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I don’t know about you, but my annual “to be read” list is always MUCH, MUCH longer than I could ever possibly read. In the last couple of years I’ve gotten better at deleting books along the way when I feel confident I no longer want to read them, but still others remain. A year ago I shared Books I Meant to Read in 2017, But Just Never Did, and am pleased to report that I did go back and read three of them. That’s not a huge number, but I’m not a big backlist reader. Fingers crossed I’ll get to a few of these 2018 books I missed.
Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman – I’ve been a fan of The Bachelor since season one and for many years I felt like it was sort of a dirty little secret. Why was a woman my age engrossed in the hijinks of such an over-the-top reality T.V. show? Then I started blogging, and found a whole world of other Bachelor lovers! I’ve had mixed feelings about reading Bachelor Nation. I want to know more of the behind the scenes dirt, and I don’t. Still, I plan to eventually get to this one on audio.
Before She Sleeps by Bina Shah – I like some dystopian stories and this The Handmaid’s Tale-like novel should be just right for me. When it came out last summer, I just wasn’t in the mood, but every time I cull my TBR list, I keep it around. Before She Sleeps is another that could be great on audio.
The Girl They Left Behind by Roxanne Veletzos – Historical fiction is one of my very favorite genres and WWII one of my favorite eras. So, why did I keep passing on The Girl They Left Behind? I think it was because not long before it came out I read a couple that really disappointed me (Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams and Eagle & Crane by Suzanne Rindell), setting me up for a self imposed break from historical fiction.
How to Be Famous by Caitlin Moran – I loved Moran’s debut, How to Build a Girl, so want to give its sequel a try, but I have a thing about sequels. For me they often disappoint, so I tend to avoid them. I know that’s far from fair and something I need to get over.
The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon – I features The Incendiaries on my Summer Preview 2018, but was declined an ARC. Still, I had every intention of reading Kwon’s book after it was released. Then I started seeing some mixed early reviews and didn’t want to pony up my own money for it. When my library hold finally came in I was swamped with work and other books, so I just never got to it.
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty – I was a big fan of Liane Moriarty for a long time. The Perfect Husband and Big Little Lies were both wonderful escapes, but her last book, Truly Madly Guilty was a little disappointing. Perhaps that was why I remained reluctant to try her latest. Have any of you read Nine Perfect Strangers?
So Much Life Left Over by Louis De Bernieres – When I realized that So Much Life Left Over was actually the second in a three book series, I grew less interested. Catherine at The Gilmore Guide to Books assured me that it stands alone just fine, but I could never quite get past my sequel phobia!
That Kind of Mother by Ruuman Alam – I was so excited about That Kind of Mother that I highlighted it in my Spring Preview 2018. I thought I’d listen on audio, but didn’t care for the narrator on the short sample I listened to. Then I heard from a couple others that they didn’t care for the story and I just sort of lost interest.
Upstate by James Wood – I think Upstate suffered for me because of the time of year it came out. It’s a very serious literary sounding book about a dysfunctional family relationship. That sounds right up my alley, but it came out in March after I’d read a lot of other heavier books and was looking for lighter stories. This is one I still really want to read.
Visible Empire by Hannah Pittard – On my own I may have overlooked this book completely, but Sarah at Sarah’s Book Shelves loved it and she and I have very similar reading tastes. I added it to my TBR list after reading her review, but then just never actually read it. I thought I’d get to it when I was sort of free reading in December, but time got away from me. Maybe this year?
Have you read any of these 2018 books I missed?
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I DNF’d both That Kind of Mother (one of the few books Annie Jones and I disagreed on…I thought the mother character didn’t ring true at all…it wasn’t surprising it was written by a man and I noticed all my rec sources that loved it didn’t actually have kids) and The Incendiaries.
Weirdly, I looked at my TBR list and realized I didn’t have enough books for this post…I actually read most of what I wanted to read in 2018. Can you believe it?! First year that’s ever happened!
Good for you for getting through your TBR list. I always feel like at least some of the books I have left over are still there for a good reason and maybe I should just leave them there.
Before She Sleeps has been on my TBR for quite a while now. It sounds like a great read. Hopefully, we’ll both get to read it this year.
This is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
Thanks for stopping by, Lydia. Your list has some really interesting sounding books on it.
The Incendiaries is the one we share. I got it from the library in late September but a lot of other books came along at the same time and I chose to let that one go. It was on many “Best of 2018” lists however.
I saw it on a lot of lists too. Maybe we’ll both come back to The Incendiaries this year.
I never got to The Incendiaries either! My TBR is also always humongous.
I feel like my 2018 TBR list was a little smaller than usual, but 2019 is already huge!
Great list! The Girl They Left Behind is Fabulous!
Hope you get to these this year 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Tina.
Nine Perfect Strangers was horrible. I listened to at least 5 hours and had 9 hours to go. I stopped immediately! Very boring. A big disappointment!
That says a lot that you’d invested so much time and still quit on Nine Perfect Strangers. That definitely makes me reconsider.
I read Nine Perfect Strangers and loved it. One of the characters has a snarky wit, my favorite humor.
If taken seriously the story is over the top ridiculous, especially after a certain turn of events. After reading interviews with the author, she wrote it as a satire of the “wellness” industry, spiritual gurus and their psychobabbble, and our national obsession with youth and beauty. The owner of the spa was a caricature. My one complaint was there was one section I thought went on too long. . It’s brain candy yet with some serious issues addressed.
I have The Incendiaries from EW but haven’t felt inspired to pick it up after seeing a few lackluster reviews.
I’m spinning from comments on Nine Perfect Strangers…you liked, but another detested! Ah, well.
Bachelor Nation was fun, and I don’t even watch the show! I do love reality tv, though. Nine Perfect Strangers is still on my list, too.
I really think there is some sort of weird connection between book lovers or maybe just book bloggers and reality TV. We all seem to be hooked.
Of your list I’m most interested in getting to Kwon’s book and Nine Perfect Strangers. Both of those I’d keep on my list. I have many 2018 books still to read.
Oh, definitely read How to be Famous!! I think it was even better than How to Build a Girl ❤️
Great to know. I may listen to that one. I think it might be fun on audio.
Haven’t read any of those so I can’t help you 🙁 I love Visible EMpire cover though!
I’m just happy to have you visiting, Annie!
I listened to How to Be Famous and would strongly recommend. Could be the accents but this book was a fun listen with a good message and great ending. And characters I loved from How to Build a Girl.
I’m so glad you shared this with me. I’ve thought about listening to How to Be Famous and now that you’ve shared how good it was, I’ll definitely put it on my listening list. I love audiobooks with accents.
Here’s to hoping you enjoy these books when you get to them! I still need to read How to Build a Girl, and of course, hopefully, How to Be Famous, so I’m glad to see someone else has it on their list! I almost included it on my TTT this week but it didn’t make the cut–despite me reading a lot last year, I still had a lot that I didn’t read. Sigh! Anyways, seriously, enjoy!
Reading all the books truly is impossible. We’re just fooling ourselves that we can do it!