My Favorite Books of 2018

It’s been very quiet around here. Life required almost all my attention most of this year so I didn’t have much time for blogging. What time I could snatch away from work, I used for reading or spending with loved ones. BUT I did read, I even reached my Goodreads challenge goal, and I discovered some amazing books. And because it’s that time of the year, I want to share them with you.

Female authors: 66,1%
Male authors: 33,9%

My favorite books published in 2018

Catherynne M. Valente – Space Opera

I love everything Cat Valente writes but I especially enjoy when she tries something new. Space Opera, while still clearly penned by Valente, is so damn funny! It’s like that Rick and Morty episode where Earth has to prove it’s worthy of staying alive by winning a music contest. But with aliens that come out of Valente’s incredibly creative brain, a washed-out rock star as a protagonist, and the most hilarious “Hey, I’m an alien and yes we exist and also you better find a great musician to compete in intergalactic Eurovision” speech you could ever imagine. I laughed until I cried, it’s that funny. But the book also has a lot of heart and will simply leave you a happier person after reading it.

Naomi Novik – Spinning Silver

I didn’t love this as much as Uprooted but it does count among the best books published this year that I read. I felt Novik didn’t do a great job distinguishing the voices of her characters and I don’t see why so many needed to have POV chapters in the first place. But the three protagonists all grew rather dear to me, in their own way, and I adored the conclusion to the story. It may start out as a retelling of “Rumpelstiltskin” but it takes pretty epic turns and grows into something much bigger. Again, I much preferred Uprooted, but Novik’s fairy tale retellings, even when they’re not her best, are still better than most others out there.

Brandon Sanderson – Skyward

I haven’t loved everything by Sanderson so far. What I’ve loved I adore, but there are some books that I just didn’t feel (Steelheart, White Sand, I’m looking at you). Skyward however, is one of his books that you want to eat up in one sleepless night, following Spensa pursue her dream of becoming a pilot like her father. It does everything a good YA science fiction novel should do. A fast moving plot, secrets within secrets (because it’s Sanderson, let’s not pretend there are no seriously surprising plot twists on the way), and have I mentioned the talking space ship?

R.F. Kuang – The Poppy War

I’m still reading this (I’m about one third through) but it is already so damn good that I just know it will end up on this list anyway! Rin is such a compelling character and the world is a pleasure to explore. I have some idea of where the story is going, but mostly, I’m clueless about the bigger picture and I love it. The setting is something you don’t often see in fantasy and I’m surprised that martial arts can be fun reading about instead of watching. But it totally works and as soon as I’m done writing this, I’ll go back to reading the book.

 

My favorite books published earlier but read in 2018

Katherine Arden – The Girl in the Tower

The follow-up to my favorite book of 2017 (The Bear and the Nightingale) had a tough job keeping up with its predecessor. But Katherine Arden didn’t let up but delivered a more than worthy second instalment in ther Winternight Trilogy. Vasya’s journey continues and takes her to the big city. Her relationship with the mythical beings she can see grows, the world suddenly seems bigger, politics are more and more important. Where the first book happened mostly in Vasya’s village, this one opens up. With that new setting come new wonders to discover but also new threats and dangers. I loved this almost as much as the first book and I already pre-ordered the final instalment, due in January!

 

Ursula Vernon – Digger

This massive graphic novel took me a long time to get through. My hardback edition is… let’s set rather unwieldy. At almost 900 pages, it’s not the kind of book you read on a commute. But Digger crawled into my heart nonetheless and now I don’t know what to do with myself, comics-wise. It’s the story of a wombat who digs herself a tunnel that leads to unexpected places. On her quest to find the way back home, she meets hyenas, monks, a spirit child thing (it’s adorable!) and gets mixed up in the politics of a god that is also a statue. Plus, there are prophetic snails, lots of wombat jokes and Ursula Vernon’s trademark practical characters. I just love how pragmatic Digger is and how she tackles problems, makes friends, and is just so lovable all the time. The ending made me cry on several occasions because these characters grew so dear to me and I didn’t want to let go. I do want more Ursula Vernon books however.

T. Kingfisher – Bryony and Roses

Here’s the second Ursula Vernon (writing as T. Kingfisher) book to make this list because she is just that awesome. This is her retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” and it is everything I had hoped for. Bryony – a practical young gardner – stumbles upon the Beast’s castle, figures out pretty quickly there’s something wrong, and does her best to break the curse. The two protagonists develop a bond that is believable and the solution was quite original, nothing I’ve read in a Beauty and the Beast retelling before. I also have to mention Bryony’s sister – who only appears very shortly but is one of those characters I wish I could meet and have a long chat with. And then hug.

Patricia A. McKillip – The Forgotten Beasts of Eld

This year, I took the time to catch up on some older SFF because usually, new releases get all the attention and I miss out on all the great stuff that’s been there for a few decades. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld blew me away. It’s a quiet but powerful story about Sybel and the mythological beasts who live with her, isolated on her mountain. When a human child is thrust upon her, everything changes. She learns to love the child, but him being the son of one of the kings  vying  for power, it is clear that young Tamlorn will be pulled into a war. This book is powerful not so much because of its surface plot but because of what isn’t said. The way her animals react, the way Sybel bases her decisions on things that happen to her, the way the characters’ emotions toward each other change and grow over time – it was a delightful read and, as my first McKillip book, makes me want to read much more by her.

Robin McKinley – Deerskin

I read a lot of fairy tale retellings this year because in stressful times, we go back to what is most comforting. The previous McKinley book I’d read didn’t exactly convince me (maybe it was because I’d seen the Disney movie of Beauty and the Beast too many times or because I read it during a bad time, I don’t know), but I gave her a second chance and – boom – she made it straight into my favorite books of the year.
Deerskin is a tough book to read. If you know the fairy tale it’s based on, “Donkeyskin”, then you know that bad things happen to the protagonist early on. McKinley managed to get through those parts without ever being gratuitous but that didn’t make them any less horrifying to read. But the bulk of this book is a journey of healing for protagonist Deerskin. The bond between her and her dog was beautiful to read, and way more intense than the slowly growing romance between her and the prince. As hard as the reading experience was, I loved everything about this. The way Deerskin has to fight hard every day to keep living, the way magic was inserted into the story, the way it ended. This is why I give authors second chances – I would not want to have missed out on this gem of a retelling.

Ursula K. LeGuin – The Left Hand of Darkness

I don’t know why I didn’t read more LeGuin sooner. Maybe because, much like with McKinley, I didn’t totally love Earthsee and therefore kind of avoided other LeGuin books. What a mistake!
I didn’t really know what to expect of this book and simply dove in without much research. And again I was rewarded. What impresses me most is how much substance LeGuin managed to put into a book that is relatively short. World-building and politics happen almost by themselves without much description or info dumping. The focus lies on the characters (which is probably why I loved it so much), but you still get such a vivid feeling of the surroundings, the political setup, the wider world that’s out there. I kind of expected difficult prose and a slow read, but I raced thorugh this in a few days because it was so very compelling.

My favorite books that were everyone’s favorites last year

There’s a reason I love SFF book awards. They draw my attention to books I may have missed or that didn’t catch my eye with their covers and descriptions but may well be worth a read. I spend a good part of this year catching up on last year’s top books, award nominees, and other bloggers’ favorites.  A very rewarding undertaking.

Sam J. Miller – The Art of Starving

What a strange and yet utterly wonderful book. I read it on the beach in Greece but my mind was totally with Matt and his starving-induced superpowers. This book does not (!) glorify eating disorders – quite the opposite. I loved Matt’s voice, the way he is clearly lost in his own skin but so sure that has all the solutions. I don’t want to give too much away, but I enjoyed every page.

Sarah Rees Brennan – In Other Lands

Oh my god, what a delight. This is Fairyland as I’ve never seen it before – through the eyes of Elliot, a young boy with no interest in becoming a Fairyland warrior whatsoever. He is sarcastic, always gets himself in the most trouble he possibly can, and somehow still keeps his two friends (at times frenemies) throughout his time in magic school. Again, this book focuses on its characters, the fantasy setting is just sprinkles on top, although Elliot does have a weird obsession with mermaids. Although he is infuriatingly dumb at times, I loved Elliot so very much. Sometimes you want to take him by the shoulders and shake sense into him, but his flaws make him all the more lovable. I also love that this is a standalone novel that you can read, enjoy, and get the full story without commiting to another 10000 pages.

Philip Pullman – La Belle Sauvage

It came as no surprise to me that I loved the first instalment in The Book of Dust, featuring a baby Lyra and Malcolm Polstead as protagonist. Pullman just has a way with words that makes you fall into a story. The characters are charming, the plot intriguing, the connection to the original His Dark Materials trilogy is there, but not so overwhelmingly that it takes away from Malcolm’s own story. This was another feelgood book and  I can’t wait for the next in the series.

Theodora Goss – The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter

Everybody raved about this book last year and now I see why. I have been a fan of Theodora Goss’ writing since reading In the Forest of Forgetting but this being her first novel, I didn’t know what to expect. Rest assured, Goss found a cast of characters with charming and distinct voices (voices that frequently interrupt the story to comment on it) and she managed to write a mash-up of classic SF stories in which women take the lead. Dr. Jekyll’s daughter, Frankenstein’s second creation, a woman created by Doctor Moreau…. they all come together here to form a sort of found family and solve a series of mysterious murders. Okay, Sherlock Holmes helps a little.
Although it is completely different, I felt similarly happy while reading this as when I read The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. It has that feeling of belonging despite being an outsider. I loved it.

What I still Want to read from 2018

There are – as there are every year – several books published in 2018 that I didn’t get to but really want to read soon. Here are the ones at the top of my list:

• Tasha Suri – Empire of Sand
  Everybody is raving about is, including people whose opinion I trust, so it needs to go on my TBR asap.
• Natasha Ngan – Girls of Paper and Fire
  Everything about this screams “read me”. The cover, the synopsis, the fact that I got a gorgeous hardcover copy here at home.
• Anna-Marie McLemore – Blanca & Roja
  I’ve been meaning to read McLemore for a while (I have like five of her books here, all unread) but this is the one that screams the loudest to be read soon. Plus, it’s a fairy tale retelling.
• Rebecca Roanhorse – Trail of Lightning
  This is a book I would never pick up normally but the way the entire internet is going crazy for it makes me want to try it for myself. Covers like this (urban fantasy with weapon wielding girls) usually put me off. But the synopsis sounds good and I’m pretty sure that everybody whose reviews I read can’t be wrong.
• Mishell Baker – Impostor Syndrome
  I loved the first two books in this series and I need to finish it soon. Although no more new books with Millie will make me very sad.
• Theodora Goss – European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman
  Obviously.

That’s it for my 2018 reading year. I hope you had a good one as well and may we all have an excellent reading year 2019!