2018 book report.

In 2018 I set the goal of reading 30 books — it was a lofty goal considering the amount of time I spent on trains from 2017 to 2018 decreased by 75 percent and of the remaining 25 percent, half of that (the morning ride in) was usually spent attempting to nap. So with about 30 minutes a day dedicated to reading, I fell a bit short and finished 20 books (I'm hoping to finish number 21 by Dec. 31, but these last few days have been all about eating leftover cookies and playing Mario Party, so it's not looking great).

Here's the complete list of books I crushed in 2018 (*indicates a book club read):

The Last Mrs. Parrish* by Liv Constantine
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
The Immortalists* by Chloe Benjamin
The Power by Naomi Alderman
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
One Last Thing Before I Go* by Jonathan Tropper
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff
Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
Ghosted* by Rosie Walsh
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin
Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht

Of those 20 books, there were a bunch that I absolutely loved, still can't stop thinking about, and have recommended highly to friends and coworkers. Read a bit about each of those — my personal best books of 2018 — ahead, as well as a few of the picks that I didn't give full marks to, but still recommend.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. This was my absolute favorite read of 2018. It was charming, funny, heartbreaking, and full of warm characters I wish I knew in real life. I would love to see this one adapted on the big screen, so fingers crossed Reese Witherspoon is successful in getting it made.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I didn't love Ng's first book, Everything I Never Told You, because I found it really difficult to connect with the characters on a personal level, but Little Fires Everywhere's characters were amazing. I couldn't put this one down and begged my friends to read it so I could talk about it with them.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. I've never had any interest in visiting Alaska before reading this book. Kristin Hannah's writing is always great, but in this novel, her descriptions of the Alaskan landscape in the '70s makes me wish the time machine would be invented already. Plus, the main character, Leni, was one of the most well-written characters of any book I read this year.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. Like many others, I feel deep in love with Netflix's movie adaptation of this book, but had never read it. And to be honest, even though I'm a "The Book Was Better" snob, I still probably loved the movie best (bless you, Noah Centineo). However, I did love that I already felt like I knew Lara Jean before diving into the pages of this one, and the book helped me create a deeper bond with her character. Plus, there are a lot of fun things that happen in the book that don't happen in the film version.

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn. I've fallen deeper and deeper for these types of reads — ones that are mysterious, suspenseful, and even a little funny. I only predicted one of the many dark twists and turns in this one, and literally read it in a matter of hours.

The Power by Naomi Alderman. This speculative read, which was one of Obama's favorites of 2017, is solid gold. Alderman's vision of a world in which women are the more powerful sex should be required reading for all, especially men.

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn. There's not much I can say about this 60-something page short story except buckle up, friend. It's a quick read that's suuuuper fucked up and will leave you wondering, "What in the hell just happened?!"

Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff. Once I saw the first trailer for film adaptation of this book starring Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet, I knew it'd be a story I was glad to have read first. Goddamn, this shit was heartbreaking. Hearing what this father has gone through — and the roller coaster of emotions he felt through the stages of his son's addiction to alcohol and drugs — is impossible to even imagine. This read really paints a different picture of addiction than I'd ever considered.

Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines by Nic Sheff. The only thing more heart-wrenching than Beautiful Boy was this memoir by its subject, Nic. Hearing about Nic's dependence on meth and other drugs in his own words was absolutely crushing. He writes honestly and openly about how he felt through the thick of his addiction in his early 20s, and it's so extremely eye-opening. I sobbed, I laughed, and I was given even more perspective on addiction.

With those solid reads behind me, I'm ready — with an already half-full list — to tackle a new reading challenge in 2019. I decided that I'm keeping my 30-book benchmark, as one of my goals for the year is going to be to read more often — aka read beyond my 30-minute train ride home and actually drop my phone before bed to get a few extra pages in. Follow me on Goodreads to see how I get along!