18 Books I Want to Read in 2018

I have a few goals for 2018, which I’m going to talk through first, before getting into the specific books I want to read. There are many more that could be added to this list, but I had to narrow it down to some. I have even more at uni that I haven’t let myself consider including as I’d never get this post written if I did.

  1. I want to read 50 books. Ideally, I’d love to read 100, but I have to be realistic. In 2017 I finished 81, and I read some pretty hefty books through that year… so 82 would be nice…
  2. Read more 19th Century literature. 19th Century literature is definitely a passion of mine, and I just want to read it all.
  3. Read more variety. I started in 2017 by reading more graphic novels, more plays etc. I want to continue this, as I’ve really enjoyed reading different forms.
  4. Read more philosophy. One of my potential paths I want to follow in academia is 19th Century literature, and it is heavily influenced by philosophy. So I want to read the work of those philosophers who were read widely at that time, to help me enjoy and understand the novels better.

The 18 books I want to read in 2018

  • the sun and her flowers – Rupi Kaur
  • Dear Boy – Emily Berry
  • The Exact Opposite of Okay – Laura Steven
  • Girl in Pieces – Kathleen Glasgow
  • Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief – Rick Riordan
  • Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda – Becky Agenda
  • Change is Gonna Come – Multiple Authors
  • It Only Happens in the Movies – Holly Bourne
  • The Bloody Chamber – Angela Carter
  • The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller
  • Les Miserables – Victor Hugo (I want to finish this – I have about 300 pages left)
  • Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
  • Autoboyography – Christina Lauren
  • The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoevsky
  • Eliza and Her Monsters – Francesca Zappia
  • The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night – Jen Campbell
  • Turtles All the Way Down – John Green
  • The Fate of the Tearling – Erika Johansen

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October TBR 2017

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This is an odd mix of things, some that I have to read and some that I want to. It’s long and I’m not expecting to read them all, but I’m going to divide them up as best I can. Also I apologise for the inferior photo of the image, it was taken in my uni library with awful lighting because the lighting will be even worse by the time I get home.

Compulsory reads for uni

A Hero of Our Time – Mikhail Lermontov

Dead Souls – Nikolay Gogol

Fathers and Sons – Ivan Turgenev 

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk – Nikolai Leskov

Plays to help with my Scriptwriting module (I also just got them out of the library today so they’re recent additions!)

The Sugar Syndrome – Lucy Prebble 

Tribes – Nina Raine 

If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet – Nick Payne

Rabbit – Nina Raine 

The Effect – Lucy Prebble

Other reads

Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life – Benjamin Alire Saenz

Pax – Sara Pennypacker

The Refugees – Viet Thanh Nguyen

I’ll see how many I get read, obviously my priority is to stay ahead with uni reading so those for Russian lit will be read first. But I’m looking forward to a lot of these so hopefully I’ll get to most of them!

September TBR 2017

So most of the books on my TBR this month are for uni or because of uni (I will explain, I promise). It’s quite ambitious as most of them are classics, but I need to get to as many as possible to get ahead for my modules! The first three are for my 19th Century Russian Literature module.

Eugene Onegin – Alexander Pushkin

I’ve already started this one and I’m nearly halfway through. I’m actually really enjoying it and the translation is fairly simple to read, there are a few archaic phrases to be a more literal translation but otherwise it’s okay.

A Hero of Our Time – Mikhail Lermontov

Dead Souls – Nikolay Gogol

Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

This one is the ‘because of uni’ one. I always promised myself I’d finish this before I started another long book, namely Anna Karenina or War and Peace. I really want to finish this anyway, as I adore the story and musical and literally anything Les Mis, but Anna Karenina is on my module reading list, so there’s a little pressure there.

Evening Primrose – Kopano Matlwa

When the Floods Came – Clare Morrall

Okay so these last two are both review books that I have been sent, I’ve started them both and they’re both so so good. Very different (I’m struggling to find one I’m truly in the mood for though I think dystopian and When the Floods Came is best suited at the moment) but very good.

Also, I apologise for there being no photo – one may or may not be added in the future, but I’m still setting everything up on my computer at the moment so bear with me. (Also most of them are on iBooks anyway so there is nothing to photograph!) However, I can now insert emojis, so do expect an influx of them on here as I overuse them everywhere else so why not make that the case on here too.😂

💕

August TBR 2017

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Whilst there may not be as many books on this TBR as last month, I’d say it’s equally as ambitious! I had a hard time narrowing down the few that I wanted to read most so this is subject to change, as I have got so many books that I’m excited about.

American Gods – Neil Gaiman

The Exact Opposite of Okay – Laura Steven

The Book of Luce – L. R. Fredericks 

Moxie – Jennifer Mathieu 

After the Fire – Will Hill

Orbiting Jupiter – Gary D. Schmidt 

Trouble – Non Pratt

I also hope to finish Les Misérables so that I can start on my reading list for uni (my 19th century Russian Lit module), as I don’t want to have that and loads of other long, dense books on the go at the same time. I haven’t added the books from the list to my TBR as I’m just going to work through them at a pace I can manage!

July TBR 2017

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Okay so this month I have a huge TBR – my friend Hannah (over at Sprinkledwithwords!) and I are going to YALC at the end of the month so I’m trying to read as many as possible by authors that will be there. There are a couple of others that I’d really love to get to soon as well. It’s ambitious, but I’ve nothing else to do with my time so I’m going for it!

Physical books (not for YALC)

The Girls – Emma Cline (not pictured)

I have been wanting to read this since it came out and the paperback has finally been released so I’m super excited!

The Power – Naomi Alderman

I thought this looked good when I was looking at it on the new releases stand in Waterstones – then it won the Baileys women’s prize for fiction, so I guess it’s a must-read.

American Gods – Neil Gaiman

I started this a while back and was really enjoying it – I’m not too sure why I haven’t picked it back up but I want to finish it in July.

Loved – P. C. and Kristen Cast (Not pictured as it hasn’t been released yet!)

A NEW HOUSE OF NIGHT BOOK. A NEW HOUSE OF NIGHT BOOK.

YALC physical books

The Art of Being Normal – Lisa Williamson

Wing Jones – Katherine Webber (this has the most gorgeous sprayed edges!)

The Pearl Thief – Elizabeth Wein

Ink – Alice Broadway

A Darker Shade of Magic – V. E. Schwab

The Square Root of Summer – Harriet Reuter Hapgood

YALC ebooks

The State of Grace – Rachael Lucas

One of Us is Lying – Karen McManus

The Graces – Laure Eve

The Bone Season – Samantha Shannon

Daughter of Smoke and Bone – Laini Taylor

Wolf by Wolf – Ryan Graudin

One final ebook (I have to read it by July 15th)

The Ethan I was Before – Ali Standish

June TBR 2017

So… I’m back, this time with a backlog of reviews and post ideas. I’m hopefully going to branch out into a few more (kind of book related) topics, but we’ll see. I want to cover a little more on here too, and perhaps include some writing. Who knows!

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I don’t have a long TBR this month, as I have a fair number of review books that I’d like to get to on kindle, but I can’t decide exactly which ones. I move home from my first year of uni and I have a long weekend in London planned but other than that, not a lot is happening in June; I’m taking each day as it comes!

The Winner’s Crime – Marie Rutkoski

I really want to continue through the series as I’m really enjoying it. I started it not too long ago and I’m looking forward to carrying on.

The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas

I’m a little apprehensive about starting this, due to all of the hype it has, but I want to read it nonetheless.

Ella Minnow Pea – Mark Dunn

This looks so original and interesting, I picked it up not too long ago and can’t wait to read this!

The Upside of Unrequited – Becky Albertalli 

I only bought this today, but I’ve been wanting to read this for a while.

February TBR 2017

I was undecided whether or not to post a monthly TBR, especially as I’ve been indecisive when I’ve picked up a book this month. I don’t know how much reading for pleasure I’ll get done either, because I have a collaboration project for uni which will be exhibited at the end of the month as well as an essay to complete and books for uni to read. Three of the ones I have here are for my course and must be read, the others I’d like to get to if I have chance (three are library books)

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Uni

The Vicar of Wakefield Oliver Goldsmith

Lolly WillowesSylvia Townsend Warner

The Lonely LondonersSam Selvon

Pleasure

Flowers for AlgernonDaniel Keyes

MisadventureRichard Meier

Silence is GoldfishAnnabel Pitcher

The Fate of the TearlingErika Johansen

 

 

Five Books I Want to Read in 2017

Aside from uni books, 2017 is going to be the year where I read the books I genuinely want to read without the pressure of an overambitious goal. As my goal is 25 books, and around 15 will probably be for uni, I’ve selected 5 that I want to get to most.

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Outlander – Diana Gabaldon

I can’t tell you how much I want to read this, but last year I felt bad if I went to pick it up because of its length. This year, however, I feel no guilt.

The People in the Trees – Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life blew me away. Need I say more?

Les Misérables – Victor Hugo

YESSSSSS. I CAN FINALLY READ THIS! I’m halfway through, I love it, but it requires time and dedication. Last year I felt I couldn’t dedicate myself to it because of my stupidly high goal but NOW I CAN. (Yes, I’m excited to read it).

The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

This has been on every ‘to read this year / month / readathon’ list and I still haven’t actually read it yet…

Brave New World – Aldous Huxley

I love love love adult dystopia but have yet to read this. It needs to be done.

What books do you want to get to most this year?

Five Poetry Books I Want to Read Before the End of the Year

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I adore poetry and have definitely been picking up more and more this year. Poetry collections are really short and quick to read, and I’m enjoying picking them up alongside a novel. A lot of the poems I have been reading are by modern poets, as I’m finding it easier to purchase modern collections now (I used to have an issue getting hold of modern work). I may love older poetry, but modern poetry is wonderful as it is so unique and often experimental.

  • Red Doc> by Anne Carson – This collection looks very unique and interesting, as the poems are formatted in a way I’ve never experienced.
  • Through the Square Window by Sinéad Morrissey – I’ve read the first couple of poems in here and loved them. I’m so excited to get around to finishing this collection.
  • Happiness by Jack Underwood – This is such a short collection but looks absolutely wonderful.
  • 81 Austerities by Sam Riviere – I’ve heard a lot about his other anthology, but not this one. However, the title grabbed me immediately, hence why I picked it up.
  • Interference Pattern by J. O. Morgan – I’m not entirely sure as to whether this is one single poem or several, as there are no titles. However, it does look unique and very interesting.

Do you have any poetry recommendations that I should pick up? Are there any poetry books you’d like to read soon?

Five Novels I Want to Read Before the End of the Year

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So I’ve covered both classics and modern classics so far, but I wanted to do a list of five ‘regular’ books that I want to get to before the year ends. My mood is always changing, and the book I most want to pick up today quite probably will be different from the one I’ll want to read tomorrow, though these five are those that I’ve constantly been thinking about picking up.

  • Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – I’ve heard so much about this and it sounds so amazing and I just need to read it. I read the first chapter a while ago but put it down for some reason but I don’t know why because it was so good.
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas – I don’t know if it’s the title or the cover or what, but this just screams ‘winter read’ at me. Maybe it’s because it’s long and I spend more time inside reading during the winter (I hate the cold passionately). I don’t know. But this looks fabulous.
  • I Am China by Xiaolu Guo – Something about this novel intrigues me and despite the fact that I have heard nothing about it whatsoever, I cannot wait to get to it.
  • The  Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney – This has had my attention for a while now, and it looks like something I wouldn’t normally pick up, but for some reason I can’t wait to do so.
  • Burial Rights by Hannah Kent – I wanted to read this last December (It’s another that screams ‘winter read’ at me) but never got around to it. This year, however, I definitely plan to make time for it and can’t wait to read it.

As with my modern classics list, this could go on. Who knows how many I’ll read eventually, but these are some that are high priority and that I will definitely be taking to uni with me. Do you have any books you want to read before the end of the year?
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