 
 
#4 Best Book – aka see I’m not totally cold hearted :D 
The Summer Children by Dot Hutchison
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Snippet: This is a series I hesitate to recommend because it isn’t for everyone. It deals with serial killers and sexual crimes so there is a lot of graphic content. But Hutchison writes so well! I love her balance between character development and plot. This story is about so much more than just finding a killer. It explores how much affect violent crimes have on people – the victims, their loved ones, the agents involved in the cases. I have been sucked into everyone of these books. Hutchison is one of the very few authors who can actually bring me to tears. The Summer Children really moved me.
 
#3 Best Book – aka there are still surprises in the world!
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Snippet: I went into this book nothing almost nothing about it and with no expectations. So I was giddily surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Fantasy is a huge hit-or-miss genre for me, and I find many Fantasy books to be boring copycats. The Rook is an amazing, original, and highly entertaining Urban Fantasy story that kept me engaged literally from cover to cover! Sometimes humorous, sometimes thrilling, but always engaging. The less you know going into this book, the better.
 
#2 Best Book – aka girls just want to have fun
Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Snippet: This is just barely in second place. Adventure, action, excellent world-building, humor, heart, meaning, geeky Easter eggs, and a whole lot of ass-kicking women. Need I say more?
 
#1 Best Book –aka gimme gimme more more
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Snippet: This has become one of my favorite series. Set in medieval Russia, this trilogy is about Russian mythology and effortless combines Fantasy and Historical Fiction into a beautiful, atmospheric, and memorable series. This book was everything I was hoping and more!
 
 
Four of these five are relatively new authors. It’s always a pleasure to find new favorites. You might also notice that there is a theme of girl power in my top five. I didn’t pick it that way intentionally, but it clearly shows that I enjoy strong female characters. And each of these books features women who are strong in very different ways. But they all had lessons to teach. And I had a helluva time reading them!
 
 
Top Books by Genre:
 
Biography/Memoir:  West with the Night
Chick Lit:  Truly, Madly
Childrens:  The Secret Garden
Classic:  Persuasion
Fantasy:  Bloody Rose
Historical Fiction:  The Winter of the Witch – Runner Up: The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
Horror:  Silence for the Dead
Mystery:  The Rook
Nonfiction:  Mindhunter – Runner Up: Dear Ijeawele
SciFi:  Fahrenheit 451 – Runner Up: Vicious
Suspense/Thriller: The Summer Children
Young Adult:  A Wind in the Door – Runner Up: Daughter of the Siren Queen
 
 
Misc Categories:
 
Best Cover: A Natural History of Dragons
Best Debut: The Rook
Best Novella: Crooked House
Best Short Stories: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Biggest Disappointment: Muse of Nightmares
Biggest Surprise: The Rook
 
Other Honorable Mentions: The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, City of Stairs, The Forgotten Child, Hum If You Don’t Know the Words, Illuminae, The Impossible Girl, and The Power.
 
 
My biggest goal for 2019 is to keep up with my reviews. As for upcoming releases, I am most excited about Nicholas Eames’ next book. The title hasn’t been released yet, so fingers crossed that it actually comes out this year! I am also looking forward to The Vanishing Season, The Night Tiger, Warrior of the Wild, and A Curse So Dark and Lonely.
 
Here’s to a great year of reading! May the books be ever in your favor!

Lacy W

Books read: 125 to 126 books

5 stars: 11
4 stars: 62
3 stars: 45
2 stars: 7
1 star: 0

Average star rating: 3.62 stars

I am writing this in 2021 because I came to the realization that I hadn’t written a review for Goodreads 2018. I honestly had no idea why I didn’t do this. 2018 was a good year for me, in terms of reading anyway. Pretty sure my personal life was a different story. But that’s a topic for another day. 

Anyway, I thought I would write up a quick little review of the year in terms of reading for this year. I confess that I don’t remember that much about 2018 in books because let’s be real, I’m lucky I remember what I did yesterday. 

Alright here is a list of my favorite books and my least favorite books. Overall, 2018 was a good year for reading. I read over 100 books and found a multitude of favorite books. I learned a little bit more about what genre of books I really enjoy and what books I don’t much care for. This was the year I expanded my horizons and requested a lot of ARCs as well. I am hoping to get back to this level of reading because I miss being this productive. 

My favorite books: 
Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
Project Prometheus by Aden Polydoros
The Burial Society by Nina Sadowsky
The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine
The Gender War by Bella Forrest
Far From the Tree by Robin Benway
Starcrossed by Pintip Dunn
Legend by Marie Lu
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
The Girls by Emma Cline
Hades Rising by Aden Polydoros
The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha

My least favorite books:
Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots: The Life of King Henry VIII’s Sister by Sarah-Beth Watkins
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
Firebolt by Adrienne Woods
Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green
Secret Wife of King George IV by Diane Haeger

Kholoud Ayman

أول سنة ليا على goodreads، مبسوطة إني عرفت ال app دا واستغربت إنه مش مشهور زي باقي ال apps.
تعتبر أول سنة قراءة حقيقة ليا بردو قبل كدا كنت بقرأ قليل جدًا، عشان كدا اختياراتي مش ناضجة زي ما بتمنى بس إن شاء الله السنين الجاية تغير من مستوى قراءاتي.
بشكر أصدقائي اللي بيهتموا بالقراءة وبيشجعوني عليها وبنستعير من بعض، حقيقي وجودهم فرق.
قرأت ٧٥ كتاب،
أفضلهم : 
قمر على سمرقند
أنا حرة 
حليب أسود
ساق البامبو 
مهزلة العقل البشري 
وعاظ السلاطين 
عائد إلى حيفا 
كافكا على الشاطئ
شيفرة دافنتشي 
مدرسة المغفلين 
عزازيل 
نيلوفر أسود 
الكتاب الأول 1Q84
اللون الأرجواني 
 The kite runner

Vera Sokolyanskaya

2018 was going to be a great book year until Kingdom of Ash came out. Now it's just a good book year.

The Bestest Book of the Year: Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

Best YA Fantasy: 
1) The Girl in the Tower
2) The Reaper at the Gates
3) Flame in the Mist/ Smoke in the sun
4) Warcross/ Wildcard

Best Contemporary Book: Little & Lion
Best Non-Fiction: Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
Best Re-Read: still Harry Potter

Disappointment of the year: Kingdom of Ash - Sarah J Maas
Разочарование года: Не прощаюсь - Борис Акунин

Book I'm looking forward to in 2019:
The Winter of the Witch

Maria

итак, 2018-й не задался
не дотянула в этом году до сотни - прочитала 92 (ну возможно успею закончить 93-ю)
из 14 книг, который получили у меня в этом году пять звезд - 7 гарри поттеров
нон-фикшена не наберется даже на топ-3
самая долгожданная книжка года - в итоге разочарование
пожелаю себе, чтобы 2019-й читательский год был получше

Best first book in the series - The Poppy War
Best second date - Muse of Nightmares
Best standalone book - Lips Touch: Three Times
Best contemporary fiction - The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver (Ruby Oliver #1)
Best re-read - Harry Potter 1-7

Biggest fiction disapointment - The Kingdom of Ash
Biggest non-fiction disapointment - Quite: The Power of Introvers in a World That Can't Stop Talking
Biggest "WTF has everybody found in it?" - The Cruel Prince
Biggest loss - The Thirteen (The Kingdom of Ash) 

Swooniest swoon - A Reaper at the Gates
Porniest Porn - The Kiss Quotient
Best female character - Ollie from Small Spaces
Best male character - Mihai from The Hatchling (Lips Touch: Three Times)
Best group of characters - The Thirteen
Best use of mythology and folklore - The Hatchling (Lips Touch: Three Times)