Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I’ve Read In 2018 (So Far)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! This week, we're looking at our top ten reads of the year so far now that the year is a little over halfway over. I usually try to restrict my year-end list to year-of releases, but for this one (since I haven't even read ten 2018 releases yet), I'm just going to talk about the best things I've read this year without including the 2018 releases, only a couple of which would have made my list anyways.



Exit West: I chose this as a Book of the Month selection last year, but hadn't gotten around to reading it by the time my book club moderator chose it for us a couple months ago and holy smokes did I love it. Spare, lyrical, and powerful (and I didn't even hate the magical realism).

Good Omens: If you enjoy British humor, this tale of two angels (one fallen, one not) trying to deal with the pending rise of the Antichrist and associated end of the world will delight you. Both funny and clever.

Stiff: Mary Roach examines some of less conventional ways to deal with dead bodies with her trademark warm curiosity and it's fascinating.

The Girl With All The Gifts: I don't usually read heavily in the horror genre, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I really did enjoy this twist on a zombie story.

Possession: I can already tell that I'm going to want to read this deeply-layered, parallel-storylined book again to appreciate more of its subtleties and richness.

An Untamed State: I'd never actually read one of Roxane Gay's books before this year, despite knowing I liked her Twitter presence and editorial pieces and the raw power of her talent and skill, despite an extremely difficult subject matter, blew me away.

Thank You For Smoking: I watched the (excellent) movie version of this in college, but now that I myself work in the general public affairs arena, the sharpness of the satire was something I appreciated even more.

Far From The Madding Crowd: I'll be honest, I thought Tess of the d'Urbervilles was a stronger work from Hardy. But this beautifully told tale of romantic misadventure in the countryside is still a very good book with an indelible heroine.

The Color of Water: I'm not always big into memoirs, but when they're done right they can be profoundly moving and this one about a mother told by her son is definitely done right.

Mansfield Park: Fanny Price isn't the lively, spunky heroine many of us expect from Jane Austen, but that doesn't mean Austen's sharp wit and keen observations are any less enjoyable.

12 comments:

  1. Good Omens is one of my favourites! Can't wait for the TV adaptation.

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  2. I see you have a Mary Roach book on your list, too. She is such an excellent and funny author. I loved STIFF. Laughed my way through the whole book. Thanks for visiting my blog. You commented about GOLDENHAND. Yes, the two sequels are excellent and satisfying. I recommend them

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    1. I've only read two of hers, but I loved them both and have the rest squirreled away to read later! And so glad to hear that the next two Old Kingdom books hold up! Can't wait to get to them!

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  3. Loved the color of water and stiff and the girl with all the gifts is in my TBR. Going to read it next.

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    1. The Color of Water was really lovely. Everything I've read by Mary Roach has been delightful and I liked Girl With All The Gifts so much I bought the companion book/prequel right after I finished it!

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  4. Great List and unlike most other TTT lists this week I have read a few of these books. I read exit west last year and really enjoyed it, such an interesting subject matter. Good omens is one of my favourites and those books I re-read every few years.
    Here's My Ten Favourite Books of 2018 So Far

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    1. Good Omens is definitely one I want to get back to again! And I wasn't expecting much from Exit West but it was amazing!

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  5. I’m glad you liked Exit West! I want to read that one, even though it gets mixed reviews.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. I'm not usually into magical realism, so I was skeptical, but I looooooved it!

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  6. Girl with All the Gifts is so good! Definitely an unique take on the zombie genre, I thought. That and Good Omens are the only ones I've read on this list.

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    1. I was NOT looking forward to Girl With All The Gifts, but then I found it almost impossible to put down! It was the best take on zombies I've read in a looooong time.

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