{"id":320,"date":"2019-01-31T13:41:41","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T13:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/?p=320"},"modified":"2022-11-30T03:51:40","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T03:51:40","slug":"favorite-reads-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/2019\/01\/favorite-reads-2018.html","title":{"rendered":"My Favorite Reads of 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

*This post contains links to the books to help you find them. These links are affiliate links. Check out my full disclosure policy for more details. As always I am thankful for your support!*<\/em><\/p>\n

This past year wasn\u2019t my greatest year for reading. I read a lot of\u00a0just okay<\/em>\u00a0books. Ones that I enjoyed, but wouldn\u2019t necessarily recommend to someone else. Books I grabbed from discount bins and at random from the library.\u00a0Sometimes you can really come across a gem that way<\/strong>, so I always keep trying. If you want to see my\u00a0top 5 fiction reads from the first half of the year<\/a>, I shared them months ago. But, this list is my overall favorite reads of 2018 (in no particular order). It isn\u2019t a huge list- but I also re-read a BUNCH of old favorites. Which I do from time to time when I fall into a reading slump.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Your Second Life Begins When You Realize You Only Have One by Rapahelle Giordano<\/a>\u00a0was originally written in French and released in English just recently. I came across it at an adorable bookshop I just discovered and knew I had to read it. At this time in my life when I\u2019m realizing how quickly life is passing me by, the title really intrigued me. It\u2019s a short, quick read about a woman who needs a change in her life. And maybe just a new positive perspective. I really enjoyed it. The characters, the story, and the fact that it\u2019s set in Europe- always a win in my book.<\/p>\n

\"Your<\/p>\n

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid<\/a>\u00a0was one of those books that totally destroys your world. I don\u2019t want to give too much away, but it\u2019s a love triangle like you\u2019ve never read before- and you really don\u2019t know which way you should go.\u00a0I\u2019ve never flip-flopped so much in my life when reading.<\/strong>\u00a0SO good!<\/p>\n

If you read and enjoyed Me Before You and After You, you definitely need to pick up\u00a0Still Me by Jojo Moyes<\/a>. I think it would be good even as a standalone. Louisa\u2019s back and better than ever with the same awkwardness, sass, and sense of adventure. This book was heartwarming, lovely, and funny just like the others. I\u2019m sad to be done with her character. She\u2019s not at all like me, but still one of my favorite characters from this, and previous years. (I do have to say I liked this book better than the 2nd one, but not as good as the first. But all-together they\u2019re still some of my faves.)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve loved Candace Cameron Bure ever since I was a little girl, and Kind is the New Classy<\/a>\u00a0is no exception. This book made me love her even more! She really is so kindhearted, strong in her faith, and such an inspiration to younger girls. I love her outlook on life, faith, parenting, and so much more. If you like her, you definitely need to give this book a read. Or if you\u2019re just looking to feel inspired and reminded how important kindness is- this book\u2019s for you!<\/p>\n

My big brother recommended Ready Player One by Ernest Cline<\/a>\u00a0to me, and I wasn\u2019t really sure if I\u2019d like it. But, he insisted. And I\u2019m glad he did! I\u00a0cheated<\/em>\u00a0a little and listened to it on audiobook (which is definitely how I recommend reading it- because Wil Wheaton does an amazing job!). The book scared me a little because it may have given me a glimpse into where the world is headed. But, the nostalgic flashbacks to so much stuff from my childhood was a welcome surprise. They also made this book into a movie- which is pretty much NOTHING like the book (but STILL GOOD). However, I almost always recommend the book over the movie. If you like sci-fi, old videogames and 80\u2019s movies, you\u2019ll love this book too.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been laughing at Martin Short for as long as I can remember. He really is one of the funniest people on the planet. I waited forever for this book to become available at my local library- then I devoured it. I loved reading about his life, laughed at all of his Steve Martin stories, and wished I had the opportunity to be a guest at one of his famous Christmas parties. This man is hilarious, loved his wife more than life, and has truly lead an extraordinary life. I\u2019ve also heard that the audiobook is great- because you get to hear it read by him!<\/p>\n

The main reason I enjoyed How to Stop Time by Matt Haig<\/a>\u00a0so much, is because it was so unlike any other book I\u2019ve read before. You get to experience different eras from the perspective of one person, and feel how long heartache sticks with us. If you like a little bit of fantasy with a dash of sci-fi and a smidgen of romance- give this book a shot. It takes awhile to get into it, but I enjoyed it.<\/p>\n

Is The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory<\/a>\u00a0another typical romance? Yes. Did I still devour it in about 2 sittings? Yes, again! It\u2019s great if you like reading love stories where you just keep wondering\u00a0why the heck the characters keep doing what they\u2019re doing<\/strong>. But, it\u2019s spicy and fast paced, and you\u2019ll find yourself staying up way past your bedtime to finish it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m pretty sure I read through I\u2019d Rather be Reading<\/a>\u00a0twice in just a few days because Anne Bogel is my spirit animal. A fellow book lover who will have you shaking your head yes so many times. Whether it\u2019s about how to GIVE UP on a crappy read or the ever-changing bookshelf reshuffling of the book hoarder. I laughed out loud a few times and walked away with a few new suggestions for my to-read shelf. This book has a special place on my bookshelf at home now.<\/p>\n

I read over 70 books this past year. Eight of those I\u2019ve read several times. A few of them I wish I hadn\u2019t bothered with. But, I have a REALLY hard time giving up on books once I start them. I hope this list of my favorite reads of 2018 helps you find some new reads for the new year.<\/p>\n

What are you reading?<\/p>\n

You can find all of these books under the BOOKS tab of my\u00a0Amazon Storefront<\/a>\u00a0(along with some other favorites.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

*This post contains links to the books to help you find them. These links are affiliate links. Check out my full disclosure policy for more details. As always I am thankful for your support!* This past year wasn\u2019t my greatest year for reading. I read a lot of\u00a0just okay\u00a0books. Ones that I enjoyed, but wouldn\u2019t necessarily recommend to someone else. Books I grabbed from discount bins and at random from the library.\u00a0Sometimes you can really come across a gem that way, so I always keep trying. If you want to see my\u00a0top 5 fiction reads from the first half of <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrsbishop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}