We’re about halfway through July, and I’ve read 56 books. I’ve read a lot of good books that I’ve enjoyed, but I would say that my overall reading year has been pretty lackluster in general. There are certainly a few standouts, but most of the books I’ve read have been forgettable, even if they were super enjoyable. I gave a lot of books five stars because I loved them in the moment, but as I think back, I find that I’m not as attached to them as I thought I would be. But as I said, there are a few books that stand out, and those are the books I’m going to talk about here!
I’ve never done a best books so far type of post before, but I’ve been seeing it going around here and on Booktube. I suppose it would be interesting to see which of these books makes it to my Top 10 Books of 2018 list and which are knocked off. To make things easier on myself, I’m going to order them first read to last read, no rankings involved.
So, without further ado, here are the best books I’ve read so far in 2018!
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
This books stands out because of its subversion of normative expectations, its heady atmosphere, and its gorgeous prose. Somewhat similar in plot to The Secret History, it is about a group of theater students who are rather close-knit until one of their number is killed.
Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
I finished this book in a few hours, then a month later I bought it, and now I’m strongly considering re-reading it. It was just so fantastic on so many levels. It’s hilarious, with witty dialogue and standout characters, and it’s fast-paced and fluffy and sweet.
A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena
This book has its problems, but I loved it all the same. It’s about a Parsi girl living in Saudi Arabia and struggling with its misogynistic norms and religious guidelines. It’s tragic and nuanced and made me feel very deeply. Having lived in Egypt for three years as a teenager, I related to it on a very personal level.
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
This book was a revelation told in gorgeous, profound prose. It’s about a young Nigerian woman who is mentally ill – or is she? Her mental illness seems to be a group of gods possessing her – but is it? At its core this book interrogates our perceptions and interpretations about the self and mental health. It was absolutely mindblowing.
Policing Egyptian Women by Liat Kozma
The only non-fiction book on this list, this is a book that discusses various groups of Egyptian women’s relationships to the burgeoning state in 19th century Egypt. It might sound dry, but it’s because of this book that I learned 19th century Cairo had a school for training female physicians that recruited mainly slave girls and street orphans.
Nevernight Series by Jay Kristoff
Because of this series, I was reminded of my love for adult fantasy. The richness of Kristoff’s worldbuilding is astonishing, but so are his characters, the relationships he crafts, and the twisty plots he seems to pull out of thin air. Reading these two books was a genuinely thrilling experience.
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
I did not expect to absolutely love this modern-day retelling of Antigone with an all-Muslim cast of characters. But it won me over quickly; I read it in one sitting. I was drawn in by the characters, the steadily rising tension, the quietly beautiful prose, and the immensely tragic ending.
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
Based heavily on the second Sino-Japanese War, it’s about a young girl who fights to be taken seriously in the military academy she has gained entrance to. Soon enough her country is embroiled in a violent, vicious war. The magic system here is fantastic – you get high, summon gods, and use their powers. But it comes at a cost. It is so damn cool.
Not the Girls You’re Looking For by Aaminah Mae Safi
This is a very slow, character-driven book, and it took me some time to get through it. And yet there’s something about it. It’s about a half-Iraqi, half-white girl living in Texas. It’s about her relationships with her family and her female friends. It’s about her coming to terms with herself and her heritage. It is incredibly clever and witty, and I connected to it on a personal level.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
This is the seventy-year long saga of a gay man growing up in Ireland. It’s a dark comedy, taking us through heartbreaks, similarities, madcap coincidences, surreal happenings. Despite its length and lack of coherent plot, I couldn’t put it down, and it affected me deeply.
Well, that’s it! What are some of your favorite books of the year so far?
Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff: I made no secret of just how much I absolutely adored books one and two in this series. I don’t expect that I will feel any differently about the conclusion to the trilogy, even though conclusions are often controversial. Still, at the very least I expect Kristoff will wrap up loose ends and reveal everything about Mia’s powers. I expect Kristoff’s trademark snark and twists and turns and I have no doubt it will be a wild ride from start to finish.
Leah On the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli: I’ve read two books by Albertalli, and I’ve adored both of them. There’s something about this light, contemporary style that I adore. I can usually breeze through books like this super quickly because not only are they fun and engaging, but they’ve got this nebulous quality that makes you feel right at home. Leah is the snarky, fat, bisexual heroine I’ve been waiting for, and she is, unfortunately, in love with her best friend’s girlfriend, which promises some dramatic shenanigans. Plus it’s been said we’re getting more Simon and Bram!
Creatures of Will and Temper by Molly Tanzer: Okay, first of all, I need y’all to understand the inordinate amount of admiration I have for this cover. Just. Look at this cover. Look at it. Look at its intricacy and detail, its classic artwork, its borders, its fonts…I just. It looks like a 19th century painting. It looks like an illustration straight out of a demonology encyclopedia. I actually just purchased this book and it arrived yesterday and I spent like ten minutes just staring at this cover because it is so beautiful. But aside from the cover, the story reads like something made for me: Victorian London, a female fencer, demons, an underground society fighting said demons. I mean. Can you say custom-made?
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang: This book has been getting a lot of hype in adult fantasy circles, and rightly so! First off, the author is younger than I am, in her very early twenties, and is a 2018 Marshall Scholar. Second, though a fantasy, it deals intimately with the violence of the Sino-Japanese War, particularly an frequently forgotten event called the Rape of Nanking, which I actually wrote my undergraduate thesis about! I won’t link to information, but you can look it up if you so choose; just know that it is one of the most horrific wartime acts ever committed. The sheer brutality of it is overshadowed only by the fact that it was completely forgotten in the aftermath of the war, and to this day there are segments of Japanese society that continue to deny it ever happened. That should tell you something about what to expect from this book. All reviews coming in so far say that this is a topic that Kuang handles deftly and intelligently.
American Islamophobia by Khaled Beydoun: I really admire Beydoun’s work and scholarship. In particular, he’s written a lot about the odd classification of Middle Eastern and North African folks as “white” on the US Census, and the history of that and the ramifications of a potential MENA category on the 2020 census. I think he’s a brilliant and incisive scholar, and given that this book was just published a couple of weeks ago, it promises to be timely and relevant to today’s political situation. This is generally the type of non-fiction book I tend to love. Given that I myself am Middle Eastern and come from a Muslim family, I think the book will also resonate with me on a personal level. I am so confident I will love this book that I am strongly tempted to buy it so I can have it on my shelf to highlight and make notes in.
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor: I’ve been meaning to pick this up since the day it came out. It’s even on my Kindle! I’ve also been meaning to read her first series (I actually read the first book in it years ago, liked it a lot, but didn’t continue with the series for some reason). I’ve heard some amazing things about Strange the Dreamer, so here’s hoping I finally get to it this year.
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff: This is a controversial book, begetting strong feelings of either love or hate in its readership. Apparently it’s written in a really weird way, but the plot sounds so damn cool! It makes me nervous that it’s shelved as DNF for so many people, but I just have to check it out.
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence: Killers nuns. The books begins like so: “It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size. For Sister Thorn of the Sweet Mercy Convent, Lano Tacsis brought two hundred men.” I mean. Need I say more? Plus I’ve been meaning to read more adult fantasy, so this can be my foray into that.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas: This book is sitting and waiting for me on my Kindle and is also being turned into a film. I’m not sure why I haven’t gotten to it yet, except that I generally don’t prefer YA Contemporary. But this book has gotten so much praise that I’m certain it will be unlike any other YA Contemporary I’ve ever read.
Hadeer Elsbai 