2018 Year in Review

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Inspired by the year-end survey hosted by Perpetual Page Turner

2018 Stats

# of Books Read: 75 (See full book list here)
# of Pages Read: 21,832
# of Re-Reads: 6
Genre Read The Most: Business/Leadership

1. Best Book You Read in 2018?

Nonfiction: Deep Work by Cal Newport
This book changed the way I approach my work. I've always believed in the power of focus and prioritization, but I often failed to live those values. Newport's suggestions were the push I needed to re-prioritize my days around what is truly important amidst the haze of emails, slack messages, and constant interruptions.

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Fiction: The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
I was familiar with this story before reading the book (thank you, Wishbone). However, I was still extremely impressed by this book. The Time Machine is a thought-provoking mental experiment of what could happen to civilization if we continue to outsource knowledge and hard work to machines.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going to Love More But Didn’t?

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
I enjoyed Hawkins's earlier book The Girl on the Train, but this book fell flat for me.

3. Most Surprising (in a Good Way or Bad Way) Book You Read?

Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward
I expected much more from the journalist who broke the Watergate scandal. This book felt more like a collection of disparate stories than it did a cohesive book. Woodward rambles from one topic to the next without connecting ideas together into a compelling story. I am surprised the editor let this book go to press.

4. Book You “Pushed” the Most People to Read (and They Did)?

Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni
Every businessperson should read this extremely practical book.

5. Best Series You Started in 2018?

Dune by Frank Herbert
I love the mystery Herbert creates around the central characters Paul and Feyd-Rautha in this book. Great story.

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6. Favorite New Author You Discovered in 2018?

Cal Newport
Newport authored a couple of my favorite nonfiction reads of the year: Deep Work (mentioned above) and So Good They Can't Ignore You.

7. Best Book from a Genre You Don’t Typically Read/Was Out of Your Comfort Zone?

Our Final Invention by James Barrat
This is the first nonfiction book I've ever read about artificial intelligence, and it blew my mind. Barrat discusses what could happen if technological advances reach the point of creating "superintelligence." Reading this book prompted me to publish an article on Medium called "Why I'm Now Concerned About the Rise of Artificial Intelligence." Give it a read if you want to learn more.

8. Most Action-Packed/Thrilling/Unputdownable Book of the Year?

Iron Gold (Red Rising IV) by Pierce Brown
The Red Rising series garnered a lot of awards in my 2017 Year in Review post, and author Pierce Brown released the fourth book of the series this year. I'm still hooked.

9. Book You Read in 2017 That You Are Most Likely to Re-Read Next Year?

On Writing by Stephen King
This book is unfathomably good. Horror genre demigod Stephen King harnesses his powerful storytelling ability to offer practical advice about how to become a stronger writer.

10. Favorite Cover of a Book You Read in 2018?

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

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11. Most Memorable Character of 2018?

Woland from The Master and Margarita (book cover pictured above)
In this incredible work of Russian literature, author Mikhail Bulgakov weaves a tale of the devil ("Woland") visiting earth and preying on humanity's basest motives. Woland is a complex character. He murders someone one moment, then reunites a woman with her lover the next. This was one of my favorite stories I read this year.

12. Most Beautifully Written Book Read in 2018?

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
I love Hemingway's ability to write a powerful story with short, simple prose. I read a couple Hemingway books this year, but this was my favorite.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/Life-Changing Book of 2018?

Deep Work by Cal Newport

14. Book You Can’t Believe You Waited UNTIL 2018 to Finally Read?

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
This book was much different than I expected. Shelley's portrayal of the monster as a humane and loving creature was moving and unexpected. I should have read this book years ago.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From a Book You Read in 2018?

From Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
"Work is finding yourself alone at the track when the weather kept everyone else indoors. Work is pushing through the pain and crappy first drafts and prototypes. It is ignoring whatever plaudits others are getting, and more importantly, ignoring whatever plaudits you may be getting. Because there is work to be done. Work doesn't want to be good. It is made so, despite the headwind."

From Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
"If something inside you is real, we will probably find it interesting, and it will probably be universal. So you must risk placing real emotion at the center of your work. Write straight into the emotional center of things. Write toward vulnerability...Risk being unliked. Tell the truth as you understand it. If you're a writer, you have a moral obligation to do this. And it is a revolutionary act--truth is always subversive."

16. Shortest & Longest Books You Read in 2018?

Shortest: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (112 pages)
Longest: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (818 pages)

17. Book That Shocked You the Most?

Factfulness by Hans Rosling with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund
This book is a jaw-dropping rebuttal of many myths we've heard throughout the years in the popular press. We still have a LONG way to go toward eradicating poverty, providing worldwide education, and fairly distributing wealth, but Rosling's encouraging work shares the progress we've made as a species in these areas in the past couple decades.

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18. Favorite Book You Read in 2018 from an Author You’ve Read Previously?

Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss
In this book, Ferriss compiles advice from hundreds of successful people across various fields.

19. Best Book You Read in 2018 that You Read Based SOLELY on a Recommendation from Somebody Else?

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
I read this as part of a book club at work. This book was WAY outside my wheelhouse for what I would normally read, but I ended up really enjoying it.

20. Best 2018 Debut You Read?

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Carreyrou is the journalist who broke the story about fraud and deception at the biotech company Theranos. It's hard to believe this story actually happened, but it did. Bad Blood is arguably the most quick-turning nonfiction book I've ever read. The story is coming to the big screen soon in a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence.

21. Best World-Building/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Huxley paints a dystopian world of genetic engineering and social stratification. My friends Tim and Whitney recommended this book to me. When I heard that they even named their dog after the author of this book (Huxley), I thought, "Wow, that book must be really damn good." It was.

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As an aside, here's an interesting tidbit written by social critic Neil Postman, who contrasts dystopian novelists George Orwell and Aldous Huxley:

"What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egotism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that our fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that our desire will ruin us."

22. Book that Put a Smile on Your Face/Was the Most FUN to Read?

Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke
In this book, poker champion Annie Duke shares her experience studying human behavior at high-stakes poker tables. Duke's work is a timely explanation of why we succumb to fake news, "Monday morning quarterbacking," and "resulting" (learn more in my full review/synopsis of the book).

23. Book That Made You Cry or Nearly Cry in 2018?

The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
Okay, crying is a bit of a stretch. Although I didn't tear up while reading this book, I became sad and frustrated. Lewis shares what happens when government offices aren't filled and various agencies are de-funded. This was an enlightening and concerning book.

24. Hidden Gem of The Year?

I Am Waltz by Matthew Dho
Dho draws readers into a futuristic world where robots are as ubiquitous as humans. The book was just optioned by Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning producer Brian Oliver, who has created movies as diverse as Black Swan, American Made, and Hacksaw Ridge.

25. Most Unique Book You Read in 2018?

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
Foer is a journalist who decided to begin training for the U.S. Memory Championships after covering the memory tournament for a work assignment. In this book, he shares what he learned about human memory on his way to becoming the U.S. memory champ one year after starting his training!