Books of 2018

In true bookdragon fashion, I enjoy tracking what I read and keeping tabs on what my friends read too, because bookdragons love company! If you're here at Adventure Awaits, I'm assuming you're my scaly, story-addicted kin. Welcome.

 

In the interests of satisfying curiosity--yours and mine--here are all the books I read in 2018, complete with the mini reviews and stats that were popular last year!

JANUARY

Raising Dragons // Bryan Davis

Boy breathes fire // Arthurian legend // dragonslayers // felt like returning to old friends // 5 stars

Siren's Fury // Mary Weber

Steampunk meets fantasy // dramatic redemption // airships // darkness // cliffhanger // 5 stars

FEBRUARY

The Scorch Trials // James Dashner

Improved over The Maze Runner // Newt and Minho are my favs // Teresa is annoying as all get-out // sorry, the movie was better // 4 stars

The Candlestone // Bryan Davis

All my babies are growing up // vivid analogies // "truth is my sword" // singing in the midst of darkness // 5 stars

Hostage Run // Andrew Klavan

Super fast read // video game affects reality // angry son actually works to forgive his father // Molly is great // 4 stars

Orphan's Song // Gillian Bronte Adams

Cozy fantasy // griffins and orphans and swords // music is magic // Amos, the cranky peddler, sounds exactly like Hector Barbossa in my head // 4 stars

MARCH

Last Star Burning // Caitlin Sangster

Dystopian China = very cool // sleeping sickness // confusing action sequences // common sense could've prevented 90% of the problems // backstabby characters // 3 stars

Circles of Seven // Bryan Davis

So much symbolism // one of my favorites // Walter and Ashley snark // detestable villainess // Prof is the actual best // 5 stars

APRIL

The Returning // Rachelle Dekker

Powerful themes about identity // new generation of characters // I missed the old ones // some loose threads left unresolved // 4 stars

Tears of a Dragon // Bryan Davis

Great character growth // rescuing dragon souls // fighting the Watchers // solid ending // 5 stars

The Story Peddler // Lindsay A. Franklin

Cozy and full of wonder // exceeded my expectations // storytelling powers // headstrong heroine // ragtag band of misfits // I fell in love with the pirate! // 5 stars

MAY

Eye of the Oracle // Bryan Davis

History of millennia woven into overarching plot // underground slaves // portal jumping // Makaidos is my favorite dragon ever // 5 stars

The Sea of Monsters // Rick Riordan

Hilarious // a taxi of death // man-eating sheep // Tyson is sweet // epic bad guys plans // would've liked a bit more introspection // 5 stars

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone // J.K. Rowling

Utterly enchanting // lovable characters // my first foray into the Wizarding World // some unnecessary sneakery // I'm gonna go live at Hogwarts okay thanks // 5 stars

Gravestone // Travis Thrasher

Audiobook // dark and winding road // gloomy // creepy // a ray of light is coming // very lifelike emotions // 5 stars

JUNE

Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff // Chip Gaines

Interesting anecdotes // family first // live fearlessly // felt a bit scattered // 4 stars

Steal Like an Artist // Austin Kleon

Inspiration for the creative process // celebrate imperfection // pithy and quotable // catapults your own thoughts // 5 stars

Enoch's Ghost // Bryan Davis

Sacrifice // Ashley is super relatable // creepy infinite staircase // so many awesome characters hurting so much, ow // 5 stars

Siren's Song // Mary Weber

Epic final battle // heart-wrenching ending // Nym has come so far // Myles gave me Loki vibes // thematically magnificent // 5 stars

Unblemished // Sara Ella

So fun and cute // fairy-tale-esque world connected to New York // twisty plot // love triangle // Team Ky all the way // 4.5 stars

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap // Akira Himekawa

Graphic novel // cute drawing style // the Pikori are adorable // good conclusion // 4 stars

Paper and Fire // Rachel Caine

Left me breathless // good ol' rescue plot // creepy automatons // squad goals // stacks of dusty, old books // gearing up for an epic rebellion // 5 stars

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets // J.K. Rowling

The Weasely family is adorable // rollicking adventures // Mandrakes! // ugh, Lockhart // unexpected and satisfying ending // 5 stars

All the Crooked Saints // Maggie Stiefvater

Charming, lyrical writing // eclectic pilgrims // the desert is a character unto itself // Pete, my love // healing is found through opening up to others // 5 stars

JULY

Last of the Nephilim // Bryan Davis

War is coming // everyone's gathering in Second Eden (which is a really cool place) // lots of action // Elam! // 5 stars

AUGUST

Embers // Ronie Kendig

Love the premise // fire powers // a bit too many characters // set up for the beginnings of an epic "fellowship," though // 4 stars

The Bones of Makaidos // Bryan Davis

One of my favorite books // epic cast // climactic battles // best-ever satisfying ending // 5 stars

Fairest Son // H.S.J. Williams

Gender-bent Snow White // wild fey // unexpected twists // I fell in love with Prince Idris // beautiful story // 5 stars

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking // Susan Cain

Fascinating // made me more aware of my temperament's strengths // 4 stars

Hacker // Ted Dekker

Took a surprising look at the unseen world // hacking the human consciousness // felt like an allegory // 4 stars

SEPTEMBER

The Magician's Nephew // C.S. Lewis

Focus on the Family audio // brought back memories // dawn of Narnia brings me to tears // 5 stars

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe // C.S. Lewis

Focus on the Family audio // classic // great voice cast // except Aslan's voice doesn't beat Liam Neeson in the movies // 5 stars

The Story of With // Allen Arnold

Life-changing // awakens the heart // fiction and nonfiction fused together // 5 stars

The Horse and His Boy // C.S. Lewis

Focus on the Family audio // I loved this one more than the first few times I read it // Bree is my fav // 5 stars

Prince Caspian // C.S. Lewis

Focus on the Family audio // really fun // Trumpkin's voice is amusing // the Pevensies are back // 5 stars

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader // C.S. Lewis

Focus on the Family audio // so many adventures // one of my favorite Narnia books // 5 stars

The Silver Chair // C.S. Lewis

Focus on the Family audio // darker than I remembered // Puddleglum's the best // 5 stars

The Last Battle // C.S. Lewis

Focus on the Family audio // I want to throttle that ape // Susan, why? // happy reunions // further up and further in // 5 stars

Song of the Ovulum // Bryan Davis

Tale of mercy // new generation of characters // also a throwback to the Biblical Flood // 5 stars

OCTOBER

Crazy Love // Francis Chan

Audiobook // some good parts about the bigness of God // bit of a guilt trip in other parts // 4 stars

From the Mouth of Elijah // Bryan Davis

Fiery volcanoes // madcap portal dashes // sacrificial love // Lauren's journey is particularly poignant // 5 stars

If We Survive // Andrew Klavan

Audiobook // so intense // Will is such a good kid // I love all the characters, though // everything goes wrong, ack // 5 stars

Fawkes // Nadine Brandes

Lived up to the hype // historical fantasy with color magic // Thomas! Emma! // twisty plot // 5 stars

Haven // Mary Lindsey

Paranormal romance // clichéd plot, decently cool backstory // alpha male protagonist, overly aggressive // the romance was blegh, blegh, blegh // I got rid of the book // 1 star

NOVEMBER

The Seventh Door // Bryan Davis

Awesome parallels to Circles of Seven // Tamiel is one crafty villain // deeply sad scenes // Matt grows a lot // 5 stars

DECEMBER

The Scorpio Races // Maggie Stiefvater

So good that it hurts // atmospheric // the capall uisce horses are SCARY // slow burn romance // Puck and I understand each other // love Sean Kendrick // 5 stars

Omega Dragon // Bryan Davis

Apocalyptic conclusion // so many brave heroes // tied up the twelve books in a smashing finale // 5 stars

 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban // J.K. Rowling

My favorite HP book yet // Lupin is the best // Harry is growing up // all the plot twists // I want to visit Hogwarts // 5 stars

 

Horseman // Kyle Robert Schultz

The Wild West of Neverica // magic and mayhem // spot-on humor // Julio the dragon is hilarious // 4 stars

 

The Sacred Enneagram // Christopher L. Heuertz

Enlightening // resonated with my inner journey // lots to chew on // Christian perspective on how to use the Enneagram for personal and spiritual growth // 5 stars

 

Reading Stats

 

Total Books Read: 50 (10 more than 2017!)

Pages Read: 17,656 (which is over 4,000 more pages than 2017!)

 

Also, let us take a moment to cast an appreciative glance at a two-foot stack made of eleven college textbooks read during the year. I'm not sure how many hundreds of pages that pile would add . . . and I'm not sure I want to think about it.

Genres of 2018

This was the year of fantasy! But . . . I mean . . . that's not new. I did average a nonfiction book every other month, which is up from last year.

 

 

Some other stats of interest . . .

 

I "read" a lot more audiobooks than normal (since normal used to be zero). And, as you'll see below, this was also the Year of Rereads!

 

 

Star Ratings

Pretty typical! I read a lot of books I enjoyed and very, very few that I didn't.

 

 

Most Read Authors

• Bryan Davis (12)
• C.S. Lewis (7)
• J.K. Rowling (3)
• Mary Weber (2)
• Andrew Klavan (2)
• Maggie Steifvater (2)

 

Favorite Authors Discovered in 2018

Without a doubt, my favorite new-to-me authors this year were:

 

• Lindsay A. Franklin (because The Story Peddler was awesome, Lindsay is awesome, and I can't wait for her next book releasing April 2019!)
• J.K. Rowling (because I finally joined the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and I'm rather delighted to be here)
• H.S.J. Williams (because her Snow White novella was just so beautiful)

 

Least Favorite Book

Haven by Mary Lindsey. I've already complained about it, so if you're curious about the details behind why I so disliked this novel, I'll just drop a link to my Goodreads review HERE.

 

Favorite Books

IT'S SO HARD TO PICK. Because almost half of this year's books were rereads, I'm going to cheat and give you two lists--one of my favorite new books and one of my favorite rereads.

Favorite New Books

• The Story Peddler
• Paper and Fire
• All the Crooked Saints
• Fairest Son
• Fawkes
• The Scorpio Races
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

 

Favorite Rereads

• Circles of Seven
• Eye of the Oracle
• The Bones of Makaidos
• The Horse and His Boy
• If We Survive

Happy Reading, Bookdragons!

I'm pleasantly surprised to see what a great reading year this was! It was pretty different than my usual, what with rereads (which used to be rare), more nonfiction, and more audiobooks (which saved my Goodreads reading challenge while in college).

 

Looking forward to another great set of books in 2019! My TBR pile is as staggering as ever, threatening to hold me hostage; and new releases like To Best the Boys by Mary Weber, The Story Raider by Lindsay Franklin, Romanov by Nadine Brandes, and probably a lot more are just going to add height to the TBR . . . but that's a fun problem to have.

Whew, you made it to the end! Now tell me: what were some of your top reads of 2018? And what's an upcoming release you can't wait to add to your dragon hoard?