Listen I know I’m talking into the void here but here’s my top 2018 reads split per quarter that also functions as my 2018 book recs that none of yall asked for.

January-March

The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin: Essun finds that her husband's killed their son and kidnapped their daughter just as an apocalyptic event begins. She sets out to save her daughter while battling to survive a dying land. The most creative world I've read in ages and definitely the best this year. Highly recommended fantasy if you don't mind the uglier side of things. You know those books where you can gradually feel the plot threads and characters tie into each other? Yeah.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare: An otherwise morally upstanding Macbeth goes from no murder to yes murder in an evening. Fast-paced, high stakes and vivid. I swear this didn't make the list just because he's Billy Shakes. This was one of my favourite high school books and revisiting it without my English teacher stopping us all the time to talk symbolism and themes brought out everything I loved about it. I'm so glad I decided to pick it up again. (If only so that now I had some analysis behind me I could begin mentally directing it.)

The Art of Language Invention by David J. Peterson: An introduction to building your own language, designed for people who've never done it before (me) and have no kind of formal training (me). I'm no linguistics student and don't even have it as a strong side interest I read about beyond a couple of articles and I understood most of what was happening. I'll be honest, even though I don't agree personally with the sentiment this won its place on the list when it said adding onions to a dish was ‘the culinary equivalent of multiplying by zero.’

April-June

Hamlet by William Shakespeare: You know what the problem with classics is? Their summaries always go ‘YOU KNOW HOW THIS GOES’ and yeah sometimes you do, but sometimes you only have a vague idea because you live under a rock? Anyway, Hamlet’s got his suspicions his new stepfather/uncle killed his dad and while he plots his revenge he’s just… really going through it. It doesn’t end well for anyone.  I’ve only ever watched the 2015 production starring Maxine Peake (oops) and finally got off my ass and read it and listen. ‘Was kidnapped by pirates - not dead - I’ll explain everything later. Forever yours, Hamlet.’ How could I not love this.

American Street by Ibi Zoboi: Fabiola and her mother leave Haiti to live with family in the US, but her mother’s soon detained by Immigration. She’s left to navigate her new home more or less alone, and is faced with a hard bargain when the opportunity to get her mum back arises. This was in the ‘3.5 star book that stays with you’ realm. Fabiola’s such a sweetheart and having a character draw strength from spirituality is so refreshing, especially when contrasted with the world around her. Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: Simon’s a high-school kid in the closet but he finds himself on the receiving end of a blackmail threat when emails he sends fall into the wrong hands. The story follows his growing relationship with Blue, who he only contacts through emails, while trying to not get his ass exposed by his blackmailer, dealing with increasingly complicated friendship dynamics etc. It’s a really solid, sweet book and I caught it soon before I watched the movie. My final take is that the pop culture references can be a bit much sometimes but really, I also willingly read Shakespeare so I don’t have any grounds to complain. Zeroes trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti: Six teens have six different powers but they're certainly not heroes and they're definitely not using these powers for good. (To be fair, not evil either - just a bunch of self-serving bastards trying to get themselves out of hot water.) It turns out my ideal book has an ensemble cast of teens who don't get along but are forced to work together - essentially, high school group work but higher stakes. Star of Deltora series by Emily Rodda: Britta enters a trading voyage competition to try and win back the ship her universally-hated dad lost after he abandoned their family. Things quickly go south as it becomes clear every player on the ship’s got their own intentions and the ship itself seems like it’s cursed. I didn't have time to read the first three before the last book came out so I finally got around to the whole quartet this year and I don’t regret a thing. Rodda outdoes herself with her characters and plots again and again and I’d straight up die for Jewel and Sky.

July-September

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Reclusive Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo is ready to open up about her decades-long, scandalous career and the seven husbands along the way. She picks unknown journalist Monique Grant for the task and no-one’s more confused than Monique herself. I took a chance on this book, not expecting to even finish it, but it came out to be one of my top three 2018 books so? I love everything about this book and can’t recommend it enough. Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve: After a war wipes out civilisation as we know it, humanity rebuilds, with a significant chunk doing so on roving cities that ‘eat’ other cities. (Yes, they also shit waste.) Hester gets herself on the traction city London seeking revenge on the man who killed her mum, but before she can get properly stabby she’s stopped by Tom. Both are soon stranded outside of London and Tom’s dragged along for the revenge ride that takes a quick dive into joining what he always believed was a terrorist organisation. Yall this was so fun. I love that Hester’s not a good person and she doesn’t even always try, and that Tom needs to deal with his whole world being flipped upside-down in about half a minute and struggles every step of the way. Also Anna Fang big time heart eyes emoji. His Name Was Walter by Emily Rodda: A boy called Walter grew up with nothing but his own name. His story is recorded in a long-forgotten hand-written book in a haunted house, never read until four teens and their teacher find it and read it through for the first time. Firstly I really love covers with little illustrations of objects relevant to the story - ‘Oh the chandelier! Hey there’s the cat! The roses! Oh my GOD what’s the knife going to be for?!’ Other than that, this was pretty different to a lot of other Rodda books I’ve read but it was a touching, heartbreaking read and even if I didn’t like every step it took I loved the characters and how the mysteries gradually pulled together.

October-December

The Rebirth of Rapunzel by Kate Forsyth: An exploration of the history of the Rapunzel fairy tale, following its possible inception through different cultures, centuries and popular adaptations. Forsyth wrote a Rapunzel retelling herself, Bitter Greens, and the book often breaks down her decision making process for the novel after exploring the roots and effects of key elements in the fairy tale. (This does mean, of course, that if you read this first you will know #everything about the novel, but I didn’t realise at the time lmao.) A very different book from what I usually read but still very interesting. I’d only wish she went into Barbie as Rapunzel but she had a word limit to stick to so! Night Flights by Philip Reeve: When I first watched the Mortal Engines trailer my heart was stolen by the cool lady in the red coat who built her own ship, and when I first read the book it was stolen further by Anna Fang Big Time Heart Eyes Emoji. I poked around a little and found out Reeve was releasing three whole ass Anna Fang short stories before the movie was released so of course I borrowed it. Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta: The quote on the cover said this book was 'utterly heartbreaking' and that was exactly it. A coming of age story set against the Nigerian Civil War and a girl's struggle with her sexuality in an unforgiving world and family. I could see myself in almost her exact situation with my family, down to the yearning for an approval you know you'll never get and a bittersweet ending that isn't entirely happy. I do wish the ending felt less rushed but the rest of the story was as phenomenal and heartbreaking as promised. I think it's one of those books that benefits greatly from the reader bringing their own experience into it - and the author's bio says she wrote this story partly to give hope to lgbt Nigerians, so I see why she wrote it this way. The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie: Lesbian pirates and sea monsters. That's enough to put it in any top five list was far as I'm concerned but ANYWAY. Cas is on her first solo mission escorting a cruise ship with the help of a giant murder turtle but the pirates she's supposed to be protecting the ship from take over, and now she needs to figure out how to live among pirates while rearing her own sea monster pup. I think this would’ve benefited from being longer and going into more detail of the world and some quieter scenes between the more intense ones. But it's been weeks and I'm still thinking about this duology. It's an absolute travesty the fandom's effectively non-existent.