In Ep. 167, Catherine (@GilmoreGuide) and I are circling back to 2018 in the book world with a special retrospective episode!  We share big bookish highlights for that year, including book news, award winners, and what was going on in the world outside of reading. We also talk about our own 2018 reading and our favorite 2018 releases.  Plus, you’ll hear listener-submitted favorites!  This episode is overflowing with great backlist titles to add to your TBR!  

This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

Highlights

• The big news going on outside the book world.
• Book stories and trends that dominated 2018.
• Looking back at 2018, we couldn’t help but say, “If only we knew what was coming!”
• The books that have had staying power.⁠
• Titles that now are comps for SO MANY books!⁠
• We explore the early days of this new wave of celebrity book clubs.
• Our personal 2018 reading stats.⁠
• Listener-submitted favorites from 2018.⁠

Circling Back to 2018 in Books [2:05]

The World Beyond Books

• Spare by Prince Harry | Amazon | Bookshop.org [5:12]
• A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) by George R. R. Martin | Amazon | Bookshop.org [5:45]
• The Walking Dead (Compendium One) by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore | Amazon | Bookshop.org [5:54]

The Book Industry

• Becoming by Michelle Obama | Amazon | Bookshop.org [9:55]
• Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:46]
• The Meltdown (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 13) by Jeff Kinney | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:50]
• Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:54]
• Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff | Amazon | Bookshop.org [10:56]
• Wonder by R. J. Palacio | Amazon | Bookshop.org [11:12]
• Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur | Amazon | Bookshop.org [11:16]
• The President Is Missing by James Patterson and Bill Clinton | Amazon | Bookshop.org [11:42]

Book Trends

• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [14:30]
• Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [14:34]
• Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton | Amazon | Bookshop.org [14:36]
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens | Amazon | Bookshop.org [14:38]
• Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines | Amazon | Bookshop.org [17:27]
• Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis | Amazon | Bookshop.org [17:34]
• You Are a Badass® by Jen Sincero | Amazon | Bookshop.org [17:59]
• 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [18:08]
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [18:14]

Big Books of 2018

• Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:46]
• The Reckoning by John Grisham | Amazon | Bookshop.org [20:58]
• The President Is Missing by James Patterson and Bill Clinton | Amazon | Bookshop.org  [21:05]
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens | Amazon | Bookshop.org [21:56]
• There There by Tommy Orange | Amazon | Bookshop.org [23:25]
• The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen | Amazon | Bookshop.org [23:27]
• Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:16]
• Normal People by Sally Rooney | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:20]
• Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:21]
• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:33]
• Verity by Colleen Hoover | Amazon | Bookshop.org [25:30]
• Circe by Madeline Miller | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:08]
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:32]
• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah | Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:36]
• The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:07]
• I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:19]
• Becoming by Michelle Obama | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:36]
• Spare by Prince Harry | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:11]
• Educated by Tara Westover | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:31]
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:18]
• Atomic Habits by James Clear | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:11]
• I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:51]
• Wandering Stars Tommy Orange | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:53]
• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:12]
• The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:37]
• Katabasis by R. F. Kuang (expected publication: August 15, 2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:50]
• Less by Andrew Sean Greer | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:54]
• The Friend by Sigrid Nunez | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:02]
• Milkman by Anna Burns | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:09]
• Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:22]
• The Stone Sky (The Broken Earth Book 3) by N. K. Jemisin | Amazon | Bookshop.org [36:04]

Our Top Books of 2018

• Circe by Madeline Miller | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:46]
• An American Marriage by Tayari Jones | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:55]
• The Line that Held Us by David Joy | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:30]
• The Pasha of Cuisine by Saygin Ersin | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:55]
• Only Child by Rhiannon Navin | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:32]
• Anatomy of a Miracle by Jonathan Miles | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:54]
• Song of a Captive Bird by Jasmin Darznik | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:00]
• There There by Tommy Orange | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:04]
• She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:06]
• Tin Man by Sarah Winman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:09]
• Waiting for Eden by Elliot Ackerman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:42]
• A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:33]
• I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:46]
• Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:23]
• The Ensemble by Aja Gabel | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:36]
• The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:46]
• The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:55]
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:00]
• You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:31]

Listeners’ Top Books of 2018

• The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:09]
• A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:29]
• Educated by Tara Westover | Amazon | Bookshop.org [51:46]
• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah | Amazon | Bookshop.org [51:54]
• An American Marriage by Tayari Jones | Amazon | Bookshop.org [51:58]
• Circe by Madeline Miller | Amazon | Bookshop.org [52:01]
• The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton | Amazon | Bookshop.org [52:04]
• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [52:26]

Other Links

• Time Magazine | What to Know About the Controversy Surrounding Where the Crawdads Sing by Annabel Gutterman, July 2022

About Catherine Gilmore

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Catherine started The Gilmore Guide to Books over 10 years ago after wrapping up a career as a corporate librarian. She loves books and reading (surprise!) and currently lives in Seattle, WA.

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What books were your favorites from 2018?

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