2018 Reads in Review

2018 Reads in Review 

This is my favorite post to write each year! I I am so grateful for my love of reading and that it is something I prioritize (most of the time) in my life. My goal for this year was to read 50 books, in different genres, and about different subjects than I am comfortable with. I also re-read some of my very favorites (points if you can guess which). It was a great year for reading, and I feel so filled by everything I learned. 

My top 5 favorites for this year were:

1. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin 

by Erik Larson. 

I love German WWII history. If it was all I read all year, I would be content. Of course it's really dark, but I love hearing the stories of resistance that required so much bravery. 

2. That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon's Perspective on Faith and Family

by Tom Christofferson

A beautiful story about true love in family life. There are so many great lessons taught in this book about really difficult things, I think the world would be a better place if everyone read it. 

3. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 

I saw this film when I was 16, and it preoccupied me for months. I've wanted to read it since, so for my Lit general I decided to take Russian Lit. I had an amazing experience. I was enraptured by all of the messages Tolstoy was trying to send. I agree with the generally accepted statement that it is one of the best novels ever written.  

4. Let Me Tell You My Story 

by Their Story Our Story (compiled) 

This book is a compilation of stories from refugees in Europe and the Middle East. To say that it broke my heart would be understatement. It is a good way to gain awareness of what is happening in the world. Even though these wars and conflicts may not effect us directly, I feel like we still have an obligation to try and care for the people who are effected. 

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 

by J.K. Rowling 

How could I not choose this one? In all honesty, this was the book I enjoyed reading the very most this year. It is so brilliantly done. Wherever I was, I found myself pining to go home so that I could be reunited with it. Each time I read this series, my love for them increases. 

Complete List, in order that I completed them in: 

1. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

by Laura Hillenbrand

2. Mere Christianity

by C.S. Lewis

3. Home Fire

by Kamila Shamsie

4. Go Set a Watchman 

by Harper Lee

5. Pillar of Light (The Work and the Glory #1)

by Gerald N. Lund

6. Like a Fire is Burning (The Work and the Glory #2)

by Gerald N. Lund

7. Truth will Prevail (The Work and the Glory #3)

by Gerald N. Lund 

8. Seek this Jesus

by Neill Mariott 

9. Thy Gold to Refine (The Work and the Glory #4)

by Gerald N. Lund

10. A Season of Joy (The Work and the Glory #5) 

by Gerald N. Lund 

11. The Gospel at 30,000 Feet

by Dieter F. Uchtdorf

12. Praise to the Man (The Work and the Glory #6)

by Gerald N. Lund 

13. No Unhallowed Hand (The Work and the Glory #7)

by Gerald N. Lund 

14. Orphan Train 

by Christina Baker Kline

15. So Great a Cause (The Work and the Glory #8)

by Gerald N. Lund 

16. All is Well (The Work and the Glory #9)

by Gerald N. Lund 

17. The Gateway We Call Death

by Russell M. Nelson 

18. The Light Between Oceans

by M.L. Steadman

19. The Women in the Castle

by Jessica Shattuck 

20. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats 

by Jan-Philipp Sendker

21. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

by Erik Larson 

22. Following the Light of Christ into His Presence 

by John Pontius 

23. From Sand and Ash

by Amy Harmon 

24. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 

by J.K. Rowling 

25. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

by J.K. Rowling 

26. Questions to Ask Your Future Spouse Before They Become Your Spouse 

by Wes Cooper

27. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 

 by J.K. Rowling 

28. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 

by J.K. Rowling 

29. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 

by J.K. Rowling 

30. The Princess Diarist 

by Carrie Fisher 

31. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

by J.K. Rowling 

32. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

by Daniel James Brown 

33. Grit 

by Angela Duckworth 

34. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

by J.K. Rowling 

35. That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon's Perspective on Faith and Family 

by Tom Christofferson

36. Eugene Onegin 

by Alexander Pushkin 

37. A Hero of Our Time 

by Mikhail Lermontov

38. Dead Souls 

by Nikolai Gogol 

39. Fathers and Sons 

by Ivan Turgenev 

40. Crime and Punishment 

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 

41. Educated 

by Tara Westover

42. Let Me Tell You My Story 

compiled

43. Anna Karenina 

by Leo Tolstoy 

44. Sisters In Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World 

by Linda Hirshman 

... to be continued soon :)