The 57 books I read in 2018, my top 10 and holiday reading recommendations

Fiction

• Presented in the order I read them.
• Green: WA writers, because reading local is awesome.
• Red: Children's books, because kids need books and books need them.
• Blue: Crime and thrillers, all trustworthy holiday reads.
• Black: literary fiction (read on for the top five).
• First eight by L.M. Montgomery. What can I say? Memory lane beckons.

1. Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery 
2. Anne of Avonlea, L.M. Montgomery 
3. Anne of the Island, L.M. Montgomery 
4. Anne of Windy Poplars, L.M. Montgomery 
5. Anne's House of Dreams, L.M. Montgomery 
6. Anne of Ingleside, L.M. Montgomery 
7. Rainbow Valley, L.M. Montgomery 
8. Rilla of Ingleside, L.M. Montgomery. 
9. Dustfall, Michelle Johnston
10. Finders Keepers, Stephen King 
11. Extinctions, Josephine Wilson
12. The Sisters' Song, Louise Allan 
13. Survival, Rachel Watts 
14. You Belong Here, Laurie Steed 
15. My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante
16. The Story of a New Name, Elena Ferrante
17. Sleeping Beauties, Stephen King  
18. The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman (audio)
19. Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
20. NW, Zadie Smith
21. Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
22. Body Double, Tess Gerritsen
23. Vanish, Tess Gerritsen
24. The Mephisto Club, Tess Gerritsen
25. Afternoons with Harvey Beam, Carrie Cox 
26. Insidious Intent, Val McDermid
27. The Outsider, Stephen King 
28. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arundhati Roy
29. A Girl in Time, John Birmingham
30. The Golden Minute, John Birmingham 
31. The Shepherd's Hut, Tim Winton
32. Warlight, Michael Ondaatje
33. Notes on a Scandal, Zoe Heller
34. Lethal White, Robert Galbraith 
35. The Marriage Plot, Jeffrey Eugenides
36. Past Tense, Lee Child 
37. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman
38. End of Watch, Stephen King 
39. 101 Dalmations, Dodie Smith 
40. A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett 

Nonfiction

• Presented in the order I read them.
• Red: true crime
• Blue: books about writing/literary/artistic memoirs
• Green: personal development

1. Man's Search for Meaning, Victor E. Frankl
2. Everywhere I Look, Helen Garner
3. Work Strife Balance, Mia Freedman  
4. The First Stone, Helen Garner
5. Joe Cinque's Consolation, Helen Garner
6. Draft No. 4, John McPhee 
7. Tribe of Mentors, Tim Ferriss 
8. French Women for All Seasons, Mireille Giuilano 
9. Scrappy Little Nobody, Anna Kendrick (audio)
10. A Grief Observed, C. S. Lewis 
11. The Passion Trap, Dean D. Celis and Cassandra Phillips 
12. The Boy Behind the Curtain, Tim Winton 
13. How to Be a Writer, John Birmingham 
14. Essentialism, Greg McKeown 
15. The Diary of a Bookseller, Shaun Bythell 
16. The Writer's Life, Annie Dillard 
17. Everybody's Autobiography, Gertrude Stein

Top 5 fiction (in the order I read — too good, and too different, to be ranked)

1. The Shepherd's Hut, Tim Winton (literary fiction)
2. Warlight, Michael Ondaatje (literary fiction)
3. Notes on a Scandal, Zoe Heller (literary psychological thriller)
4. Lethal White, Robert Galbraith (literary crime/mystery)
5. The Marriage Plot, Jeffrey Eugenides (literary fiction)

Top 5 (nonfiction) in the order I read — too good, and too different, to be ranked

1. The First Stone, Helen Garner (true crime)
2. The Boy Behind the Curtain, Tim Winton (literary memoir)
3. The Diary of a Bookseller, Shaun Bythell (memoir/diary)
4. The Writer's Life, Annie Dillard (literary memoir)
5. Everybody's Autobiography, Gertrude Stein (literary memoir)

The Emma Awards

Funniest 

1. The Diary of a Bookseller, Shaun Bythell 
2. How to Be a Writer, John Birmingham
3. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman

Best crime:

1. Lethal White, Robert Galbraith (crime/mystery)
2. End of Watch, Stephen King 
3. Insidious Intent, Val McDermid

Most inspiring: 

1. The Writer's Life, Annie Dillard
2. Essentialism, Greg McKeown 
3. Man's Search for Meaning, Victor E. Frankl

Most beautiful writing:

1. The Writer's Life, Annie Dillard
2. Warlight, Michael Ondaatje 
3. All three titles by Helen Garner

Most difficult (all women; coincidence?) 

1. Everybody's Autobiography, Gertrude Stein 
2. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arundhati Roy
3. NW, Zadie Smith

Best holiday reads: 

1. Past Tense, Lee Child 
2. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman
3. Sleeping Beauties, Stephen King

Hope these lists help you with holiday reading ideas :) If you have any questions about the titles, leave a comment!