Chair: Wayfair Blanket: HomeGoods (similar here) Pillow: World Market
I love sharing the books I read here and always love the responses I get from others who have read the same books and want to chat about it. If you are heading into the new year with a goal to read more (I prefer the word goal to resolution 😉), today’s post is for you! I’m sharing my fave reads from the last twelve months to help you put together your own reading list.
My favorite “overall” read of 2018- The Heart’s Invisible Furies
This book…really all I can say is wow. I read it in April and I still think about it a lot and how beautifully it was written. One of the best books I think I’ve read in the last few years and if you can get over the fact that it is 500+ pages, I promise you will love it too. The book starts off in Ireland with a teenage girl who is shunned by her small village community for getting pregnant out of wedlock. She heads to Dublin where she gives her son up for adoption. The book follows his life from childhood, through school years and adult life- trying to find himself and his place both in his adopted family and Ireland. I laughed, I cried, I really couldn’t stop reading!
My favorite Young Adult read of the 2018- To All The Boys I Loved Before
Still haven’t seen the Netflix movie of this book (oops), but this super cute (but well written!) and quick young adult read is a great beach vacation or plane ride read. Laura Jean wrote secret letters to each of her crushes- the boys she loved before. One day after one of those crushes confronts her about what was in the letter she discovers that somehow the letters were mailed out!
My favorite Young Adult read of 2018, Number 2 (sorry I couldn’t pick just one)- One Of Us Is Lying
A little bit thriller, a little bit Gossip Girl, a little bit high school romance- loved this book! Five high school students are in detention when one of them suddenly has a deadly allergic reaction. And the student that died was planning on sharing some pretty dark secrets about his classmates making the police think it wasn’t an accident at all. As the police investigation goes on, the other students are trying to figure out what happened to all while wondering who they can trust.
My favorite memoir of 2018- Educated
Likely you’ve seen Educated on other book lists, but if you haven’t yet read this one for yourself- definitely do ASAP! Educated is a memoir by Tara Westover, a girl who literally never attended a day of school during her childhood as part of a survialist Mormon family in Idaho. At the age of 17, she leaves behind the only life she has ever known and enrolls in BYU, stepping into a classroom for the first time. Can you imagine going to school for the first time in college?!? Tara’s amazing spirit and drive end with her gaining a PhD from Cambridge University, but what she learns about herself during the journey may be even more important. This was a super interesting read- it shared with me share a view of life you would have no exposure to otherwise.
My favorite “love story” read of 2018- The Light We Lost
The Light We Lost follows a young couple through thirteen years, told from the perspective of Lucy, the female lead. After the two meet on September 11th while in college in New York City, their fates seem intertwined and the novel follows years of love for each other- regardless of where they are in the world or how their lives have changed. This book will give you all the feels (I sobbed at the end, but maybe I was extra weepy bc of pregnancy hormones 😉 ) so be sure to have some tissues nearby!
My favorite thriller of 2018- The Woman in The Window
Signs of a good thriller? You read it in less than 24 hours because you just have to know what happens. That was definitely the case for The Woman in the Window for me. Anna has severe agoraphobia and never leaves her NY apartment. From inside, she spends her hours watching her neighbors and making up stories about them. After some new neighbors move in across the way, she sees something disturbing happen while she is watching them. Now she is a part of one of the stories… and you alongside Anna are trying to figure out exactly what happened (all while staying inside!).
What were some of your favorite reads in 2018? Leave them in the comments so we all can add even more to our reading lists!
xoxo, Jenna
Shop The Post- Books
Shop The Post- Home Decor
Great list! I am reading Educated right now – really excellent memior so far.
Author
Such a good book! Hope you liked it!
I just added your favorite to my list! I’m reading Michelle Obama’s Becoming right now and am loving it more than I ever expected!
Author
Thanks Ashley! I want to read that one too- everyone has said it is great.
Sounds like a great list… Educated sounds interesting.
Enrique’s Journey was the last one I read… a good read on such an important subject right now.
xx, Roselyn Weaver
http://www.roselynweaver.com
Author
Thanks for the rec! I’ll have to check that out!
Such a great list! I loved reading several Kristin Hannah books this year — her character development is so good!
Author
Her books are great! Such a good reminder I need to read more 🙂