Superlatives for the Books I Read this Year (2018 Edition)

Well, it appears that another year has come and gone. One of my goals for 2018 was to read at least 22 books. Unfortunately, much to my surprise, I didn’t quite hit my mark. I ended the year with reading 20 books instead. I was feeling a bit disappointed with myself until I discovered it was still more books than I had read in the last two years, so at least that’s something?

(Do all the manuscripts I had to read for my internship count? I mean, it’s technically in pre-book form. No? They don’t count? Darn.)

In any case, my annual “Book Superlatives” post is a fun way for me to glance through and remember the novels I read this year. Overall, I read some pretty good books. Only three of them I thought were, “Blah.” Most of them, though, seem to belong to a series. And speaking of series…



Best Sequel

BURIED HEART by Kate Elliott

Not sure if I can call it a “sequel,” since it’s the last book in a trilogy, but it’s not the launcher, so I’m counting it.

I found Elliott’s desert-fantasy setting rich in its world-building while also tackling issues of colonialism appropriately. I thought the series ended in a nice way, even if not all the characters made it out alive. But overall, it had more of a “happy ending,” which I was not exactly expecting for its genre.

Runner-up: THE DAZZLING HEIGHTS by Katharine McGee 

This was the second book in a trilogy, and I felt like it captured the same essence of the first book without being a carbon-copy. (Even if both books ended with a character dying, which is preluded to in the opening pages of the book.)

The Only Stand-Alone Fiction Book I Read

GIRLS MADE OF SNOW AND GLASS by Melissa Bashardoust

This is a fairy tale adaption story of Snow White, written in alternative chapters centering around Princess Lynet (Snow White) and Mina (Stepmother). Half of Mina’s chapters are written in the past, explaining how she wound up at the castle and ultimately marrying Lynet’s father. This novel definitely showcases the sometimes complex relationship between a mother and daughter.







Best New Author To Me

THIS MORTAL COIL by Emily Suvada 

There were only four authors that I read this year who I was reading for the first time, and Suvada was a really nice surprise. THIS MORTAL COIL was her debut, and the sci-fi book made my geneticist heart happy. (Fun fact: Before I decided to pursue writing, I had seriously considered becoming a genetic counselor. Even bought GRE practice books to get myself into grad school for it – which, unfortunately were useless because I never applied to any graduate programs in the end.) I thought the concept was creative, the plot had many twists and turns, and the idea of code and genetics playing such a large portion of the story was refreshing.




Runner-up: CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber 

I don’t read many books centering on a carnival, and this fantasy spin on it was intriguing. The world was written vividly; special attention was placed on the colors.











Most Creative

THE LANGUAGE OF THORNS: MIDNIGHT TALES AND DANGEROUS MAGIC by Leigh Bardugo

This book is a collection of six short stories, all of which are inspired by folklore and fairy tale. (You don’t have to read any of her Grisha books to understand the world, even if she sometimes makes references to Grisha countries.) My favorite story would have to be, “When Water Sang Song.” It’s the longest story of the six, and it’s based off of the Little Mermaid story – but the protagonist is the Ursula character.

This book won the superlative because of its illustrator, Sara Kipin. The stories alternate in either dark blue or rustic red font. But what makes the novel really cool is, as each story progresses, the images along the pages’ border increases until you finish the story, which is when you’re awarded with a two-page spread of a picture. I like to go through them like a flip book, haha.



Longest Book

LIFEBLOOD by Gena Showalter 

Unlike the last two years, Bardugo’s book did not win this category. Instead, Showalter’s novel clocked in at 476 pages. Which is too bad for me, because this was one of the books in the “blah” group I mentioned earlier. 

And in case anyone was curious, I read a total of 7,715 pages during the course of 2018. Therefore, the average is 385.75 pages/book. Surprisingly, despite reading three more novels than last year, I only read 193 more pages.

For next year, I’d like to take another stab at trying to read at least 22 books. (It just won’t be one of my resolutions.) All I know is that I currently have 25 unread books sitting on my dresser, and the pile is getting ridiculously tall.

As always, too many books, so little time.