2018 Reading Wrap Up Post

In 2018, I had the aim of reading 120 books throughout the year. This was my general reading goal from the first of January to the end of December, and included review books, books I had to read for work as a quiz writer with Scholastic Australia, and my other challenges – The Australian Women Writer’s Challenge, the Pop Sugar Challenge (which I came close to finishing, but several categories were too hard to fulfil when it came to it), and Book Bingo 2018 with Theresa and Amanda, which we will be attempting again in 2019.

In 2019, I will be participating in each of the above challenges again – The Australian Women Writer’s Challenge, Book Bingo and the Pop Sugar Challenge. My main aim will be to complete the 2019 Book Bingo, and to see how I go with the 2019 PopSugar Challenge – which will be addressed in a separate post. Below is my list of books I read in 2018:

Reading Log

1. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Illustrated) by JK Rowling (Newt Scamander)
2. The Tides Between by Elizabeth Jane Corbett
3. Where’s Jane? Find Jane Austen Hidden in her Stories by Rebecca Smith and Katy Dockrill
4. Rose Raventhorpe Investigates: Hounds and Hauntings by Janine Beacham
5. Four Respectable Ladies Seek Part-Time Husband by Barbara Toner
6. Mr Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva
7. Smile:The Story of the original Mona Lisa by Mary Hoffman
8. The Secrets at Ocean’s Edge by Kali Napier
9. Differently Normal by Tammy Robinson
10. The Endsister by Penni Russon
11. The Last Train by Sue Lawrence
12. Graevale by Lynette Noni
13. Eventual Poppy Day by Libby Hathorn
14. The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
15. Olmec Obituary by LJM Owen
16. The Passengers by Eleanor Limprecht
17. The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
18. The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin
19. Draigon Weather: The Legends of Arnan – Book One by Paige L Christie
20. Miss Lily’s Lovely Ladies by Jackie French
21. The Sealwoman’s Gift by Sally Magnusson
22. Surf Rider’s Club #2: Bronte’s Big Sister Problem by Mary van Reyk
23. Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer
24. Jorie and the Magic Stones by A.H. Richardson
25. The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
26. Skin in the Game: The Pleasure and Pain of Telling True Stories by Sonya Voumard
27. Babylon Berlin by Volker Kutschner
28. Spinning Tops & Gum Drops: A Portrait of Colonial Childhood by Edwin Barnard
29. Tin Man by Sarah Winman
30. Mayan Mendacity by L.J.M. Owen
31. The Opal Dragonfly by Julian Leatherdale
32. Grandpa, Me and Poetry by Sally Morgan
33. The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester
34. The Freedom Finders Series: Touch the Sun by Emily Conolan
35. The World Goes On by László Krasznahorakai (translated from the Hungarian by John Bakti, Ottilie Mulzet and Georges Szirtes
36. The Book of Answers: The Ateban Cipher Book 2 by A.L. Tait
37. Munmun by Jesse Andrews
38. Little Gods by Jenny Ackland
39. Leaving Lucy Pear by Anna Solomon
40. I am Sasha by Anita Selzer
41. Heidi by Johanna Spyri
42. The Good Doctor of Warsaw by Elisabeth Gifford
43. Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn
44. Monty the Sad Puppy by Holly Webb
45. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
46. Lovesome by Sally Seltmann
47. Egyptian Enigma by L.J.M Owen
48. The Ship that Never Was by Adam Courtenay
49. Other Worlds: Perfect World by George Ivanoff
50. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
51. The Enchanted Places by Christopher Milne
52. The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross
53. Eleanor’s Secret by Caroline Beecham
54. Australia Day by Melanie Cheng
55. The Most Marvellous Spelling Bee Mystery by Deborah Abela
56. Other Worlds: Beast World by George Ivanoff
57. Circe by Madeline Miller
58. Miles Franklin: A Short Biography by Jill Roe
59. The Book of Colours by Robyn Cadwallader
60. The Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning
61. The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse
62. Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir
63. Ready to Fall by Marcella Puxley
64. A Home for Molly by Holly Webb
65. My Girragundji by Meme McDonald and Boori Monty Prior
66. Burning Bridges and Other Hobbies by Kitty Flanagan
67. Bluebottle by Belinda Castles
68. Selected Short Stories by Katherine Mansfield
69. The Upside of Over by J.D. Barrett
70. P is for Pearl by Eliza Henry Jones
71. Into the Night by Sarah Bailey
72. The Seventh Cross by Anna Seghers, translated from the German by Margot Bettauer Dembo
73. The Yellow House by Emily O’Grady
74. The Notebook of Doom #10: Snap of the Super-Goop by Troy Cummings
75. Embassy of the Dead by Will Mabbitt
76. Dragon Masters: Search for the Lightning Dragon by Tracey West
77. Ella and Olivia: A Wild Adventure by Yvette Poshoglian
78. Kensy and Max: Breaking News by Jacqueline Harvey
79. Captain Cook’s Apprentice by Anthony Hill
80. Swallow’s Dance by Wendy Orr
81. We See the Stars by Kate van Hooft
82. The Far Back Country by Kate Lyons
83. Beneath the Mother Tree by D.M. Cameron
84. The Peacock Summer by Hannah Richell
85. Harry Potter – Diagon Alley: A Movie Scrapbook by Warner Brothers and Jody Revenson
86. Strange Meeting by Susan Hill
87. The Desert Nurse by Pamela Hart
88. The Gypsy Crown by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #1)
89. The Silver Horse by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #2)
90. If Kisses Cured Cancer by T.S. Hawken
91. The Herb of Grace by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #3)
92. Bookshop Girl by Chloe Coles
93. The Cat’s-Eye Shell by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #4)
94. Children of the Dragon: The Relic of The Blue Dragon by Rebecca Lim
95. The Legacy of Beauregarde by Rosa Fedele
96. The Lightning Bolt by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #5)
97. The Botanist’s Daughter by Kayte Nunn
98. Ninjago: The Mystery of the Masks by Kate Howard
99. Spirit by Ellen Miles (The Puppy Place)
100. The Butterfly in Amber by Kate Forsyth (Chain of Charms #6)
101. The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes
102. Scrublands by Chris Hammer
103. When the Lights Go Out by Lili Wilkinson
104. The Last Firehawk: The Crystal Caverns by Katrina Charman
105. Hey Brother by Jarrah Dundler
106. The Magic School Bus Rides Again: Satellite Space Mission by AnnMarie Anderson
107. Amazing Australian Women: Twelve Women Who Shaped History by Pamela Freeman and Sophie Beer
108. The Honourable Thief by Meaghan Wilson Anastasios
109. Early Riser by Jasper Fforde
110. The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
111. The Brink of Darkness by Jeff Giles
112. Mouseford Academy: Lights, Camera, Action by Thea Stilton
113. No Country Woman by Zoya Patel
114. The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty
115. Disappearing Act by Jacqueline Harvey (Kensy and Max #2)
116. A Kitten Called Tiger by Holly Webb
117. Fairy Tales for Feisty Girls by Susannah McFarlane
118. The Distance Between Me and The Cherry Tree by Paola Peretti
119. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton
120. Sisters and Brothers by Fiona Palmer
121. The Note Book of Doom: Battle of the Boss-Monster by Troy Cummings (#13)
122. Mission Alert: Island X by Benjamin Hulme-Cross
123. Time Jumpers: Stealing the Sword by Wendy Mass
124. Archibald, the Naughtiest Elf in the World Goes to the Zoo by Skye Davidson, Illustrated by Ágnes Rokiczky
125. We Three Heroes by Lynette Noni
126. The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson
127. The Colours of all the Cattle by Alexander McCall-Smith
128. Frieda by Annabel Abbs
129. Secrets Hidden Below by Sandra Bennett
130. The Shelter Puppy by Holly Webb
131. The Case of the Missing Marquess (An Enola Holmes Mystery #1) by Nancy Springer.
132. The Case of the Left-Handed Lady (An Enola Holmes Mystery #2) by Nancy Springer
133. What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra
134. The Cat with the Coloured Tail by Gillian Mears
135. Bright Young Dead by Jessica Fellowes
136. Total Quack up by Sally Rippin and Adrian Beck
137. Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
138. Have Sword, Will Travel by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
139. Let Sleeping Dragons Lie by Garth Nix and Sean Williams
140. Stormtrooper Class Clowns by Ace Landers
141. Lenny’s Book of Everything by Karen Foxlee
142. The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars by Jaclyn Moriarty (Kingdoms and Empires #2)
143. Storm troopers: Class Clown by Ace Landers
144. The Turn of Midnight by Minette Walters
145. Victoria and Abdul: The Extraordinary True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant by Shrabani Busi
146. The Nutcracker by Alexandre Dumas
147. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
148. The Little Fairy Sister by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite and Grenbery Outhwaite
149. Hogwarts: A Movie Scrapbook
150. Goodbye Christopher Robin by Anne Thwaite
151. Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham
152. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald by J.K. Rowling
153. Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
154. Edward by Ellen Miles
155. Clementine Rose and the Bake-Off Dilemma by Jacqueline Harvey
156. All the Tears in China by Sulari Gentill
157. Last Woman Hanged by Caroline Overington
158. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1: Squirrel Power by Ryan North
159. The Rescued Kitten by Holly Webb
160. The Au Pair by Emma Rous
161. Dear Santa, edited by Sam Johnson OAM
162. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
163. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore
164. A Very Murderous Christmas by Cecily Gayford
165. Wiser than Everything by Lorena Carrington
166. Time Jumpers: Escape from Egypt by Wendy Mass]
167. Henry VIII and the Men who Made Him by Tracy Borman

As you can see, I have read kids’ books, young adult books, fiction and non-fiction books and everything in between for quiz writing and reviewing, and my own reading that I was able to do in between the books sent to me as a reviewer and quiz writer.

In wrapping up my 2018 reading, there are definitely some books I wanted to get to but didn’t, and that I hope I can get to in 2019. With similar goals for 2019, I hope to achieve similar numbers, more books read, and hopefully more reviews coming your way for the next twelve months.