What a year! 2018 has been my best reading year to date – 123 books and 34,151 pages read (maybe I can still squeeze in one or two more)! I always simultaneously look forward to and dread making my list of favorites at the end of the year, though it’s my first time doing so here on Ashes Books & Bobs. I want to thank you all for welcoming me so wholeheartedly on this new venture. I hope to bring you many great reviews and book-related posts in 2019 and continue to grow my relationships with my fellow bibliophiles!
Instead of listing all of my five-star reads from the year, I decided to list the books I have added to my “Loves” shelf on Goodreads. This is the place where the best books of the best reside, the books that I still think about months or years after finishing them, the novels that have impacted my life in one way or another. Without further ado:
- The Beau & the Belle by R.S. Grey
- The Smallest Part by Amy Harmon
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King
- The Mad Love Duet (Six Feet Under and Pieces of Eight) by Whitney Barbetti
- The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
- Eight Goodbyes by Christine Brae
- The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
- The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
- Foe by Iain Reid
- Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs by Beth Ricanati, M.D.
- Until the Last Star Fades by Jacquelyn Middleton
- Loving Mr. Daniels by Brittainy C. Cherry
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
- Running Barefoot by Amy Harmon
- The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg
In 2019, I’m looking forward to participating in NovelKnight‘s Beat the Backlist Challenge, where I hope to significantly shrink my TBR. I’m banning myself from buying new books and will be reading only what is on my shelves and Kindle, along with a few carefully selected publisher requests and Indie ARCs. Wish me lots of shelf-control. 😉
I hope 2019 brings you all plenty of health, happiness, and great reads!
God bless!
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Ashes Books & Bobs 
Congratulations, Ashley, on your excellent reading year! Great list.
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Thank you so much, Jonetta!
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So many great books! I wish you happy reading in the new year!
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Thank you! Same to you, Kayla!
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We’ve enjoyed some of the same books this year:)
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That’s awesome!! Which ones? 😍
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The RS Grey and the Stranger in the Woods. I loved both too.
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Awesome!! I still often think about The Stranger in the Woods. Such a great read.
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It was a great read. We read it for Bookclub just a few months ago
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What a great year for reading! Lots of luck on your 2019 challenge. I look forward to hearing how you do with it.
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Thank you, Amy! I hope 2019 is amazing for you too!
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Sweeeet! Congratulations! Great list of books you read during 2018 😊 11/22/63 was a good one for me.
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Thank you, RoseMarie! 😀
I loved it too!!
Have a great 2019!
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You’re welcome! Happy New Year Have an awesome 2019 😊
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Oh, lovely list! Haven’t read many of them, but now just cherry picking for my wishlist. Haha.
I read 11/22/63 a few years ago and it was really good ❤
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Thank you!! I hope you’ll enjoy some of them!
11/22/63 was amazing!!
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Those are some different books
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I really enjoyed The Guernsey Literary etc. this year too! And I’m hoping to read Eleanor Oliphant soon! Glad to hear that you enjoyed so many books from this year 😊
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Thanks Margaret! I hope you enjoy Eleanor Oliphant as much as I did!
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Really cool that you loved Guernsey and Eleanor oliphant too- I thought they were fantastic! And I’m really looking forward to reading great alone 🙂
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They were amazing books, weren’t they? I will definitely re-read them at some point.
I bet you’ll enjoy The Great Alone also! 😀
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They really were!!! 😀 Me too 🙂 Ah brilliant!
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That looks like a great list of books. You have a few adult novels on here that I need to get around to reading. I feel like I have been avoiding adult fiction lately and have heard so much about Kristin Hannah .
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