2018: What I Read Top 10

I read TWO HUNDRED books this year!!

It was really hard to whittle this list all the way down to a top 10.  But!  Part of having discriminating taste is, um, discriminating, you know?  (That sounded waaaaay snobbier on the screen than in my head.)  So.  My top 10 books of 2018:  (IN ORDER)

(Also, I read and LOVED The Hate U Give this year, but it was published in early 2017, so it's really a 2017 book, not a 2018 book, you know?)

10. This Could Hurt by Jillian Medoff:  This book was sad, charming, funny, and original.  I loved the characters, and it was a pleasure to read.

9.  #FashionVictim by Amina Akhtar:  I have a real soft spot for books where the narrator is a literal psychopath (I am looking at You, Caroline Kepnes), and this book did not disappoint.  It was gory and violent and perfectly hilarious.

8.  Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage:  Remember what I said about psycho narrators?  Well, I also really enjoy psycho kids, and this book features the scariest one since The Bad Seed

7.  Wade in the Water by Tracy K. Smith:  One of my resolutions was to read more poetry, and the poet laureate of the US is a good place to start.  These poems are both beautiful and approachable, and if you want to add more poetry to your list, this is a great place to start.

6.  Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger by Rebecca Traister:  Oh my.  This book is a great, quick read, and I am using it in my large lecture class in the fall.

5.  The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer: Listen, this book is not The Interestings, but so few books are that it's not fair for me to hold that against it, you know?  Ultimately, the story and the characters stayed with me all year, and that's saying a lot.

4. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan:  This book is as good as every review says it is.  Better, maybe.  These are original characters and wonderful story.  I had to read the last 2 pages 4 times, and I am still not sure what happened.

3. Clock Dance by Anne Tyler:  This was Spool of Blue Thread good.  I fell in love with the main character right away, and then everyone in the book turned out to be a delight.

2.  Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser:  Okay, so this book was written in November of 2017, but it won the 2018 Pulitzer, so I feel like it can count with  2018 books.  And plus also, I LOVED IT SO MUCH.  Read this book, and don't be daunted by the length-- lots of it is notes.  Also, don't be daunted by the notes.

1.  The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai:  Oh, this book.  I loved every single word.  This might be the best book I have ever read, although Russo's Straight Man is still my very favorite book of all time.