All the Books I Read in 2018

This year was not as productive reading-wise as 2017. Work caught up with me big time, and I had some pretty serious health issues for the better part of 2018, so I didn't get to read nearly as much as I had hoped. Even so, I read 22 books of various genres and age levels, so here they are. Perhaps I'll write reviews on some of them in the new year.

Several of these were re-reads, either of books I read several years ago as a younger adult, or as a child. Some people feel like re-reading is a waste of time when there are so many books in the world, but I love it. Every time I re-read something I loved, I notice something different and get a new emotion or life lesson out of it. I try to read my favorite books at least once every five years. It's especially interesting to revisit your past thoughts and see how much you've grown since last time if you're one of those people who underlines passages and makes margin notes (like yours truly). Reading an old favorite book is also comforting, like a visit from an old friend. When I'm not feeling great physically or mentally, I like to revisit books I loved when I was younger.

Middle Grade/Tween Fiction

• Stef Soto, Taco Queen by Jennifer Torres
• George by Alex Gino
• Kristy's Great Idea by Ann M. Martin (Babysitter's Club #1)
• Out of my Mind by Sharon M. Draper

Young Adult/Teen Fiction

• You Don't Know Me but I Know You by Rebecca Barrow
• Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
• Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
• Playing for the Commandant by Suzy Zail
• Blubber by Judy Blume
• Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
• Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters
• Boys Don't Knit (In Public) by T.S. Easton
• You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner
• Glass by Ellen Hopkins
• The You I've Never Known by Ellen Hopkins
• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
• Paperweight by Meg Haston

Adult Fiction and Nonfiction

• The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta (fiction)
• Fiend by Peter Stenson (fiction)
• Alice and Freda Forever by Alexis Coe (nonfiction)
• Prophet's Prey by Sam Bower (nonfiction)
• The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston (ethereal mix of fiction and memoir)

2018 Middle Grade/Tween Fiction:

  
  

2018 Young Adult/Teen Fiction:

                
  

2018 Adult Fiction and Nonfiction:

    

  

All the Books I Read in 2017

My goal is to write a short review of every book I read as I read it. I read 58 books this year. While typing out this list, I realized I have something to say about almost every single one, so maybe reviews are forthcoming. But for now, since 2017 is almost over and I didn't do that this year, here are all the books I read from 1/1/2017 to 12/31/2017.

PS, I did write reviews for Thirteen Reasons Why and We All Looked Up for a fellow librarian's blog, Hello Yellow Room. Click the links to read, and check out her site while you're there!

PPS, yes, I did read all 58 of these books this year. Yes, that's more than one a week. Yes, it's possible. I read about this much every year I am not in school, maybe half as much when I am in school. I tend to read several at a time and also listen to audiobooks while I'm driving. Also, because I like to keep up with children's lit, a lot of them are intended for a younger audience. Please don't judge my choices, all literature is valid and I would happily defend any of these to you if you ask. Yes, even Fifty Shades of Grey and the memoirs written rather poorly by people who have stories to tell, but who are not writers.

PPPS, ask me why I picked up any of these books. Ask me whether I liked them. Ask me which I own and which I had to give back to the library. Ask me which I bought after reading the library's copy because I loved it so much. Ask me which were a pleasant surprise, and which were disappointing. Ask me how I felt about anything about anything I read, or ask me why I didn't read your favorite book in 2017. I love to talk to strangers about books.

Middle Grade Fiction:

• The Library Card by Jerry Spinelli
• The Witches by Roald Dahl
• Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
• Wonder by R. J. Palacio
• Smile by Raina Telgemeier
• 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass
• Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle
• Five, Six, Seven, Nate! by Tim Federle
• One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

YA Fiction:

• House of Stairs by William Sleator
• Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
• Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach
• Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
• Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles
• Burned by Ellen Hopkins
• 99 Days by Katie Cotugno
• If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan
• Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony
• Amity by Micol Ostow
• Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser
• The Summer I Wasn't Me by Jessica Verdi
• History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
• Pregnant Pause by Han Nolan
• Girl [hearts] Girl by Lucy Sutcliffe
• Lock-In by Jonathan Mary-Todd
• What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi
• We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
• Tenderness by Robert Cormier
• Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
• Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan (12 book series)

Adult Fiction:

• Still Alice by Lisa Genova
• Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• A Game for All the Family by Sophie Hannah
• Whiskey Moth by A. M. Wegelin
• The First Bad Man by Miranda July
• Fight Club 2 by Chuck Palahniuk
• Room by Emma Donoghue
• Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
• Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Adult Nonfiction:

• The Doctor Will See You Now by Tamer Seckin
• Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall
• January First by Michael Schofield
• Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
• Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

2017 Middle Grade/Tween Fiction:

        

 2017 Young Adult/Teen Fiction:

                  

 

2017 Adult Fiction:

       

2017 Adult Nonfiction: