My Favourite Reads of 2018
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2018 was my best reading year yet. I thought I’d managed to read 190 books, but it turns out I counted them up wrong and it was actually 189. 189’s not quite as satisfyingly well-rounded as 190 but it’s still an absolute rake of books. Volume aside, I have to say I enjoyed my reading much more than usual this year. I’ve stopped trying to keep up with contemporary publications. It was making me a little anxious attempting to read everything people were talking about as it came out. This year I’ve just read what I fancied reading, whenever I fancied reading it. As I said at the end of last year, a good book’s a good book regardless of when it was published. If it’s an exceptional read this year then it’ll still be an exceptional read five years from now, when it’s no longer topping the Best Of lists. My favourite reads of this year list reflects this decision. I’ve chosen books which captivated me regardless of whether they were published this year or not. Apologies if this is frustrating. I’ll probably get round to reading this year’s books now, about 2022.
Here are my reading statistics for 2018:
89 Novels
32 Short Story Collections
41 Works of Non-Fiction
19 Poetry Collections
17 Works in Translation
51 Books by Irish Writers
105 Books by Women
84 Books by Men
This year I read some fantastic books about writing. I discovered Elizabeth Strout, (why on Earth did it take me so long?) I did my best to read more work in translation; the Eastern European Short Story Festival helped me realise what a wealth of wonderful writing from non-English speaking countries I was missing out on. I loved some very short books. It was definitely a good year for the is-it-a-novella-or-a-novel type books? I did not read as much poetry as I’d have liked to. Here are my favourite reads -the books I honestly enjoyed most- in 2018. I’ve split them into six categories and then listed thirty other exceptional books in no particular order. I’d thoroughly recommend all thirty six of these books. I hope you’re reading year’s been wonderful and you’ve bought all your books from one of our wonderful independent bookstores. May 2019 find you making a significant dent in your own personal “to be read” piles.
Novel of the Year:
Will Eaves – Murmur
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Poetry Collection of the Year
Nick Laird – Feel Free
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Translated Work of the Year
Samanta Schweblin – Fever Dream
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Irish Book of the Year
Michael Hughes – Country
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Classic Read of the Year
Russell Hoban – Riddley Walker
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Non-Fiction Book of the Year
Rebecca Stott – In the Days of Rain
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Thirty Other Brilliant Books I Happened To Read In 2018
Donal Ryan – From a Low and Quiet Sea
Carys Davies – West
Gabriel Tallent – My Absolute Darling
Emilie Pine – Notes to Self
Fiona Moseley – Elmet
Sarah Moss – Ghost Wall
Karl Ove Knausgard – Autumn
Arnold Fanning – Mind on Fire
Richard Yates – Revolutionary Road
Emily Hasler – The Built Environment
Miriam Toews – Women Talking
Alan Paton – Cry, The Beloved Country
George Saunders – Fox 8
Kamila Shamsie – Home Fire
Celeste Ng – Little Fires Everywhere
Anne Lamott – Bird By Bird
Alessandro Boffa – You’re an Animal Viskovitz!
Francis Spufford – Golden Hill
Apricot Irving – The Gospel of Trees
Damian Smyth – English Street
Shirley Jackson – The Haunting of Hill House
Elizabeth Strout – Olive Kitteridge
Laura Van Den Berg – The Third Hotel
Sam Thompson – Jott
Anna Burns – Milkman
A.L. Kennedy – On Writing
David Park – Travelling in a Strange Land
Wendy Mitchell – Somebody I Used to Know
Edna O’Brien – The Little Chairs
Vona Groarke – Four Sides Full
