I had a goal of reading 25 books in 2018. I made it to 20 and I’ll probably finish one more before the year is out. So close!

Here is a round-up of the books I read this year. I love to read, and I love it when I can recommend good books to others.

But a big problem I have is that even when I super-duper LOVE a book, I quite often completely forget the details, or even what it was about! All I remember is that I loved it and I couldn’t put it down.

So I thought this would be a good exercise in trying to stretch my memory back into the books I read this year.

Before we go further I should let you know that this post contains affiliate links. That means that if you purchase one of the books on this list after clicking on the link, I get a small commission. It doesn’t change how much you pay for the book, just puts a little moolah in my pocket. The links are in the titles of the books and also if you click on the images. Clicking on the links will also let you read full reviews and descriptions on Amazon.

Emma’s 2018 bookshelf

Before We Were Yours, Lisa Wingate

This Goodreads Choice 2017 winner has a rating of 4.37 stars and over 171,000 ratings. So I was pretty confident that it would be a good book, and I was right. From memory, it was about a family torn apart and children stolen as part of an adoption scandal. It was really heart-wrenching, and even more so when I realised it was based on a true story.

The Daily Struggles of Archie Adams, Katie Kirby

Absolutely hilarious!! My mother-in-law gave me this book after we called our baby Archie. My husband and I often give voices to our dogs and our baby, making them “say” ridiculous and grown-up things. This book was written from the perspective of a 2¾-year-old boy with a very naughty grown-up attitude! It had me shaking with the giggles and tears rolling down my face. If you’re looking for something quick and easy and funny to read, this is the one.

We Were the Lucky Ones, Georgia Hunter

To be honest, I can’t remember much about this book. I rated it 3 stars on Goodreads, which generally means it didn’t make me cranky or bore me to tears, but I just didn’t love it enough to rave about it. It was about a Polish Jewish family surviving under Nazi occupation. There were a lot of characters to follow, and it was a good story with some quite interesting bits. But nothing that really stuck with me.

The Ladies of Missalonghi, Colleen McCullough

I pretty much love anything written by Colleen McCullough (author of The Thorn Birds). And this book was no exception. A nice easy read. Set in the Blue Mountains. Can’t remember much more about it but I rated it 4 stars!

Bittersweet, Colleen McCullough

This one was okay, but not one of my favourite Colleen McCullough books. Set in Australia during the Depression, and telling the story of four sisters finding their independence in their nursing traineeships. I only rated this one 3 stars.

The Judge’s Wife, Ann O’Loughlin

I really enjoyed this one. It’s about a young woman uncovering secrets and mysteries from the past. A 1950s love story and scandal. Intriguing and emotional.

The Alice Network, Kate Quinn

I loved this book! It tells the story of one woman working as a spy in France in the Great War, and an American woman searching for her cousin in 1947. The two storylines are quite different but come together nicely. I think it took me a while to get into one of the storylines, but once I made a couple of little connections, I was good to go.

Once We Were Brothers, Ronald H. Balson

This story begins with a Holocaust survivor pointing a gun at and accusing a wealthy American businessman of being a Nazi officer. The story is of the lawsuit that follows, and the memories of a Jewish boy whose brother became a Nazi. I enjoyed this book. It only got three stars from me, but I can’t remember what dragged it down. Overall it rates 4.37 stars on Goodreads with lots of ratings, so maybe it was just my mood at the time.

The German Girl, Armando Lucas Correa

I only rated this one 2 stars, which is a pretty rough rating from me. I just kept waiting for something to happen. It was a weird and confusing story and I can’t tell you much more about it!

Sisters One, Two, Three, Nancy Star

This is another one I loved at the time but then forgot all about. It digs up family secrets and unravels mysteries that have shaped the personalities and relationships in the story. Complex mother-daughter relationships, flawed but interesting characters, and a secret reveal made this an enjoyable read.

The Smallest Part, Amy Harmon

This was a beautiful story of love, friendship, and loss. I liked the characters and it was a nice easy read that I found hard to put down. I’m pretty sure I’ve read a couple of Amy Harmon’s books and liked them, so I might check out some others in 2019.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain

This book is often referred to in personal development, happiness, and personality discussions. I’m very much an introvert myself, which influences a lot of my personality and preferences. Learning more about what that means and how I can still thrive as an introvert has been life-changing. This book was interesting and easy to read, and I’d recommend it to anyone who thinks they are an introvert.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

I always try to fit in a couple of “classics” and this was one I had been curious about for a while. I didn’t love it. It was only toward the very end that I started to actually develop any interest in it, and it clawed it’s way back up to 3 stars. I was left wondering if maybe I just didn’t “get it”. Perhaps it’s the sort of book I’d enjoy more if I was forced to study it deeply and discuss the various themes. But I’m kind of glad no one is going to force me to do that.

Beartown, Fredrik Backman

I have found my new favourite author. I loved ‘A Man Called Ove’ which I read last year, so I decided to give the author another go. Beartown was incredible. I could not put it down. It explored some really powerful themes and emotions in a really accessible, realistic, and often-amusing way. I was just blown away by this book.

Out of My Mind, Sharon M. Draper

I love books that are written from a child’s point of view. And I love working with people with disabilities and discovering unique and wonderful things about them. This book is about an eleven-year old girl with a photographic memory and more intelligence than anyone at her school (including the teachers). But she also has a disability which involves no fine or gross motor control, and she is non-verbal. So she’s usually perceived as being unable to learn. Until she gets access to a communication device that has the potential to change her life. Unfortunately, a device alone is not enough to give a person equal opportunity. The prejudices and attitudes of society also have to change. This was such an easy-to-read book. I think it’s actually written for young people / kids. But I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Winging It, Emma Isaacs

If you ever find yourself unable to start something because you don’t know how, or because you don’t have everything perfect, you should read this book. We too often get paralysed by our fear of looking silly or of failing. But sometimes you just have to take a leap and then figure it out. I’m doing more of that as I get older, and sure sometimes the plan changes mid-way. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. But other times it grows into something more than I could have expected. This book reinforces that.

Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results, Stephen Guise

This guy has come up with the idea of breaking habits down into something so small that you can’t NOT do it. For example, his goal of getting fit was broken down into just one push-up per day. He finds that once he does the one push-up it’s easy to do a few more. And over time because he has succeeded every single day, it builds into a more positive self-belief which makes it easier to build on the habit. However, one of his other “mini habits” was to write just 50 words per day, and sometimes it’s very clear that the book has been written that way. It jumps around a bit, and his enthusiasm and energy is clearly portrayed in the writing, but it sometimes felt like following a kid with ADHD and a belly full of sugar through a busy carnival.

My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises, Fredrik Backman

Ah, another one from my newest literary love. This book had me laughing and crying. Again, exploring deep themes with humour and incredible writing. It used an interesting technique of delving into some fantasy and fairy tales, which, if done by any other author would probably annoy the hell out of me. But it was done in such a clever and tolerable way that it did not ruin the book in any way for me. This book also sets a bit of background for another one of his which I’ll get to shortly.

#GIRLBOSS, Sophia Amoruso

From dumpster diving and eBay selling to CEO of a multi-million dollar company, Sophia Amoruso tells her badass success story. This was a motivating and inspiring read, and I would especially recommend it to girls who don’t necessarily fit into the “standard” expectations of society. The girls who have the smarts but don’t like school, or can’t find a job they can stick with.

Britt-Marie Was Here, Fredrik Backman

Okay, as soon as you finish reading this post, you need to go and buy ‘My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises’. Read it, and then URGENTLY buy and read this one. I loved it so much that I started fretting when I got more than halfway through because I didn’t want it to end. But I couldn’t put it down. I was reading while cleaning my teeth, I was reading in my car if I got to work a bit early, I was reading at 3am after feeding the baby. You don’t actually have to read ‘My Grandmother…’ first, but I’m glad I did because there’s a character in that one (Britt-Marie) who is then the main character of this one. I loved that it built on what had already been painted of her in the first book. My husband actually got a bit irritated with my constant giggling as I read this book. I just loved how well it was written, and how such a pain-in-the-arse character became so lovable and heroic.

The winners

My favourite fiction book was Britt-Marie Was Here, but it was very hard to choose between the Fredrik Backman ones!

Favourite non-fiction was probably Quiet by Susan Cain.

My goal for reading books in 2019

I’ll aim for 25 books again in 2019. I think I managed to get through as many as I did this year because for the first few months of the year I was breastfeeding and up a lot during the night when it was quiet and I had to keep myself awake. So I’m not sure if I’ll get as far in 2019, but I’ll try. I love that reading opens up my mind to new ideas and different lives. I like a good mix of fiction and non-fiction, classic and contemporary.

Join me on Goodreads

I love to get recommendations from other people. Reading is so much more enjoyable when you can share the experience! Let me know any of your favourite books or authors in the comments, or join me on Goodreads.