Bookworms Unite: My 2018 Reading List

Ever wonder if people are still reading books these days? I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m still a total bookworm, and to this day I’m a sucker for actual books rather than digital readers. Whether it’s a page-turning piece of fiction, an informative political novel or uplifting biography, a good read keeps our imaginations alive and if anything, keeps us entertained. While I haven’t had much time to read over the last few weeks (other than Peter Rabbit stories to Honor!), you will find me cozied up in bed, on the couch, and especially on the plane, scanning pages whenever I possibly can.

I’ve gathered 10 books that I’m dying to read this year, and trust me, some of them look like real page-turners! If reading more was on your New Years Resolutions list this year, I highly encourage taking the time for yourself to relax, sit down somewhere and flip through one of these. Scroll down to see my picks!

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

(I know, the book came out last year, but its film adaptation had multiple Golden Globe AND Oscar nominations! Which is more reason for us to pick up the actual book and start reading it.) This book follows the intimacy that grows between an adolescent boy and a research student staying at his family’s mansion on the Italian Riviera. Both of them are unprepared for their attraction to each other, not only is it unexpectedly romantic, but the backdrop of ’80’s Italy is all-engrossing.

Feel Free by Zadie Smith

Written by renowned essayist Zadie Smith, this novel touches on her take on contemporary culture. She puts interesting perspective on big influencers, popular places and trending phenomena, and answers the general question of why we do what we do. It will definitely leave you understanding the world a bit better.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

This novel delves into the ideals of The American Dream and the New South through the anecdote of two newlyweds, Celestial and Roy, who have their marriage torn due to a crime allegation. The story is a powerful, heartbreaking one that highlights the forces we cannot control in our lives. It was also in Oprah’s Book Club Selection for 2018 – more reason to read it!

DIY Rules for a WTF World: How to Speak Up, Get Creative, and Change the World by Krista Suh

The creator of the Pussyhat Project gives you her inside tips on how to weave (literally and figuratively) around the weird world. She encourages you not only to how to DIY a lot of things, but help you take down the patriarchy, live by your own rules, and to have fun!

Back Talk: Stories by Danielle Lazarin

Another refreshing story about self-love, Lazarin puts together a stunning collection of stories about women and their unexpressed desires. The accounts entail how women defiantly push the boundaries that our world and social norms have narrowly put together for her.

White Houses by Amy Bloom

This exciting fictitious novel is about the very close, intimate relationship between journalist Lorena Hickok and Eleanor Roosevelt, which turns into a very secret, scandalous affair. It entails her journey from her status as “first friend” in the White House down to their last days together, and Hick never lost sight of her love.

Tangerine by Christine Mangan

If you love Alfred Hitchcock, then you’ll definitely get a kick out of this psychological thriller. When two once inseparable roommates no longer speak due to an accident, Alice Shipley and her husband move to Tangier, Morocco, hoping to move past the incident until her old friend Lucy reemerges in her life, wanting to make amends.

Mount! by Jilly Cooper

Don’t be fooled by the innocent looking cover – Mount! delves into the world of competitive horse racing and one man’s obsession with his stallion to become champion. But amidst his desires, the story also adds a Twelfth Night-like plot twist: love triangles between multiple characters in the book.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence

Before there was Fifty Shades, there was this exciting and scandalous story of a love affair told so explicitly in the book, Penguin Books had to go to trial for its obscenities in the 1960s! When her handsome, upper-class husband returns from the Great War in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down, Lady Chatterley becomes neglected emotionally and physically until she meets the company of her husband’s gamekeeper, Oliver Mellers. Sorry, who’s Christian Grey again?

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Last, but certainly not least is one of my all-time favorites. I’m all for an extremely captivating romance novel, and the love life of a poet and physician during the Russian Revolution is right up my alley. The embodiment of tenderness and pain through the character of Lara translates beautifully in the book – definitely a classic!

Comment your favorite one below!

xx,