Brainstorm 161: Top 10s of 2018, Part 1

It's hard to believe, but it is that time of year again! Time for some Top 10s of the Reading Year! All the Fridays of December I will be sharing the top books I've read in the past year (with one guest post from the Elementary librarian I work with). I’ve been doing lots of reading, and I know many others don’t have a chance to read several hundred books in a year. So from the crazy reader to the mildly crazy reader or the downright mellow reader, my Christmas gift to you is some of my favorite reads of the year, ones you may find worth hunting down in the reading time you do have. Sorting through hundreds of books read in the past twelve months is a long, laborious and grueling process. So many hard choices! But if it helps others find good reads, it is worth it. The books that appear in these lists may have been published in any year unless I needed to narrow down my choice. In that case, I stated the limiters I used by the heading (and the publication year indicates 1st English publication anywhere in the world). My favorite choices are listed first and then it kinda sorta trickles down in descending order, but many of them I'd have trouble choosing between so it is more like some absolute favorites at the top and a 6-8 place tie for runners up. Click on the titles of the books to read my reviews and see any content notes. Enjoy!

This Week: Top Adult Fiction, Top YA & Adult Nonfiction, Top YA & Adult Graphic Novels, Top Picture Book Biographies, Top Leveled Readers, Top Christian Nonfiction
Dec 14: Guest Post: Ms Sarah Foit’s Top 10s of 2018
Dec 21: Top Biographies, Top LG/MG Nonfiction, Top LG/MG Graphic Novels, Top LG Fiction, Top Creators of Asian Descent
Dec 28: Top YA Fiction, Top MG Fiction, Top Fiction Picture Books, Top Asian Characters

Clarification of terms: Lower Grade (LG) refers to Kindergarten-2nd Grade interest level books typically but I'm including Preschool in this division too, Middle Grade (MG) refers to 3rd-8th grade interest level books, and Young Adult (YA) refers to teenage interest level books. Some books will appeal to multiple divisions. For those books I picked the age division I felt it most appealed to.

Top 2018 & 2017 Adult Fiction

(limited to books originally published in 2018 or 2017)

Where We Belong by Lynn Austin

Silent Days, Holy Night by Phyllis Clark Nichols

The Lost Plot (Invisible Library, #4) by Genevieve Cogman

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) by Martha Wells

The Ghost Ship (Space Drifters, #3) by Paul Regnier

The Lost Castle (Lost Castle, #1) by Kristy Cambron

Terminal Alliance (Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse) by Jim C. Hines

Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2) by Martha Wells

An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard

Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson

Top 2016 or Older Adult Fiction 

(limited to books originally published 2016 or before)

Soul Music (DEATH, #3, Discworld #16) by Terry Pratchett

Sirius by Jonathan Crown

Hogfather (DEATH, #4; Discworld, #20) by Terry Pratchett

The Emerald Enigma (Space Drifters, #1) by Paul Regnier

The Iron Gauntlet (Space Drifters, #2) by Paul Regnier

Prelude for a Lord by Camille Elliot

Weekend at Thrackley by Alan Melville

Shivering World by Kathy Tyers

Excellent Intentions by Richard Hull

Bats in the Belfry by E.C.R. Lorac

Top YA/Adult Graphic Novels, Comics, & Manga 

(both fiction and nonfiction)

White Sand, Vol. 2 by Brandon Sanderson, adapted by Rik Hoskin, ill. by Julius Gopez & Julius Otha

Giant Spider & Me: a Post-Apocalyptic Tale, Vol. 1 by Kikori Morino

Giant Spider & Me: a Post-Apocalyptic Tale, Vol. 2 by Kikori Morino

Hermes: Tales of the Trickster (Olympians, #10) by George O’Connor

Gone Rogue (Wires and Nerve, #2) by Marissa Meyer, ill. by Stephen Gilpin & Douglas Holgate

A Sea of Love by Wilfrid Lupano, ill. by Grégory Panaccione

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

Trees: Kings of the Forest (Science Comics) by Andy Hirsch

The Inker’s Shadow by Allen Say

Cat vs Human Fairy Tails by Yasmine Surovec

Top YA & Adult Nonfiction

Killers of the Flower Moon: the Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

Ain’t Nothing But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry by Scott Reynolds Nelson

In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri, translated by Ann Goldstein

The Culture Code: the Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle

The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson

Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston

Life on Surtsey: Iceland’s Upstart Island (Scientists in the Field) by Loree Griffin Burns

The Last Castle: the Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home by Denise Kiernan

Eye of the Storm: NASA, Drones, and the Race to Crack the Hurricane Code (Scientists in the Field) by Amy Cherrix

Birds of the Photo Ark photographs by Joel Sartore, text by Noah Strycker

Top Leveled Readers

Louise Loves Bake Sales (Louise Readers; I Can Read! Level 1) by Kelly Light

Ride Otto Ride (The Adventures of Otto; Ready to Read Pre-Level One) by David Milgrim

Pizza Pig (Step into Reading, Step 2) by Diana Murray, ill. by Maria Karipidou

Hello, Penguin! (National Geographic Kids Readers, Pre-Reader) by Kathryn Williams

Chicken in Mittens (I Can Read! Level 1) by Adam Lehrhaupt, ill. by Shahar Kober

Living in…South Korea (Living in…; Ready to Read, Level Two) by Chloe Perkins, ill. by Tom Woolley

Beans Baker’s Best Shot (Step into Reading, Step 3) by Richard Torrey

We Need More Nuts (Penguin Young Readers, Level 2) by Jonathan Fenske

Animal Armor (National Geographic Kids Readers, Level 1) by Laura Marsh

Robot, Go Bot!: a Comic Reader (Step into Reading, Step 1) by Dana Meachen Rau, ill. by Wook Jin Jung

Top 2018 Picture Book Biographies, Autobiographies, Memoirs

(limited to books originally published in 2018)

Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen by Deborah Hopkinson, ill. by Qin Leng

How Sweet the Sound: the Story of Amazing Grace by Carole Boston Weatherford, ill. by Frank Morrison

Up in the Leaves: the True Story of the Central Park Treehouses by Shira Boss, ill. by Jamey Cristoph

The Boo-Boos That Changed the World: a True Story about an Accidental Invention (Really!) by Barry Wittenstein, ill. by Chris Hsu

Fairy Spell: How Two Girls Convinced the World That Fairies Are Real by Marc Tyler Nobleman, ill. by Eliza Wheeler

The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs: the Story of Ken Nedimyer and the Coral Reef Foundation by Kate Messner, ill. by Matthew Forsythe

Just Being Jackie (Just Being) by Margaret Cardillo, ill. by Julia Denos

She Persisted around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History (She Persisted) by Chelsea Clinton, ill. by Alexandra Boiger

Lucy Maud Montgomery (Little People, Big Dreams) by Ma Isabel Sánchez Vegara, ill. by Anuska Allepuz

Hidden Figures: the True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly and Winifred Conkling, ill. by Laura Freeman

Top 2017 or Older Picture Book Biographies, Autobiographies, or Memoirs

(limited to books originally published in 2017 or before)

Manjhi Moves a Mountain by Nancy Churnin, ill. by Danny Popovici

Dangerous Jane by Suzanne Slade, ill. by Alice Ratterree

Before She Was Harriet by Lisa Cline-Ransome, ill. by James E. Ransome

A Boy, a Mouse, and a Spider: the Story of E.B. White by Barbara Herkert, ill. by Lauren Castillo

Not So Different: What You Really Want to Ask about Having a Disability by Shane Burcaw, photos by Matt Carr

Dumpling Dreams: How Joyce Chen Brought the Dumpling from Beijing to Cambridge by Carrie Clickard, ill. by Katy Wu

Manfish: a Story of Jacques Cousteau by Jennifer Berne, ill. by Éric Puybaret

Balloons over Broadway: the True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade by Melissa Sweet

Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines: Designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Jeanne Walker Harvey, ill. by Dow Phumrik

Mrs Harkness and the Panda by Alicia Potter, ill. by Melissa Sweet

Top Christian Nonfiction

The Case for Miracles: a Journalist Investigates Evidence for the Supernatural by Lee Strobel

Love Does for Kids by Bob Goff & Lindsay Goff Vidicich, ill. by Michael Lauritano

In the Land of Blue Burqas by Kate McCord

Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef with Ron Brackin

Made Like Martha: Good News for the Woman Who Gets Things Done by Katie M. Reid

An Extraordinary Teacher: a Bible Story about Priscilla by Rachel Spier Weaver and Anna Haggard, ill. by Eric Elwell

The Kid Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews, ill. by Philip Hurst

Present over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living by Shauna Niequist

Healing Our Broken Humanity by Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Graham Hill

A Kid’s Guide to the Power of Words (A Kid’s Guide To) by Tony Evans