My Favorite Reads of 2018

Your Truly in the Thomas Jefferson Library at the Library of Congress in February of 2018

After one of my most productive reading years ever in 2017, 2018 was a bit of a dip for me. I had to abandon most of my reading challenges because any free time I had was taken up by principal certification classes and getting used to my new role as an elementary school principal. Still, I was able to read quite a few books this year, and here are the details, with stats according to Goodreads:

• I read 38 books, consisting of 12,182 number of pages. Not a bad year, but my original goal was 52 books.
• The longest book I read was Les Misérables and the shortest one was Powerless to Powerful: Leadership for School Change.
• My favorite reading achievement this year was successfully hosting the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along. About fifty people signed up for the challenge. I’m not sure how many actually finished the novel, but it it was a great way to connect with new readers and reconnect with formers students who studied the unabridged book with me in 8th grade. It was so much fun I’m planning on hosting a chapter-a-day read-along every year. If you’re interested, check out my post announcing the 2019 Chapter-a-Day Read-along.
• Speaking of reading challenges, this was my second year attempting challenges, and although I signed up for ten challenges, I was only able to complete four:
  • I am pleased that I successfully completed the Nonfiction Reading Challenge hosted by Katie at Doing Dewey, because my nonfiction reading had really declined over the last few years. I actually exceeded my goal of 9 books, and read 17 nonfiction books in 2018, almost half of the total books I read.
  • I also finished the 2018 Deal Me In Short Story Challenge hosted by Jay at Bibliophilopolis. I had to do a mini-marathon of short story reading to get it done, but I finished!
  • Another challenge I completed at the last minutes was the Read It Again, Sam Challenge hosted by Bev at My Reader’s Block. I reread four books this year, including Les Misérables.
  • The final challenge I completed was the Charity Reading Challenge hosted by Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews. Since I read 38 books, I donated $38 to Catholic Relief Services this morning.
• One other continuing challenge that I’ve been working on is the Classics Club 50 Classic Books in 5 Years. I only read 4 books for that challenge, but I was already ahead, so I’m still on pace. It’s been two years since I started the challenge and I’ve got 21 out of 50 books read.
• I also crossed an item off of my literary bucket list by visiting the Library of Congress in February. The visit was all too short, and I hope to return again sometime.

And now, on to my favorite reads of the year. Unsurprisingly, in a year in which I read so much nonfiction, almost half of my favorites are nonfiction titles. Here they are, in reverse order of how much I enjoyed them, with links to my reviews where available.

1. The Drifter by William W. Johnstone
2. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnette
3. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
4. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
5. Collision Course: Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers, and the Strike that Changed America by Joseph A. McCartin
6. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
7. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
8. The Spy and the Traitor by Ben MacIntyre
9. Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas
10. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo – Still a favorite after all these years!