2018 was a pretty good year for reading for me. I wanted to read one book a week for the whole year and whilst some weeks I didn't manage that, I did manage to read 80 books by the end of the year so I'm really happy with that.

This year I mostly read Fantasy, Urban-Fantasy, Crime, Paranormal-Romance and Comics. There were a few other genres dotted in, but it's been a pretty good year for reading. I started re-reading quite a few of my favourite series from the past that I never got around to, and started several new series too.

I'll give you my favourite highlights of the year, and gloss over the bad parts because they can be forgotten for now.

Favourite Fantasy
1. Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton
The Rebel of the Sands series just went from strength to strength and I found myself falling in love with the last book. So much action.

2. Uprooted by Namoi Novak
This was only the second audiobook I had ever listened to and I wasn't initially sold on the storyline, but then I got dragged in and could not stop listening. This made the dreary days trudging out in the rain, walking for miles at work so worth it because I was transported to another magical (if slightly horrifying world) whilst I was doing it.

Favourite re-reads:
1. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.
Something about this book is always going to connect to me and my younger self, and re-reading for the second time I just fell in love so much more.

2. Loyalty in Death by J. D. Robb.
I absolutely love the In Death series and have just properly started to re-read for the first time in a few years. It had been so long since I read this book that it felt like an entirely new book, but I loved every second when I got back into it. The female characters and the plot-lines in these stories are just fantastic.

Favourite Paranormal-Romance/Urban Fantasy

1. Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs
Mercy Thompson series is one Urban-Fantasy series that has grown from strength-to-strength. There was so much about the latest instalment that I did not expect and I just fell in love.

2. Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs
It seems Patricia Briggs stole the limelight this year and really triumphed over every other UF/Paranormal book I read. Although this one is a short-story/novella, it really deserves it's place in the top two books I read. The relationship that developed between Anna and Charles was founded here and they had such an initially fantastic storyline that I can't forget this novella.

Best General Fiction
1. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay
This was such a great novel: funny, sad and heart-warming all at the same time.

2. Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates
So many points about gender that I hadn't thought of, so many horrifying statistics about young girls being harassed. Reminds me that I need to read more feminist literature.

3. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
This was a book was one that I thought was going to be one of the many over-hyped and over-rated books of the year. However, I very much enjoyed it and thought there were so many fantastic elements to the book.


Goals for 2019
- Read more books by female authors
- Read more feminist literature
- Read more historical literature (now I'm no longer studying history)
- Read more classics (like 2 instead of 1)
- Enjoy reading and try and read more as always!

Specific books I want to read:
1. Work like a Woman by Mary Porter
2. A History of the World in 21 Women by Jenni Murray
3. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
4. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
5. What Happened by Hilary Clinton
6. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
7. The Power by Namoi Alderman
8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak