2018 Year in Review: Favorite Books

Here’s my annual list of my ten favorite books read in the year.  As always, this is merely the best books I read this year and not necessarily books published in 2018  For previous years see 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006. You may also want to check out My Favorite Books of All Time or see Every Book I’ve Ever Read cataloged in Library Thing.

In alphabetical order:

• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
• Astral Weeks by Ryan H. Walsh
• The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein
• The Poisoned City by Anna Clark
• Siege by Roxanne Orgill
• This is an uprising : how nonviolent revolt is shaping the twenty-first century by Mark Engler
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North (Author), Erica Henderson (Illustrator)
• The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
• When Grit Isn’t Enough by Linda F. Nathan
• When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by  Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele

Books Read in 2018

The books are rated on a scale from 1 to 5 stars with links to summary reviews. (A) is for audiobook.

Here’s a thumbnail of what the ratings mean:

• 5 stars – all-time classic (I’m very stingy with these)
• 4 stars – a particularly interesting, well-written, or important book
• 3 stars – a good book from start to finish
• 2 stars – not a good book on the whole but has some good parts
• 1 star or less – basically a bad book with no redeeming values

January

• Papi: My Story by David Ortiz with Michael Holley – ***1/2
• Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia by by Brandon Sanderson (A) – ***1/2
• No is Not Enough by Naomi Klein (A) – ***1/2
• Uprooted by Naomi Novik (A) – ***
• On Bowie by Rob Sheffield (A) – ***1/2
• The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (A) – ****
• Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna(A) – ****
• A Life in Leadership by John C. Whitehead – ***

February

• When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by  Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele (A) – ****1/2
• Siege by Roxanne Orgill – ****1/2
• Lonely Planet Chicago – **
• The Time Traveler’s Wife by  Audrey Niffenegger (A) – *****
• This is an uprising : how nonviolent revolt is shaping the twenty-first century by Mark Engler – *****
• Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett (A) – ***

March

• Time and Again by Jack Finney (A) – ****
• The Princess, The Scoundrel, and The Farm Boy by Alexandra Bracken (A) – ****
• Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi (A) – ***1/2
• When Grit Isn’t Enough by Linda F. Nathan – ****
• Dig if You Will the Picture by Ben Greenman (A) – ****
• How to Stop Time by Matt Haig (A) – ***1/2
• Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher (A) – ***
• Spinning by Tillie Walden – ***1/2
• Black Panther. Vol. 1, A nation under our feet by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Stelfreeze (Artist) and Chris Sprouse (Artist)  – ***1/2

April

• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (A) – ****
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (A) – ****
• The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell by W. Kamau Bell (A) – ****
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (A) – ***
• Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson (A) – ***

May

• American Amnesia by Jacob S. Hacker (A) – ***
• Ms. Marvel
• One Hot Summer by Rosemary Ashton (A) – **1/2
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 1: Squirrel Power – ****
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 2: Squirrel You Know It’s True – ****
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 3: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now – ****
• The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson – *****
• Alpha: Abidjan to Paris by Bessora,  Barroux – ****
• Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older – ***
• Ghostland by Colin Dickey (A) – ****

June

• Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur by Amy Reeder and Natacha Bustos
• The Island at the Center of the World  by Russell Shorto (A) – ***1/2
• The True Flag by Stephen Kinzer (A) – ***
• The Highest Science by Gareth Roberts – ***
• Blood Harvest by Terrance Dicks – ***1/2

July

• In the United States of Africa by Abdourahman A. Waberi – **
• Warlock by Andrew Cartmel – ***1/2
• St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell (A) – ***
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North (Author), Erica Henderson (Illustrator)
• Astral Weeks by Ryan H. Walsh (A) – ****
• Upon Further Review by Mike Pesca – ***1/2
• Human Nature by Paul Cornell – ****
• White Tears by Hari Kunzru (A) – ***
• Once Upon a Team: The Epic Rise and Historic Fall of Baseball’s Wilmington Quicksteps by Jon Springer – ***1/2
• Set Piece by Kate Orman – ***1/2

August

• The Third Coast by Thomas Dyja (A) – ****
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe by Ryan North (Author), Erica Henderson (Illustrator) – ***1/2
• Dog Man by Dav Pilkey – ***
• Risk!  by Kevin Allison – ****
• Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston -***1/2
• Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman (A) – ****
• High Tide by Tom Bruno – ***1/2
• Stone by Stone by Robert Thorson – ***
• The Four Doctors by Paul Cornell – ***
• My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand (A) – ****
• Doctor Who: The Lost Dimension – ****
• It’s All Relative by A.J. Jacobs – **
• The Last Jedi by Jason Fry – ****
• Prisoners of Time by Scott Tipton and David Tipton – ***

September

• Transit by Ben Aaronovitch – ***
• Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor by Andrew Cartmel – ***1/2
• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (A) – ****1/2
• The Poisoned City by Anna Clark – ****1/2
• Fun City by Sean Deveney – ****
• The Arm by Jeff Passan (A) – ****
• September 1918 by Skip Desjardin – ***1/2

October 1918

• Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser – ****
• Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney (A) – ****
• The Princess in Black and the Science Fair Scare by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale – ***1/2
• Doctor Who: Ninth Doctor Comics 

November

• An American Childhood by Annie Dillard (A) – ***
• The Wild Ones by Jon Mooallem (A) – ***1/2
• Fire on the Prairie by Gary Rivlin – ***1/2
• The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein (A) – *****
• A Colony in a Nation by Chris Hayes (A) – ****
• Greed and Glory by Sean Deveney – **1/2

December

• The Princess Bride by William Goldman (A) – ****1/2
• Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens by Brandon Sanderson (A) – ****
• Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor Comics 
• The Last Wolf & Herman : The Game Warden & the Death of a Craft by László Krasznahorkai – **1/2
• Birthright by Nigel Robinson – ***
• Walt Disney Imagineering : A Behind-the-Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real by The Imagineers – ***
• To the Back of Beyond by Peter Stamm – **1/2