Favorite Novel Published in 2018
Creature by Hunter Shea
Creature was the surprise of the year for me. If you've read Hunter Shea before, Creature is not the non-stop action filled creature feature you may be expecting. You can read my full review here.
Favorite Classic Novel
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Every year for as long as I remember I've said I was going to read Rebecca. I'm so happy I got to read Rebecca with the Ladies of Horror Fiction and several readers in the community. I loved it, and it's a great choice for a book club read.
Favorite Reread
Boy's Life by Robert McCammon
If you'd like to know my thoughts on my favorite book of all time, you can read my review of Boy's Life by Robert McCammon.
Favorite Novella
Odd Man Out by James Newman
Odd Man Out is "a brutal book and it's heartbreaking, but it's one of the best books I've read this year." You can read the rest of my review here.
Favorite Poetry Collection
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
I read several great poetry collections this year, but Milk and Honey was my favorite of the lot. Here's my review for Milk and Honey.
Favorite Fiction Collection
Exploring Dark Short Fiction #1: A Primer to Steve Rasnic Tem edited by Eric J. Guignard
A Primer to Steve Rasnic Tem is the first in a series of Exploring Dark Short Fiction. You can check out my review here.
Favorite Non-Fiction
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
I'll Be Gone in the Dark was an absolutely chilling read. I highly recommend it, but I don't recommend reading it at night. You can read my review here.
Favorite Horror
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
Even though I read Bird Box in March, I declared it would be my favorite book of the year.
Favorite Fantasy
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
This is the first book in the Mistborn series. I'm reading the second book right now and loving it so much as well. I think I'm going to be obsessed with this series. Brandon Sanderson really does have amazing magic systems.
Favorite Science Fiction
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
I loved Fahrenheit 451, and now I need to read everything Ray Bradbury has ever written.
Favorite Mystery/Thriller
The Outsider by Stephen King
The Outsider was such an unexpected read, and I loved it. I do recommend reading the Bill Hodges trilogy first, though.
Favorite Young Adult
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
I just read Illuminae this past month so I still may get out a full review of it soon. It was a unique read and a lot of fun.
Favorite Middle Grade
The Shadows by Jacqueline West
I loved The Shadows so much. It's the first book in the The Books of Elsewhere series. Fingers crossed I can get my library to purchase the rest of them this year!
Honorable Mentions
These books were also five star reads and could easily be placed in my list of favorites.
Have you read any of the books that made my favorites list this year? If you've posted your favorites list for the year, I would love for you to leave me a link!
Yes, Rebecca - I liked both the book and film versions. Got me interested to try Bird Box.
ReplyDeleteI still need to watch the Rebecca film! Bird Box is amazing.
DeleteYou have so many good ones on here, I don't know which one to talk about first!
ReplyDelete- Rebecca - incredible and so worth it, definitely worth a re-read as well!
- Boy's Life - Well, it's Robert McCammon, so you know it has to be good.
- I'll Be Gone in the Dark - You know I loved that one!
- Bird Box - I have this on my Kindle app and now that Sandra Bullock is in a Netflix movie for it, I have to read it NOW.
- Mistborn - I really must dive back into Brandon Sanderson.
- Fahrenheit 451 - HOW HAVE I NOT READ THIS BOOK IN MY LIFE YET?
- The Outsider - Stephen King, a must-read, putting on list.
Okay, now I have 2019 somewhat planned :)
I will totally want to reread Rebecca one day. You really do need to read Bird Box RIGHT NOW! :) I have so many Sandersons I want to read. They are such chunky books it will take me forever, but I love them. Ooooh, you need to read Fahrenheit 451. His writing... OMG. I want to hear your thoughts on The Outsider when you read it!
DeleteI still need to read YOU, but I loved I'll Be Gone in the Dark and Bird Box too (still need to watch the movie).
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
The Bird Box movie was so good! It was better than I expected. They did a great job. I hope you get a change to read You.
DeleteGreat list! I read Rebecca a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, too. And Hunter Shea is fast becoming a favorite author. :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Hope you had a good Christmas!
Thank you! My kid got the flu for Christmas, but other than that it was great. :)
DeleteThe hype for Bird Box is crazy right now. And not that I want to jump in the hype but I was really hoping to read it when it first came out. I'm going to have to read Rebecca and YOU as well!
ReplyDeleteIt's OK. JUST ON THE HYPE! It's worth it! :)
DeleteAnd I STILL need to read Hunter Shea. After seeing all the coverage for the readalong, I'm also very curious to try Rebecca! I also managed to finish The Outsider the other day, definitely one of his better books in recent years. So glad I got to fit it in before the end of the year!
ReplyDelete~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum
Rebecca is like a beautifully written soap opera. I loved it. If you pick up a Hunter Shea, I'd jump straight to Creature. Yay!! I'm glad you were able to fit in The Outsider!
DeleteI haven't read Hunter Shea but since blogging I've seen that name pop up a lot. Favorite of the year! Maybe I should check out some of his stuff. And Bird Box I haven't read either, but wanted to, and I just watched the Netflix adaptation and loved it .
ReplyDeleteYes, if anything, you should check out Creature. It's a story worth experiencing. The Bird Box movie was so good! It's only a fraction of the book so it's still worth reading.
DeleteGreat list! At least we had great books to remember 2018 by🤣 You've reminded me I still need to read Bird Box and Mistborn, and I loved seeing some of my old favorites like Boy's Life and Illuminae on here😁
ReplyDeleteYes, yes! Bird Box AND Mistborn. :)
DeleteI'm so pleased you read and loved Rebecca. I think I am going to start the new year with You. Milk and Honey is good, I started this year with her other which I loved. Is Bird Box now on Netflix, I need to read it first if it is the same. Happy New Year Jennifer
ReplyDeleteYou is a great first book!! I hope you love it. It's a unique experience. Yes, it is the same Bird Box that just came out on Netflix. I hope you read it!! I want to hear what you think. Happy New Year to you, Marce!
DeleteCreature is on my TBR and I hope to read it next year. Illuminae I really didn't like and DNFed though.
ReplyDeleteI hope you love Creature as much as I did. I was so curious how you were going to take to Illuminae. I'm not surprised you weren't very into it. It was worth giving it a go, though. I loved it, but there are a lot of reasons it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea.
DeleteAWESOME wrap-up! I see a number of my favorites on here, but I also added quite a few to my TBR!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was such a great reading year. I'm really happy about it and looking forward to what 2019 will bring.
Deletegreat list! Illuminae was really good I agree! I bought The Outsider and I truly want to read it soon because it looks amazing.
ReplyDelete