It’s the time of the year that I share what I have read in 2018. As I explained last year, I do it because:

1. I am interested in what other people are reading.

2. I think there might be people who would be interested in what I’m reading.

3. It is a joy to go on a blog and discover a new book that interests me.

This year, I outlined my top picks and a few more that I particularly enjoyed/found fruitful. The rest I finished but weren’t my top picks. I sorted the remaining books into categories for easier browsing. Each entry also includes a link to Amazon to buy it (disclosure, these links are affiliate links). But you can also pick these up at a nearby independent bookstore or your local library. However you do it, just read more in 2019!

Top Fiction of 2018

Only Killers and Thieves – Paul Howarth

This book moved me to anger and frustration and despair and hope. Do yourself a favor and read this powerful novel.

Top Non-Fiction of 2018

The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the America South – Radley Balko and Tucker Carrington

There was a moment early into reading The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist that I almost closed the book and threw it across the room. This story will infuriate you, but will also open your eyes to the ways the U.S. legal system, as great as it is, can be twisted and unjust.

Fiction I Particularly Recommend:

The Green Mile – Stephen King

The City Where We Once Lived – Eric Barnes

Idaho – Emily Ruskovich

City on Fire – Garth Risk Hallberg

Other Non-Fiction I Particularly Recommend:

The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 – Lawrence Wright

Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Culture – Ken Jennings

Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America – Jill Leovy

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones – James Clear

On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society – Dave Grossman

More Fiction:

General/Literary:

Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng

The Fighter – Michael Farris Smith

Don’t Skip Out on Me – Willy Vlautin

Crime(ish):

Cuba Libre – Elmore Leonard

Tourist Season – Carl Hiaasen

Pagan Babies – Elmore Leonard

Strip Tease – Carl Hiaasen

Science Fiction:

Artemis – Andy Weir

Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card

Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson

Agents of Dreamland – Caitlin R. Kiernan

Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury

Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

Annihilation – Jeff VanderMeer

Thriller/Mystery:

Slow Horses – Mick Herron

Made to Kill – Adam Christopher

Final Girls – Riley Sager

More Non-Fiction:

Technology Issues:

Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked – Adam Alter

Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less from Each Other – Sherry Turkle

What the Future Looks like: Scientists Predicts the Next Great Discoveries and Reveal How Today’s Breakthroughs are Shaping Our World – Jim Al-Khalili (Editor)

Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk In a Digital Age – Sherry Turkle

Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World – Maryanne Wolf

World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech – Franklin Foer

The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World – Adam Gazzaley and Larry D. Rosen

Political Issues/Current Events:

Blood Profits: How American Consumers Unwittingly Fund Terrorists – Vanessa Neumann

Letter from the Birmingham Jail – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future – Victor Cha

Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations – Amy Chua

The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics – Mark Lilla

The Infernal Library: On Dictators, the Books They Wrote, and Other Catastrophes of Literacy – Daniel Kalder

Psychology/Productivity:

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World – Cal Newport

Happiest Toddler on the Block – Harvey Karp, M.D.

Discipline Equals Freedom – Jocko Willink

Idiot Brain: What Your Brain is Really Up To – Dean Burnett

The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical In Your Brain Drives Love, Sex and Creativity—and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race – Daniel Z Lieberman

Hyperfocus: How To Be More Productive in a World of Distraction – Chris Bailey

The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving your Kids More Control Over Their Lives – William Stixrud, PhD. and Ned Johnson

12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos – Jordan B. Peterson

Sports:

Concussion – Jeanne Marie Laskas

League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth – Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru

Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA – Joseph Nocera and Ben Strauss

Philosophy:

The Character Gap: How Good Are We? – Christian B. Miller

The Existentialist Survival Guide: How to Live Authentically in an Inauthentic Age – Gordon Marino, PhD.

Why Honor Matters – Tamler Sommers

Misc:

The Comic Book Story of Video Games: The Incredible History of the Electronic Gaming Revolution – Jonathan Hennessey

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry – Jon Ronson

The Men Who Stare at Goats – Jon Ronson

Minimalism – Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus

Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved my Life – Caleb Wilde

The Maximum Security Book Club: Reading Literature in a Men’s Prison- Mikita Brottman

Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living – Elizabeth Willard Thames

When to Jump: If the Job You Have Isn’t the Life You Want – Mike Lewis

Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship – Kayleen Schaefer

Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets and Outright Lies From a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons – Mike Reiss with Matthew Klickstein

Photo by Janko Ferlič on Unsplash