Books Read in 2018

It's been a crappy year for both writing and blogging, but holy hell did I do a lot of reading.

I'm going to mix things up this year and give you the month-by-month breakdown.

January: 17

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

Rose Point by M.C.A. Hogarth

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Meet Cute by various authors

The Butterfly Project by Emma Scott

Three Sides of a Heart edited by Natalie C. Parker

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

Avatar The Last Airbender: The Search by Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Gene Luen Yang

The Creature in the Case by Garth Nix

Camp Half-Blood Confidential by Rick Riordan

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

The Eternal Rose by Gail Dayton

Saga Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Provenence by Ann Leckie

Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

Locke & Key: Heaven and Earth by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Windwitch by Susan Dennard

February: 16

Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Magnus Chase and The Gods of Asgard: The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Men, Ships, and the Sea by Captain Alan Villiers

My Brother’s Husband Vol. 1 by Gengorah Tagame

The Swan Riders by Erin Bow

My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris

Twelve Days of Dash & Lily by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

General Winston’s Daughter by Sharon Shinn

Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor

“The Lady Astronaut of Mars” by Mary Robinette Kowal

Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Gravity of Us by Brittainy C. Cherry

Robot Dreams by Isaac Asimov

The King of Attolia by Megan Whelan Turner

March: 16

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

Black Holes and Baby Universes by Stephen Hawking

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin

The Beginning Place by Ursula K. LeGuin

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins

Paper Girls Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang

Paper Girls Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

“Opal” by Maggie Stiefvater

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Creating Character Arcs by K.M. Weiland

14 by Peter Clines

The Positive Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

April: 15

Giant Days Vol. 7 by John Allison and Max Sarin

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

The Negative Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Possession by A.S. Byatt

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

The View From the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman

Royce Rolls by Margaret Stohl

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

Bombshell by Rowan Maness

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff

Survival by Julie E. Czerneda

May: 9

Refugee by Alan Gratz

Roomies by Christina Lauren

All Clear by Connie Willis

The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Lumberjanes Vol. 7: A Bird’s Eye View by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh

Paper Girls Vol. 4 by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

“Percy Jackson and the Singer of Apollo” by Rick Riordan

June: 14

Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel

Runaways Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

An Unsuitable Job For a Woman by P.D. James

The Dire King by William Ritter

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

Runaways Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan and Various Artists

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley

The Case for Jamie by Brittany Cavallaro

Ms. Marvel Vol. 7: Damage Per Second by G. Willow Wilson and Takeshi Miyazawa

The Witch Boy by Mallory Knox Ostertag

Runaways: Find Your Way Home by Rainbow Rowell and Kris Anka

Lumberjanes Vol. 8: Stone Cold by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh

July: 22

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vo. 6: by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne 

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

Ms. Marvel Vol. 8: Mecca by G. Willow Wilson and Takeshi Miyazawa

Bingo Love by Tee Franklin, Jenn St.-Onge, and Joy San

The Rat Catchers’ Olympics by Colin Cotterill

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

The Reason for Dragons by Chris Northrup and Jeff Stokely

The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan

Giant Days: Extra Credit by John Allison and Various Artists

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Runaways: Parental Guidance by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona

Runaways: Live Fast by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona

Runaways: Dead End Kids by Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan

Runaways: Dead Wrong by Terry Moore and Humberto Ramos

Runaways: Rock Zombies by Terry Moore and Takeshi Miyazawa

Runaways: Homeschooling by Kathryn Immonen and Sara Pichelli

Act Like It by Lucy Parker

The Backstagers: Rebels Without Applause by James Tynion IV and Rian Sygh

Pretty Face by Lucy Parker

The Backstagers: The Show Must Go On by James Tynion IV and Rian Sygh

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

August: 18

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl

Jedi Academy: The Principal Strikes Back by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Abaddon’s Gate by James S.A. Corey

Goldie Vance Vol. 1 by and Hope Larson and Brittney Williams

Goldie Vance Vol. 2 by and Hope Larson and Brittney Williams

Goldie Vance Vol. 3 by and Hope Larson and Jackie Ball

Goldie Vance Vol. 4 by and Hope Larson and Jackie Ball

The Changeling by Victor LaValle

Making Up by Lucy Parker

Positively Izzy by Terri Libenson

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

“In the House of Aryaman, a Lonely Signal Burns” by Elizabeth Bear

The Flowers of Vashnoi by Lois McMaster Bujold

Giant Days Vol. 8 by John Allison and Max Sarin

Lucy and Andy Neanderthal: Bad to the Bones by Jeffrey Brown

September: 10

Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

Slam! Vol. 1 by Pamela Ribon and Veronica Fish

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

Before We Were Strangers by Renée Carlino

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke

Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson

The Long-Lost Home by Maryrose Wood

“Evidence of the Affair” by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

October: 11

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Young Queens by Kendare Blake

Amulet 8: Supernova by Kazu Kibuishi

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon

Riding Freedom by Pam Munoz Ryan

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Writing Through the Tween Years by Bruce Morgan

Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood

There’s An Owl in the Shower by Jean Craighead George

Saga Vol. 9 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

The Hidden Witch by Molly Knox Ostertag

November: 10

Snow White, Blood Red edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Ex Games by Stella Rhys

Remedial Rocket Science by Susannah Nix

I and Love and You by Susannah Nix

Lumberjanes Vol. 9: On a Roll by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh

Intermediate Thermodynamics by Susannah Nix

Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Advanced Physical Chemistry by Susannah Nix

The Oracle Queen by Kendare Blake

“I Met a Traveler in an Antique Land” by Connie Willis

December: 10

My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren

The Van Gogh Café by Cynthia Rylant

La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

Maus by Art Spiegelman

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: The Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson

Maus II by Art Spiegelman

9 From the Nine Worlds by Rick Riordan

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold

Yearlong (Web Comics): 5

Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu

Stand Still. Stay Silent. by Minna Sundberg

Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell

Vattu by Evan Dahm

Dicebox by Jenn Manley Lee

Total: 173 things. 

(I know I say this every year, but I will never, ever read this much again. No, really. I started working full-time in October, and you can see the numbers dip.)

Category breakdown:
53% Adult
36% Young Adult
11% Middle Grade

Format breakdown:
54% Novels and Short Story Collections
28% Graphic Novels
6% Novellas
5% Nonfiction
3% Short Stories
3% Other

Genre Breakdown:
38% Fantasy
18% Science Fiction
18% Romance/Women's Fiction
14% Contemporary/Literary
5% Mystery/Thriller
5% Historical

I'm dividing my best-of into two lists, the first of which is a top 10 of series I was already reading prior 2018. These are the books that really blew my socks off this year and made me twitchily eager to continue with their respective series (or to look back at the series with satisfaction, if I finished it):

1) Wayfayers series: A Closed and Common Orbit and Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

2) Saga: Vol. 8-9 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

3) The Queen's Thief series: The King of Attolia by Megan Whelan Turner

4) Paper Girls: Vol. 2-4 by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang

5) Giant Days: Vol. 7-9, plus 2 supplemental volumes by John Allison and Max Sarin

6) The Vorkosigan Saga series: Diplomatic Immunity, The Flowers of Vashnoi, and Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold

7) Murderbot Diaries series: Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, and Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

8) Flavia de Luce series: The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley

9) Charlotte Holmes series: The Case for Jamie by Brittany Cavallaro

10) Maddaddam series: Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood

These are all amazing series that you should totally be reading if you aren't already.

The second list is a top 15 of new-to-me books that I feel most deserve a word of recommendation:

1) Provenence by Ann Leckie for continuing to develop the universe of Leckie's Imperial Radch novels, a place that seems at once thoroughly alien and completely human.

2) Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid for breaking the most essential rule of the Romance novel-- there is only one REAL true love-- to make something that feels no less romantic for being honest.

3) Night Film by Marisha Pessl for gripping me like no other book in 2018.

4) Roomies and Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren for being the perfect rom-coms when the perfect rom-com was exactly what I needed.

5) Runaways by various authors and artists for exploring the moral complexity of adolescence against the backdrop of supervillain parents and superhero enemies.

6) The Witch Boy and The Hidden Witch by Mallory Knox Ostertag for deftly and compassionately using different kinds of magic as a way to talk to kids about gender identity and trauma.

7) The Hating Game by Sally Thorne for being the greatest hate-to-love office Romance ever.

8) Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor for sweeping me up into a lovely, lyrical Fantasy about lost cities, orphaned godlings, and heroic librarians.

9) The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang for turning tropes inside out to craft one of the most original Romances I've ever read.

10) Positively Izzy by Terri Libenson for a simple Middle Grade story cleverly told.

11) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid for reminding me that the private truth behind a public life can be quite different from the story I'm being sold.

12) Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke for putting the most grimly sarcastic character since Daria Morgendorffer into both a Fundamentalist family AND a D-level Real World-style reality show.

13) La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman for continuing to develop the world of the His Dark Materials book, but through the lens of a very different character.

14) The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas for living up to the hype.

15) Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka for being the most simple, touching, and honest-feeling memoir I've read in a long time.

Just for balance here's a top 5 of books that disappointed me for various reasons (listed from least to most serious disappointment):

1) The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson. Let me start by saying this is a gorgeously written book, and I'm glad I read it. However, I loved the first book so much that perhaps it was inevitable I'd feel let down by this  sequel. The first book startled me with its tale of a young slave being raised by scholars as a experiment, and followed Octavian through his childhood and education. The second book is nearly twice as long and takes place over much less time, and is about Octavian fighting on the Royalist side of the Revolutionary War. And 500+ pages of marching and battles was a lot of War for me.

2) Abaddon’s Gate by James S.A. Corey. Again, not a bad book, and I intend to continue with the series. But again, I loved book 2 so much and was so excited to read this one, only to spend a big portion of the middle of it feeling pretty meh about it. I think part of the problem was the lack of Avasarala, who is hands-down the best character in the series yet isn't even on-page in this book. I just felt disconnected from the POV characters and annoyed by the plot, which despite a lot of explosions and whatnot felt glacially slow. The first half was fine, and it all came together and picked up in the last 40 pages or so, but I am still bummed out that I skimmed about 100 pages of the late-middle.

3) Ex Games by Stella Rhys. This wasn't great, but it was certainly no worse than your average fake-relationship-for-revenge Romance novel. However, I'd heard glowing reviews from more than source who likes other Romance books I've liked, so I went into this expecting something a cut above. The writing wasn't horrible, but I couldn't get over the immaturity of all the characters. The set up is that our heroine has been dumped by her longtime bf, and like a month later the bf is suddenly marrying his brother's recent ex, a bitchy (natch) model. The heroine and the brother decide to attend the wedding together as a faux-couple, and you can fill in the rest, expect maybe how really awful their behavior is throughout the wedding weekend. I think it's meant to be justified on the grounds that the wedding couple are obviously trash for marrying each other this quickly after their respective breakups, but still. Two trashies don't make a classy, y'know?

4) The Changeling by Victor LaValle. I read this for book club, and I'm still not sure what the hell it was supposed to be, since the genre kept changing. For the first 1/4 of the book, it's a wordy LitFic following the unremarkable life story of the MC up until he becomes a father. Then it darkens into atmospheric horror, the kind where you're not sure whether something supernatural is really going on or if the characters are just under a lot of psychological stress due to new parenthood and sleep deprivation. Then it takes a hard left at the midpoint, and becomes a Fantasy with magical islands and trolls and stuff, but all the while seems to be implying that all this is somehow a metaphor for parenting in the digital age. I think it was supposed to be a daring subversion of genre or something, but to me it just seemed like muddled mish-mash with no clear narrative message.

5) Three Sides of a Heart edited by Natalie C. Parker. This is a YA short story collection in which all the stories feature some version of a love triangle. Since love triangles seem to be an almost universally despised YA plot device, I was really intrigued to see how the authors would interpret, and hopefully subvert, this trope. But it all went horribly wrong, because with one notable exception ("A Hundred Thousand Threads" by Alaya Dawn Johnson, a fascinating tale of deception and passion in futuristic revolutionary Mexico), the stories are terrible. There are some big-name YA authors in this thing, which just made me even more shocked to see how BAD the stories are. Clunky, cringe-y, unrealistic, and boring. Sometimes all in one story. Ironically, this collection, which was probably intended to demonstrate how awesome a love triangle can be if handled well, feels like the final nail in the coffin of this trope.