2018 Wrap Up & Ranking

2018 is almost over, so I thought I would make an overall review of this year in books. I read 10 books this year, which I am not at all ashamed of. It hasn't been a magnificent reading year for me, but I feel like most of the books I read were sort of essential, if that makes sense? I say this because most of the books I read were classics, modern and old, and it feels good to have read them. 9 out of the 10 books were in English, and 7 were classics. Since there are only 10 in total, I thought it would be neat to rank them from 1-10, best to worst, and motivate the ranking. Why am I doing this? Because I like lists and I like books and I want to talk more about the books I read!!!! Yes!!!
Let's gooooo!

10

"Beloved" by Toni Morrison

I'm almost surprised to put this in last place. To be completely honest, I'd almost forgotten I read "Beloved" this year. However, there are good reasons for it being in 10th place. The characters acted unreasonably, the story was way too hard to follow, the plot had little intrigue, and the language was more confusing than pretty. The fact that I barely recollect reading this also means it had little impact on me as a reader. Sorry, Morrison, your modern classic was not for me.

9

"Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

The book I first instinctively put in last place before remembering that "Beloved" existed in my life. This is a novel I had such high expectations for; expectations that I'd carried for years. When I finally picked it up early in 2018, those expectations were drowned. Drowned in what? Extensively long sentences, plastic language, a flat plot, and poorly constructed dialogues.

8

"Scarlet" by Marissa Meyer

The second book in "The Lunar Chronicles"! Oh, what high hopes I had after loving "Cinder". Truly, this book was good... well, maybe 70% of it was. The new characters and perspectives that were introduced in this novel almost completely ruined it for me. And what a disappointment! "Cinder" was such a lovely book, and what "Scarlet" offered was a relationship development that was so badly done, I can't even summarise it here without ranting for ages. Nope, huge miss there, Meyer.

7

"Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbitt

Another novel I had high expectations for. This wasn't a bad book; it simply wasn't what I wanted, expected, or needed at the moment. It's a sort of cute children's story, but certainly not the emotional and philosophical ride I'd braced myself for.

6

"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I don't have a lot to say about this except that I enjoyed it. The characters, the plot, and the language were all nice. That's pretty much it. Nice.

5

"Dr Jekyll och Mr Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson

My perception of this classic was without a doubt boosted by the fact that I wrote a psychoanalysis on it for a class.  By exploring the relationship between the novel and its author, I got a whole different picture of it than I would've if I'd simply just read the novel. It was dramatic, fun, and exciting to read, even if this Swedish translation seemed crudely simple in its language.

4

"A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess

Yet another book that I read for a class. What I liked about "A Clockwork Orange" was not so much the plot and the characters, alas those were satisfactory, but the peculiar language. I'm speaking of course of "nadsat", a made up slang language created by the author specifically for this book. Remarkable! What a fun experience. And a book with a lot of history to it, as well.

3

"The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov

Such a strange novel... and for it to originate from such a time and place as the 1930's Moscow makes it even more mind-boggling. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this Russian classic, with all its odd sides. The characters were simply charming, and the plot no less than entertaining. Who wouldn't want to read about the Devil having his way in Moscow?

2

"A Darker Shade of Magic" by V.E. Schwab

Schwab strikes again, this time with an utterly dashing cover and wonderful world building. In this novel, I had the pleasure of embarking on an extraordinary journey with some rather lovable characters. I look forward to continuing this series, maybe next year?

1

"Stoner" by John Williams

Stoner... oh, Stoner! It sounds strange to be written like this, but whoever has taken their time to read this book will understand my love for it. What a gripping way to tell the story of a simple man's life. There's not much else I can say, but it's position on this list should speak for itself. Please, read it.

Thus concludes my 2018 wrap up and ranking. I'd say I recommend everyone to read the books in places 1-5 at least, and I must say that despite "Scarlet", "The Lunar Chronicles" is a good series and deserves to be read as well. I hope your 2018 in books was a good year. Good luck in 2019! <3