What I read in 2018:

GUYS.

I DID IT.

AT LAST!!

I FINALLY REACHED MY READING GOAL!!! !!

(Canned applause)

It’s taken me seven years but after six years of failure, I’ve finally successfully completed a reading goal!! I reached my 2018 reading goal of 35 books!!

1. My Life as Emperor – Su Tong
2. The Invisible Man – H.G. Wells
3. Puberty Blues – Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette*
4. Veronica Decides to Die – Paulo Coelho
5. Black Painted Fingernails – Steven Herrick*
6. The Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides
7. The Unconsoled – Kazuo Ishiguro
8. Girl in Translation – Jean Kwok
9. The Whole of My World – Nicole Hayes*
10. An Artist of the Floating World – Kazuo Ishiguro 
11. The Impossible Knife of Memory – Laurie Halse Anderson
12. Villain – Shuichi Yoshida
13. The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan
14. Orbiting Jupiter – Gary D. Schmidt
15. Crazy Rich Asians – Kevin Kwan
16. Monsieur Linh and His Child – Philippe Claudel
17. The Reluctant Hallelujah – Gabrielle Williams*
18. Trauma and Recovery – Judith Lewis Herman^
19. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
20. I Haven’t Dreamed of Flying for a While – Taichi Yamada
21. The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
22. The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
23. Do No Harm – Carol Topolski
24. The Beginner’s Goodbye – Anne Tyler
25. Lucky – Alice Sebold^
26. China Rich Girlfriend – Kevin Kwan
27. Everything I Never Told You – Celeste Ng
28. This Gorgeous Game – Donna Freitas
29. The Post-Birthday World – Lionel Shriver
30. The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells – Andrew Sean Greer
31. Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides
32. Human Acts – Han Kang
33. Rich People Problems – Kevin Kwan
34. Sharp Objects – Gillian Flynn
35. I’ll be Right There – Kyung Sook-Shin

This year I actually read some nonfiction (marked with ^)! I read Judith Herman’s Trauma and Recovery and Alice Sebold’s memoir Lucky to deepen my understanding of trauma and sexual assault, as I was working in the area. I generally dislike reading nonfiction, but I think I gained valuable insight so it’s possible I might challenge more nonfiction in the future.

Unfortunately, I can’t say there were any real stand-out books this year. I think my standards are getting higher and higher and it’s hard to find a book that gives me exactly what I’m looking for. However, Monsier Linh and His Child and Orbiting Jupiter were probably the better books I read this year. Both were short, simple and solid with little to fault. Monsier Linh is translated from French so perhaps it sounded more juvenile in its translation that its original language, but it is straightforward and full of heart. Although I accidentally guessed the twist extremely early on, it managed to keep an air of trepidation right up to the last page. Orbiting Jupiter is middle-grade fiction that is better written and leaves a greater impression than some adult literature – it presents flawed human characters in tragic real circumstances and delicately addresses mature issues without sugar-coating them – and this honesty is something  I appreciate the most in middle-grade fiction.

The Kite Runner was almost a contender for stand-out book of the year. Divided into about three parts (past/history – transition/growth – present/redemption), the writing, overall language and story was engaging and heartfelt. It was especially strong in the first part – the atmosphere, world building and the delicate dynamics and social structures of relationships were extremely strong. Unfortunately, such an effective and haunting beginning makes the rest of the book pale in comparison – everything else felt like a letdown. After all, I feel that a book should build up to a grand climax and conclusion that really packs a punch, but The Kite Runner left its best impressions in the first third of the book.

I also read some really long, quirky and experimental books this year, all by authors I was familiar with. Despite my fondness for Ishiguro, I couldn’t enjoy The Unconsoled. I understand now why it was controversial and divisive. I suppose there is an artistry behind it, in creating the Kafkaesque, anxiety-inducing, reality blending into a dream-like world – but it wasn’t enjoyable to read.

I also read Lionel Shriver’s The Post-Birthday World; I liked her previous work We Need to Talk about Kevin immensely so I had high hopes for this novel. However, while The Post-Birthday World presents an interesting parallel world format and a curious exploration of multiple choices and pathways, it was all a bit too extreme. The scenarios were ludicrous and the characters were more caricatures and difficult to truly care for. Therefore, despite an excellent concept and theme, the story is quite unsatisfying in the end and doesn’t seem to present its final conclusion and thesis as well as it should.

Jeffrey Eugenides’ Middlesex was an interesting read. It had a slow start, but it builds up and reads like an adventure and a peculiar family history. Unfortunately, I think the format of swapping between past and present within the story lets it down as the present timeline is comparatively less interesting, and I couldn’t connect or empathize with the present-day protagonist in the same way as with their younger past self. I do think that Eugenides’ writing is very readable and flows well, but I preferred The Virgin Suicides, which had a dreamy, floaty language that created a soft and suitably eerie atmosphere for an eerie tragedy.

This year I also read the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, which I think as a whole is a solid, enjoyable and very readable series. “Readable” is really the best description of the series, because despite every book being relatively long, they’re  genuinely very readable and paced well to keep you turning pages without getting bored. The satire is on point, the plot situations are just believably bizarre and attention-grabbing, and the characters are quirky and interesting. The two main protagonists lack depth and are boring, but this can be forgiven since each novel follows multiple characters at once and the “main couple” are not the star attraction, as it is the over-exaggerated side characters that bring life and fun to the story. Since the first novel is Kevin Kwan’s debut, the writing was very clumsy and downright cringey at times, but there is an obvious improvement in the next two books, and the writing becomes more smooth and engaging. I think the second book China Rich Girlfriend was my favourite of the three, as its overall structure and plotline is succinct and sits together well. Overall, the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy has a really fun concept with a refreshingly different world to explore, wild characters to poke fun at, good tongue-in-cheek humor and unrelenting satire and I enjoyed it a lot this year.

For the new year of 2019, I’ve decided to set the same goal of 35 books. I think it might be better to consistently reach this number before I try to aim higher. Let’s see if I might achieve my reading goal again next year!

2018 has been a tough year for me, but I’m back on my feet and have somehow found my way again. I’m hoping that 2019 will be kinder to me and to all of you (non-existent?) dear readers as well. Let’s all do our best this year. J

Hope we can all read some good books in 2019! See y’all next time!