Here we are once again, at the start of a brand new year. A clean slate, if you will, filled with new possibilities, new adventures and uncertain, uncertainties. As the saying goes, time flies! And that statement rings truer still, at the closing of each year. We count down the days of the year, with ticks off the calendar, but when we finally reach its end, somehow, we are taken by surprise.

2018 was a decent year, as far as years go. It was the year I finally buckled down, and got back to writing seriously, (after squandering a couple years, with self-doubt, and undisciplined habits). While I didn’t complete an entire manuscript, I did come very close to finishing my longest writing project ever. I have no plans to pursue anything with the finished story, (or share it with any prying eyes, just yet), but I’ll be proud when I’m finished, and be able to say that I actually wrote a novel.

That’s a task that I can cross off my bucket list.

You might think I’m getting ahead of myself by saying this, but 2018 was also the year I started to feel old. Now my hair isn’t turning gray, and my joints aren’t giving out, mind you; but I had the odd realization that the days of my childhood are now officially, behind me, and that I am moving on to new goals, dreams and adventures. Strange and bittersweet, but it was definitely, a feeling that stood out to me last year.

One way I fell a little short, was in reaching my reading goals. I was hoping to read a minimum of forty books in 2018, but alas, only reached thirty five. I read some pleasant books, some challenging books, some downright boring books, and even a couple of simply terrible books. All in all, though, I feel like I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone, which was another goal I had set for myself.

Now onto the list, shall we?

Note: To make things easy, my favorites are typed in bold.

Stars 1-5

Non-Fiction

1. Outlining Your Novel by K.M. Weiland – 5
2. The Maine Woods by Henry David Thoreau – 5
3. Common Sense by Thomas Paine – 4
4. Down the Garden Path by Beverley Nichols – 5
5. What the Robin Knows by Jon Young – 2

Classics

1. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien – 5
2. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll – 4
3. The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – 4
4. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare – 5
5. A Daughter of the Land by Gene Stratton-Porter – 5
6. Dead Man’s Folly by Agatha Christie – 3 
7. The Tennant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë – 5
8. Meet Mr. Mulliner by P.G. Wodehouse – 3
9. Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery – 4
10. Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene – 3

Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Speculative

1. The Lighthouse Land by Adrian McKinley – 2
2. Enclave by Ann Aguirre – 4
3. The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson – 5
4. Nightfall by Shannon Messenger – 4
5. The Paradise Wars by Stephen R. Lawhead – 3
6. The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer – 4
7. The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer – 4
8. Song of the Sword by Hope Ann – 5
9. Alanna by Tamora Pierce – 5
10. In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce – 4
11. Fire and Hemlock Diana Wynne Jones – 3
12. Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev – 2
13. Dreamlander by K.M. Weiland – 3
14. Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire – 3 
15. Orphan’s Song By Gillian Bronte-Adams – 3
16. Fawkes by Nadine Brandes – 4
17. Little Brother by Corey Doctorow  – 3
18. Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger – 2
19. Gifts From the Sea by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock – 4
20. The Girl Who Could See by Kara Swanson – 5

TOTAL: 35

Thus concludes my reading adventures, for the year, two thousand and eighteen. As I said last year, (and the year before that, and the year before that…) I’m going to push myself harder to read more. I know that I have the ability to read larger quantities of books, it’s just gotten buried beneath inordinate amounts of laziness, technology, and dare I say, Korean dramas. There is a time and a place for everything, though, and I am determined to make more time for books, and reading this year.

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How was your reading year in 2018?  Did you have any revelations, or epiphanies about life? What are your biggest plans for 2019? Leave me a comment, and let me know!

As always, thank you for reading,

Lady S