The Best Books of 2018

My roots are in the Chautauqua movement. My maternal and paternal ancestors owned cottages in the Lakeside Chautauqua on Lake Erie. My early childhood was punctuated by summer visits; by age eight, I was a year around resident in the same. Summers found my community overrun with vacationers enjoying the culturally rich environment. Wikipedia sums it up well, “The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with speakers, teachers, musicians, entertainers, preachers, and specialists of the day.” I have written in the past about how access to such professionals influenced who I am today; it predestined me to be a life long learner.

When I visited Lakeside in summer 2017, I learned for the first time about the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle and the annual book list they have published since 1878. I was fascinated and quickly chose a book from the list for each of the remaining months of that year. I set a goal of two books a month in 2018, though I didn’t restrict myself to the Circle’s list.

Below are the photos I posted over the year to Instagram to record my reading. I use Goodreads to keep track of my reading. Connect with me here. It is insightful to look at the photos as a collection. Compare my book list to dates of my blog posts for the year and it is clear that when I read a lot, I don’t write much. When I am writing regularly, I don’t have time to read. Perhaps in 2018, I can figure out a nice balance of the two.

After the monthly photos, I share my top pick in both fiction and nonfiction.

So many good books! There wasn’t one that I disliked. It is hard to pick favorites. But here goes…..drum roll….. My favorite nonfiction was Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan. My favorite fiction was Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.