My favourite books of 2018
March feels like an odd time to write about the books I enjoyed in 2018, but it’s something I’ve been meaning to sit down and do, so here we are. It’s been nice to look back at the books I read last year and remember why I enjoyed them so much. I hope you find something worthy of adding to your own #tbr pile!
In 2018, I read 36 books, including:
10 x graphic novels/comics
2 x young adult novels
12 x fiction titles
1 x memoir
2 x personal essay collections
2 x romance novels
1 x poetry collection
1 x science fiction novel
1 x self-help book
4 x non-fiction titles
For this list, I chose my favourite 14 books from 2018. I loved each of them for different reasons, but ultimately they left some kind of impression on me. Some are funny, thoughtful, or just a really good piece of work. They cover all sorts of genres, from non-fiction and memoir, to science fiction and graphic novels (I’m an eclectic reader). Quite often I learnt something new about a piece of history or a perspective I hadn’t thought about before. Every so often I’ll remember the book and think about it for a little while, before putting it away again.
California Dreamin’: Cass Elliott before the Mamas and the Papas by Pénélope Bagieu (comic)
Graphic novels/comics are a bit hit and miss for me. I usually have to really like the illustration style before I even try to read it. It feels picky and is something I’m working on, but for California Dreamin’, this wasn’t a problem. What I really liked about Pénélope Bagieu’s style is that it fit the 1960s music theme so well and helped to convey the big personality of Cass Elliott aka Mama Cass. It’s a story and history I didn’t know much about, and this was a really fun, engaging way to read about it.
Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisley (comic)
My partner and I hadn’t quite gotten engaged yet, but this was timely all the same. It made me feel a lot of feels about relationships, longing, heartbreak and how cynical I am about the wedding industry. Lucy Knisley’s illustrations are hilarious and very relatable (I highly recommend following her on Instagram for great content about her cat, Linney)! Intimate, humorous and wryly observant, I churned through this over a couple of sittings.
The Idiot by Elif Batuman (modern fiction)
I’ll be real with you – I found The Idiot really hard to read. Not because it’s badly written or because it’s a bad story. It was just hard. I couldn’t agree with Roxane Gay’s Goodread’s review more when she said, ‘This novel is incredibly ambitious. There are levels to this shit. The Idiot is easy to read and really difficult to read. Several times, I thought, “I am not smart enough to understand everything that is happening here,” but I kept reading.’
Selin, the main character, is a young undergrad in college during the 90s. The internet is new and so is love and self-awareness. She’s doing her best and it’s sometimes painful to witness. I couldn’t stop reading though. The Idiot makes it on to this list because of the last half of the book, which is lovely, funny and just downright good. It’s a great piece of work that you appreciate by the time you turn the last page.
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (comic)
Persepolis is a graphic autobiography of Marjane Satrapi’s childhood and early adulthood in Iran before and after the Islamic Revolution. It’s moving not only in its story of political and social upheaval from an individual’s perspective, but also in the highly relatable saga of a young girl coming of age. I loved Satrapi’s observations and humour seen throughout the book and can’t wait to finally watch the animated film she made based on it.
Wardrobe Crisis: How we went from Sunday Best to Fast Fashion by Clare Press (non-fiction)
Clare Press used to be a fast fashion addict, buying clothes frequently with little regard for where or how it was made. That all changed and this book is the consequence of it. Hugely informative and enlightening, while still being personal, I enjoyed this book for how much it taught me about the fashion industry, from couture to high street. Press is a relatable and empathetic writer without being preachy. If you read one piece of non-fiction this year, I highly recommend reading Wardrobe Crisis because of its impact on our everyday sartorial choices and our effect on the environment.
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie (modern fiction)
Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2018, Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie is a retelling of Sophocle’s Antigone in a modern setting. Focused largely on identity and relationships, it follows the paths of a small group of British Muslim young adults as they navigate faith, politics and self-hood. This one instantly struck me as something raw, vital, and utterly relevant to the current political atmosphere. Shamsie is slated for the upcoming Auckland Writer’s Festival 2019 and I’ve bookmarked her event for attendance.
Turning: Lessons from swimming Berlin’s lakes by Jessica J. Lee (memoir, nature writing)
Reflecting on nature is old hat in literature, but there’s a lovely synergy between Jessica J. Lee’s ambitious attempt to swim in 52 of Berlin’s lakes in a single year and her thoughts on life, love and fear. Deeply contemplative and soothing to read, Turning is a bit like the book version of a cup of tea if you can ignore the fact that Lee is literally breaking ice to swim during Germany’s freezing winter. If you’ve ever enjoyed lying on your back in a body of water, feeling your own breath and body, you’ll enjoy this book.
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald (fiction, novella)
The Bookshop is one of my surprises of the year. I’d never heard of Penelope Fitzgerald before the film adaptation of the novel came out, only to discover that not only did Fitzgerald begin her writing career at 58, but she’s also a Booker Prize winner and thought of as one of Britain’s best authors ever. The Bookshop is quietly understated, apparently much like the author herself. The main character decides to open a bookshop in a small town with little fanfare and few ambitions. It’s simply a thing to do. This short novel deals in the mundane, as well as the quiet drama and tragedy of everyday life, which I found beautiful, saddening and revelatory.
”I mean to the courage of those who are born to be defeated, the weaknesses of the strong, and the tragedy of misunderstandings and missed opportunities, which I have done my best to treat as comedy, for otherwise how can we manage to bear it?” – Penelope Fitzgerald
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (science fiction)
In my short review on Instagram, I mentioned that most fantasy/sci-fi is often very male and very white. There is little diversity in either genre, although I’m glad to see that changing in recent years as more POC writers enter the mainstream. Which makes Kindred even more amazing – it was published in 1979. Octavia E. Butler manages to combine serious sci-fi time travel intrigue with the savage reality of black slavery and oppression. Butler resists tropes and writes characters that feel very human, neither wholly good or wholly bad. This and the tangible danger the main character faces makes Kindred a gripping read right till the very end. Warning note: contains torture, rape and suicide.
Tomorrow will be different: Love, loss, and the fight for trans equality by Sarah McBride (memoir, politics)
Last year, Sarah McBride tweeted about a message she’d received from a self-confessed bigot who had recently finished Tomorrow will be different. Reading it had apparently opened their eyes to their own discriminatory thoughts and actions, and given them a greater understanding of the trans community. I had to read this compelling book. Largely memoir, McBride’s story covers her own transition, as well as her work in politics to fight for equal rights for trans people. It’s a beautiful and informative read that will expand your perspective on human rights and the trans community.
Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks (comic)
It often doesn’t take much for a book to pull me into its world, but Hicksville took this to a different level. I read this in one sitting and felt abruptly spat back out into reality by the last page. In it, reporter Leonard Batts travels to Hicksville, a small town in New Zealand, to research the early years of famous comic book creator, Dick Burger. What he finds is a friendly beach town where everyone loves comics. A very absorbing story with more than one surprising twist. All I can say about Hicksville is that this is very good and you should read it!
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (fiction, romantic comedy)
Eleanor Oliphant is a troubled, strange young woman who reads as possibly neurodiverse or on the autism spectrum. This in and of itself isn’t a problem, but I am always concerned when someone tries to write from a neurodiverse or disabled perspective that they’re not personally familiar with. For example, there was a lot of backlash from wheelchair users and other people in the disabled community when the film Me Before You came out. Whether Eleanor is neurodiverse or suffering the effects of trauma is debatable. These aside, I was surprised by how un-put-downable I found this book. After surviving a childhood trauma that she only describes as ‘before’ and ‘after,’ Eleanor keeps a regular routine as an office worker until she falls in love with a musician she only knows through Twitter. Gail Honeyman, the author, wrote Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine after reading an article about loneliness. Despite these beginnings, this book is oddly triumphant and joyous. I found it easy to fall in love with Eleanor and immediately wanted to re-read the book once it ended.
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Similar to Mohsin Hamid’s previous book, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Exit West is compelling with a well crafted streak of surrealism running through it. Nadia and Saeed are working students in an unnamed city that is starting to show signs of fracture and discord. It’s a typical boy-meet-girl story until events force them to escape through one of the many doors turning up around the city. These doors lead to different places, different countries, and offer precarious hope for citizens and refugees alike. Exit West does a wonderful job of humanising the experiences and perspectives of immigrants often missing from mainstream media.
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (young adult fiction)
Children of Blood and Bone is another example of great POC writers breaking into the ‘pale and stale’ science fiction and fantasy markets. I loved this book because it retains all the fantasy elements I think are fun (magic, good vs. evil, disguises, unknown gifts) and puts them in a fresh context. What makes COBAB stand out is how it deals with racism, discrimination, and imbalanced power structures. Set in Orisha, all magic has been made illegal, with majis killed and their children oppressed. If you’re a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender or love any kind of magic, you’ll likely enjoy this book.
I hope you enjoyed going through this list and maybe picked up a book or two you’d like to add to your reading list. Is there a book you read in 2018 that you thought was absolutely amazing? Would love to hear about it!
