2018 was a good reading year for me. I read a lot of great books, ones that I would rate as 4 or 5 stars – 27 of them in total. Now, I have to admit, that I was rating them on a ‘feeling’ basis and have just recently come up with my official rating system for how I decide how many stars a book should get. However, when I went back through my Goodreads 2018 shelf, I realized that most of the ratings remained the same, or dropped one level.
I don’t know if I would ever be able to choose my one, favorite book of the year. But I do want to share with you the books that I really enjoyed – in case you are looking for more titles to add to your TBR piles.
Listed below are all the titles that I read this year, not necessarily published this year, and in no particular order, that received 4 or 5 stars. But first, here is my rating system for how I rated these books.
My Star Rating System
5 Stars ***** – The BEST of the best
The books I rate as 5 stars were well written. When I am done reading, I feel as if I learned something or look at something in a new or different way. These books often make me feel things strongly – it’s not unusual that I either laughed or cried or shook with fear along with the characters. These are books I would definitely read again; books that I want to talk about as soon as I finish.
4 Stars **** – Love this book
These books are usually fast paced and ones I can’t put down. They are well written, but may not have a message or something I can learn from. Although I love the characters (or love to hate them) they aren’t real enough for me to feel big emotions over. These are usually my fun reads.
To see the full rating scale, click here.
And now, here are my 2018 5-star, BEST of the best books!
Fiction 5-Star Titles:
I Remember You by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
The Dry by Jane Harper
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
A Place for Us by Fatima Mirza
An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
Nonfiction 5-Star Titles:
Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
4 Star – I Loved these Books!
Fiction 4-Star Titles:
Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams
The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
Final Girls by Riley Sager
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Lie to Me by JT Ellison
Tear Me Apart by JT Ellison
Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
Still Me by Jojo Moyes
Nonfiction 4-Star Titles
The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines
Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly
Those are some of the best books I read in 2018. Hope you enjoyed your reading year as much as I did! Did you have any of the same titles on your best of list? Let me know in the comments below!
Happy New Years! And Happy Reading!
