BOOKS I READ IN 2018

I'm sharing the books I read in 2018 with you today! For the first time in a VERY long time, it was a fairly consistent reading year for me. I don't know if I will ever be one of the people who reads 30-40 books in a year (just thinking about that gives me the hives. How can you even remember it all?). Prior to this year I had not really read consistently since my high school days. Entering college and then motherhood just pushed reading for pleasure to the side for quite a few years. 

Back in late 2016, I had a tiny baby and a strong itch to read something amazing. So I asked my wonderful, book-loving husband to pick something out for me that would hopefully jumpstart my reading life again. He did and that's where this list starts off today. Wait, wasn't that 2016, you say? Yes. This first book took me OVER a year to finish. But that one book that took foreeeever to finish really kicked me back into reading mode. So here we are now at the start of 2019 and I have an actual list of books I finished last year and I'm feeling quite excited to share them with you. 

As a side note -- if you are like me and sometimes struggle to find the motivation to read regularly, making a completed book list as I went was a HUGE encouragement to me throughout the year. It was a visual reminder of Yes!! You CAN finish books, Emily!! I thought I would just mention this little tip as 2019 begins with (hopefully) another year of reading ahead. (I say hopefully because there will be a newborn added into the picture in February this year, so I will hold my plans a little loosely.😉)

Books of 2018:

February 

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I started this book when Charlie was an tiny infant.....and finished it when my son was 1.5 years old. Probably not the best season of life to try and finish a new book, but it DID get finished eventually. Samuel picked this first book of the year to get me back into the swing of reading, and he picked a good one. McCarthy's style of storytelling really pulled me in because I haven't read anything quite like it before. It's totally unique. The Road is not the most action packed story, but their story of togetherness, loss, survival, and determination completely force you to keep reading until the end. I really enjoy it a lot, and I'm so glad I kept working at it.

March
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
I didn't want this book to end, you guys. It was so beautiful and descriptive. It also may have started an obsession with reading WWII historical fiction this year which I neverrr would have expected. One of the main characters is a young girl who is blind, dealing with the effects of the war. Her blindness creates such an interesting aspect to the novel because the author tells such a strong story through all of the senses. I loved this book and have thought about it a lot since finishing it.





April
The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield 
This was the first Rosaria Butterfield book I had read and, man, can she write. I was so interested to read how she and her family show hospitality in their community and challenged to find ways that I can do the same.









Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling on Audiobook (finished in July)
Harry Potter will be read over and over and over in my life, I do believe. I will read it repeatedly for myself and hope to read it to my children one day. It's just always a good idea. Now, The Deathly Hallows was the only HP book that I had only read through once so I decided to change that this year! I listened to this on walks with Charlie and on many of our road trips to Kentucky and back. Loved every minute of it.





May
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
I loved this book SO MUCH. It was by far my favorite fiction book I read all year. And I'll be the first to admit that I cried multiple times reading this one. This was the second of three WWII historical fiction book I read last year. It's a story of women in wartime, finding and losing those they love, and doing everything they can to survive the Nazi's taking over their home.









June
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
And for my third WWII book, I kept seeing people talk about this one for months. One night we were out for a walk as a family and we came across a little free library in someone's front yard and wouldn't you know this little book that I had been wanting to read was inside! I was delighted to borrow it and bring it home. It's the story of a pregnant girl who runs away trying to find her long lost cousin who ends up  uncovering the life of a war hero. It was a fun, quick read.





August
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 
I wanted to really like this book. But I just didn't. It was sad from the very beginning. It just carried a broken tone through it all, especially about the role of marriage and promise in today's society. I did enjoy the side stories about their family, career, and race, but the marriage depicted in this novel just left me heartbroken and aching for a happier story. Didn't love this book.








September
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn
If you like a good thriller, you will enjoy this one! I used to read thriller a lot more before becoming a mom and just loved it. Now....let's just say I was a little nervous to read this one, totally expecting to be such a scaredy chicken. I can't handle scary like I used to, yall! But it was way more suspenseful and just slightly scary so that it was the right amount of thriller for me. I didn't really love the final ending/resolution, but it does have some pretty great and surprising twists and turns.




October
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Wow. This story was pretty amazing. This story gives a fictional insight, loosely based on real events, to the life of refugees living in America. However, it was another book with a questionable line of decisions made by married couples (I feel like has been a theme in the books I've read this year, unfortunately). I would love to know the main character, Little Bee, in real life. Her personality and perspective were so gripping and felt so real. I would definitely recommend this book.






December 
Educated by Tara Westover
This was SUCH. a. great. book. After almost every chapter I found myself thinking, "Did that really happen?!" And yes, yes it did. This memoir was so unreal at times I could not put it down. Her retelling of the ridiculous injuries she and her family suffered alone are enough for me to want to read this again. Pretty unbelievable things happened in this family of Mormons who believe they are preparing for the end times at any moment. Tara's life story is one of shelter and "faith" on a secluded mountain and her struggle and fight to succeed when she enters the rest of the world as an older teenager. Highly, highly recommend.




Overall I was really happy to have finished all of these books at the end of the day, with really only one exception that I didn't love.

I think I will make reading one book a month my goal for 2019. So y'all keep me accountable on that. Here's to another year of reading!

Emily