If you’re looking for reading recommendations for 2019, look no further. I read 19 books this year, falling short of my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 25. The tail end of pregnancy and life with a newborn really got the best of me and I haven’t read a book since September. (I think I could have succeeded in that amount of time if I’d had the brain power…I’ll try again in 2019!)
You can find reviews of all of the books I read this year (and years past) right here.
PS – If you click through to read any of my reviews, I promise no spoilers. I wouldn’t do that to ya!
Post contains some affiliate links. Click to learn more.
Books I Read by Category:
- Young Adult (YA): And I Darken (The Conqueror’s Saga #1), The Fates Divided (Carve the Mark #2), Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3), War Storm (Red Queen #4), Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha #1)
- Contemporary: Little Fires Everywhere, The Ice Queen, Before We Were Yours, Far From the Tree, Crazy Rich Asians, Out of the Easy
- Classics: A Moveable Feast
- Sci-Fi: Artemis
- Historical Fiction: On Chesil Beach, Necessary Lies, Early One Morning
- Nonfiction: Modern Romance, Bringing Up Bébé, Let’s Pretend This is Normal
Favorite Book from Each Category:
- Young Adult (YA): War Storm
- Contemporary: Before We Were Yours
- Historical Fiction: Necessary Lies
- Nonfiction: Let’s Pretend This is Normal
Best Read of 2018:
“Children of Blood and Bone” | I still can’t get over this story and have already preordered the second book of this trilogy. It had been a while since I had been so swept up in a fantasy series. I can’t wait for the sequels and to watch this franchise come to life on the big screen! The world-building, characters, and mythology were captivating. You can read my review of this book here and buy a copy on Amazon here.
Close runners up were “Before We Were Yours” and “War Storm.”
“Before We Were Yours” was such an enjoyable read; I both learned something about factual historical events and felt a personal connection to some of the characters. You can read my review here.
“War Storm” was the finale to a series I’ve loved for years, even though I had a rough time with the third book. This is a series I’d like to read again from start to finish, and I rarely re-read books, yet alone entire series. This was the book that I most hated to finish this year; it was so good I didn’t want it to end.
Best New (to me) Author I Discovered in 2018:
Tomi Adeyemi | I don’t know why it took me so long to read her wildly-acclaimed novel, but I knew much about Tomi Adeyemi before I ever cracked her book’s spine. For one, the sale of her series alone made headlines in the book world, prompting everyone to look her up. EW even asked if she was “the new JK Rowling.” The 24-year-old is a Nigerian-American San Diego resident, a Harvard graduate, and a master of West African mythology and culture. She also offers a huge resource library for aspiring writers on her website. You can read more about her in this great article by The Atlantic.
Adeyemi was the winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Debut Author 2018.
Least Favorite Read of 2018:
“On Chesil Beach“ by Ian McEwan. I’ve decided that I’m not a fan of the way he tells his stories. Reading this book didn’t bring me joy the way that reading a book usually does. You can read my review to hear more here. I still haven’t seen the movie, but now that I think of it I’ll try to watch it on Amazon Prime Video. (Saoirse Ronan was supposedly amazing in it…but when is she not?)
MOVIES (OR SHOWS) BASED ON MY 2018 READS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
- “Artemis” has been picked up to be a movie and has a director, but that’s as much news as I have on this one. It’ll be good, I’m certain of it…but will it be as good as The Martian?
- Hemingway’s granddaughter, actress Mariel Hemingway, has the rights to produce a film based on “A Moveable Feast” and was working with Michael Hirst on production…but I can’t find anything online about this one past 2014. Does anyone else know anything about this?
- “Little Fires Everywhere” was picked up by Reese Witherspoon’s production company and then nabbed by Hulu. The eight-episode limited series’ premiere date has yet to be announced.
- “On Chesil Beach” hit theaters last May and is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
- There has been some talk of a “Red Queen” movie franchise, but no word on when that, or the sequels, including “War Storm,” might hit the big screen. I would be ALL ABOUT this franchise!
- “Crazy Rich Asians” was the hit movie of the summer! (It was the only movie I saw in theaters all year.) You can rent it on Amazon Prime Video now. The sequels to the books are already available and the sequels to the movie will be filmed back to back soon.
- “Children of Blood and Bone” is in development by Fox 2000, but besides a few producers, no other information has been released. This is one to watch and I think it’ll be a huge hit!
SEQUELS OF 2018 READS COMING IN 2019:
- “Children of Virtue and Vengeance,” sequel to “Children of Blood and Bone,” is slated to hit shelves March 5, 2019. You can preorder it on Amazon here.
So…what have you read that I need to add to my list to read in 2019?