2018 Reading Challenge

I love books. More than almost anything else, actually. More than wine, more than coffee, I could learn to live without ice cream, cardigans, and houseplants – but not books. Before I was a writer, I was a reader, my nose in Ramona, Nancy Drew and Anne with an E, since before I can remember. I still consider myself a reader first – both because reading is always enjoyable, (while writing not so much,) and because writers have to be readers in order to be any good at what we do. You wouldn’t trust a Chef who doesn’t eat, would you?

So, every year, for work (HA!) and for pleasure, I stuff myself with as many books as I can. In 2017, during my first year of my MA, I planned to read 36 books, and read 46 instead. When I made my goal for 2018, I kept the fact that I was still going to be a student for the whole thing in mind, and made my goal 48. I made it.

Titles I Read in 2018:
(I bolded the ones I think you can’t miss)

1. 42^nd Parallel – J. Dos Passos
2. An American Marriage – T. Jones
3. As I Lay Dying – W. Faulkner
4. Blood Meridian – C. McCarthy
5. Cane – J. Toomer
6. Charleston – M.B. Thornton
7. Country Dark – C. Offut
8. Coyote Songs – G. Iglesias
9. Cross Her Heart – S. Pinborough
10. Fair and Tender Ladies – L. Smith
11. Feast of Snakes – H. Crews
12. Gods of Howl Mountain – T. Brown
13. Goodbye, Vitamin – R. Khong
14. Gradle Bird – J.C. Sasser
15. History of Wolves – E. Fridlund
16. In the House of the Wilderness – C. Dodd White
17. Jesus’ Son – D. Johnson
18. Lethal White – R. Galbraith
19. Macon – R. Page
20. Maranatha Road – H. Bell Adams
21. Nothing Gold Can Stay – R. Rash
22. One Day in December – J. Silver
23. One Foot in Eden – R. Rash
24. One Good Mama Bone – B. McClain
25. Our Kind of Cruelty – A. Hall
26. Rivers – M. Farris Smith
27. Running Out – D. Essinger
28. Saints at the River – R. Rash
29. Shrill – L. West
30. Small Treasons – M. Powell
31. Southernmost – S. House
32. Station Eleven – E. St. John Mandel
33. Sunburn – L. Lippman
34. Swimming Lessons – C. Fuller
35. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – J. Le Carre
36. The Coal Tattoo – S. House
37. The Fighter – M. Farris Smith
38. The Line That Held Us – D. Joy
39. The Lying Game – R. Ware
40. The Mars Room – R. Kushner
41. The Patron Saint of Ugly – M. Manilla
42. The River of Kings – T. Brown
43. The Woman in the Window – A.J. Finn
44. Trash – D. Allison
45. Two Girls Down – L. Luna
46. What You’re Getting Wrong About Appalachia – E.  Catte
47. When Katie Met Cassidy – C. Perri
48. Zero Saints – G. Iglesias

Writing book reviews feels like school work. So instead:
Books that have stuck with me:
– A History of Wolves: I still think about the plot of this novel a lot. It’s horrific in that mundane way that will make you look sideways at all your neighbors and wonder what is really going on behind their doors.
– Coyote Songs: This book will break your heart. It makes me wish that I wrote stories about more important things. All of my “sad girl” stories feel very ‘first world problem’ after this, and it has made me wonder if I’m just really not that deep. Definitely the most important book I read this year, and it possibly has caused an existential crisis.
– The Line That Held Us: David Joy is one of my favorites, and he’s only getting better. This story’s antagonist is one of the most interesting/complicated I’ve read in a long time. Plus – nods to O’Connor and McCarthy, what could be better?

Repeated Authors: You’ll notice that I read a lot of Ron Rash, Michael Farris Smith, Taylor Brown, Silas House and Gabino Iglesias this year. These are books that I really enjoyed and got me digging around for more work from these terrific authors.

Read More Women: There are a lot of terrific male writers in my genre. This year I worked hard to read more Appalachian/Southern Fiction written by women and I found Heather Bell Adams, Bren McClain, and J.C. Sasser and I couldn’t be happier. They are all debut authors, and I can’t wait for their next books.

I’m planning to read 60 books in 2019 and I’m thrilled. For 2019 I’m going to continue to read more female authors – I’m aiming for 2 of every 3, and I’d like to read more by authors of color, from the LGBTQ community and books from indie publishers.

Do you have a plan to read in 2019? Or a book suggestion? Drop me a comment and tell me about it!