2018 reading wrap-up: 5 remarkable books + few more

Dear friends, can you believe 7 days have gone already in brand-new 2019? Sheesh! 2018 have been an eclectic year for me- in terms of reading.

That was the year I first read the Harry Potter series ( it totally deserves another post) and tried to insert some variety in terms subjects, rather than sticking to my go-to genres – horror and mystery.

 

Here, I’ve rounded up 5 of my favorite books in 2018 ( I know it feels to do so after the new year is already 7 days old, still…)-

 

Sylvester by Georgette Heyer (1957)

image source: Goodreads

 

This is the first book I read of regency romance and I was giggling, feeling silly, and rooting for the spunky heroine “Phoebe” of this feel-good novel .

Resembling a Bollywood romance – “Sylvester” is sort of love-story that uses the “arrogant-rich-young-man-meets-feisty-plain-Jane-of- modest-background” with a generous dollop of humor, miscommunication, adventure, and  writing aspirations- thrown in. 

 

Two cents: Highly recommended if you like regency romance, London and British wit.

 

Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden (2017- ongoing)

 

 

Now, I solemnly swear my life-long allegiance to Katherine Arden’s pen (or keypad).

The Winternight Trilogy changed the way I used to read fairy tales, prose and medieval Russia.

The first two books of this trilogy made me wish if I were the HOD of Russian Studies Department in my local university, I’d have lobbied hard enough to include them in mandatory reading list.

 

Two cents: In case you like-

• lyrical language,
• magic,
• winter and
• ready to hate “spring” (you read that right), then give it a shot.

After finishing both the books up, if you start loving Putin a li’l bit (just for the loose Russian connection’s sake), don’t blame me.

 

“My Sister, The Serial Killer” by Oyinkan Braithwaite (2018)

 

image source: Goodreads

Set in Lagos, this is a story of two sister- Ayoola & Korede- one an IG-generation serial killer; other- a respectable nurse and level-headed crime-accomplice.

Now this my life’s ambition to look as cool as the lady on this book’s cover.

In another case, if you’ve got a sister who would be ever-so- ready to roll up her sleeve and clean up the crime scene after you murder your boyfriend, without batting an eyelid,  then read this book.

 

Two cents: Wit, sarcasm, a no-nonsense approach to modern dating involving men- non-gore crime fiction 2018 couldn’t get better than this.

 

“The Perfect Nanny (/Lullaby)” by Leïla Slimani  (2018)

 

This is a book about claustrophobia. And despair. And poverty. This is a story of nannies (or one nanny) who are-

• illegal immigrants in Paris,
• get beaten up by spouses,
• find it hard to get a job,
• face racism,
• leave their kids to take care of others’ children and largely
• remain invisible.

This is a not pretty book.

And you may sometimes have a cloistered feeling while speeding through pages ( the language is raw, in-your-face with zero-frill) but read it if you want to know a slice of upwardly mobile contemporary France.

 

Two cents: Highly recommended for those whose world-view is grim (like me), don’t mind an abrupt ending and adore no-nonsense voice.

 

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara (2018)

image source: Goodreads

 

This is the first true crime book I’ve picked up and I’m glad I dis.

Sitting in a country, where TV channels are bombarded with true crime shows that televised the grisly incidents in most lurid, cheap, gratuitous way possible to gain TRP, late Michelle McNamara’s book was more than an eye-opener for me.

 

The mere scale of her ambition to track down the trail of Golden State Killer was astounding. And the meticulous, dogged way she underwent through countless research materials (interviewing victims or their families, collaborating with police departments for field works, thumbing through case files/clips), she was taking me with her through each step- like a shadow.

 

Two cents: If you’re living in a part of the world where human lives are a dime a dozen, the empathy Michelle McNamara showed- would hook you from the word go.

 

Apart from these five, few of my other picks were-

• The Fisherman
• Lancelot
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
• Circe

 

So, have you read any of these books? What were your best reads in 2018? Do share with me in comments.

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