In December 2017, I set a goal to read 12 books in 2018. Senior year of college and grad school seemed determined to keep me from that goal. But when the semester ended in early December, I realized I was only 2 books away from my goal. And lucky me, I had two books on standby I’d been trying to read all year. Goal Meeting Book Twelve was finished on December 29, two days before the end of the year!

Looking at the list of books I read, it turns out that undergrad and grad school weren’t working against me. One-third of the books I read start to finish were for class purposes (though I didn’t read all the books my undergrad professors wanted me too…) and I even read a classic that I’d been meaning to read for three or so years.

I use the reading app Bookly to track what I read and for how long, but I only use it for books I know I’m going to read from start to finish. So while I definitely read a lot of book chapters for grad school and undergrad classes (enough to account for a small forest probably), I didn’t count them towards my yearly goal. They acted more as really long articles than books.

Real talk though: what good is an end-of-the-year recap if it’s not in rank format. So here we go: the twelve books I read this year ranked from least favorite to most favorite. I’ve also included summaries of the books I found on Amazon for context.

12. Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee

When Jasmine is suddenly widowed at seventeen, she seems fated to a life of quiet isolation in the small Indian village where she was born. But the force of Jasmine’s desires propels her explosively into a larger, more dangerous, and ultimately more life-giving world. In just a few years, Jasmine becomes Jane Ripplemeyer, happily pregnant by a middle-aged Iowa banker and the adoptive mother of a Vietnamese refugee. Jasmine’s metamorphosis, with its shocking upheavals and its slow evolutionary steps, illuminates the making of an American mind; but even more powerfully, her story depicts the shifting contours of an America being transformed by her and others like her — our new neighbors, friends, and lovers. In Jasmine, Bharati Mukherjee has created a heroine as exotic and unexpected as the many worlds in which she lives.

I had never heard of this book until one of my American Studies professors required us to read it, and honestly, it’s not my favorite book on this list (and there’s a textbook later on this list soooooo). I remember bits an pieces of this book, but the one thing about it that stood out was a single quote: “We murder who we were so we can rebirth ourselves in the images of dreams.”

11. The Media in America: A History ed. by Wm. David Sloan

The Media In America is the leading textbook in the field of mass communication history. Previous editions have been used at as many schools as all the other textbooks combined. The reason for its success is, we be­lieve, simply the high standard it uses for the study of history. For example, it is the only textbook that relies mainly on primary sources. The 9th edition retains the qualities that have made previous editions so successful, but it adds some features that make it even better. You will find substantial revisions in several chapters, updated and enlarged bibliographies for all chapters, material on recent major events, and additional informative illustrations.

Is it cheating to put an honest-to-god textbook on this list? Probably, but I sunk over 20 hours (almost a third of my entire yearly reading time) into reading this book almost cover to cover for a media history graduate class so it’s going on here. I could give you a 500-600 word chapter summary and analysis of almost every chapter in this book written in proper Chicago style but somehow I don’t think that’s what anyone wants so we’ll move on. If you do have an interest in the history of mass media in America, this book provides a good overview in more or less chronological order. It makes fantastic use of primary sources and anecdotes as well.

10. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.

This is one of those classics that everyone else seems to have been assigned to read in high school but me. That fact made me both curious and jealous. So I decided to read it. The one thing that shocked me about this book was how fast the plot moves. Bradbury wastes no time throwing the reader into the central conflict and once it gets rolling, it doesn’t really stop. And there are some thought-provoking parallels to our modern world if you’re feeling something both classic and political. One of these days I should sit down and watch that HBO movie adaptation.

9. Summer for the Gods by Edward J. Larson

In the summer of 1925, the sleepy hamlet of Dayton, Tennessee, became the setting for one of the 20th century’s most contentious dramas: the Scopes trial that pit William Jennings Bryan and the anti-Darwinists against a teacher named John Scopes into a famous debate over science, religion, and their place in public education That trial marked the start of a battle that continues to this day-in Dover, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Cobb County, Georgia, and many other cities and states throughout the country. Edward Larson’s classic, Summer for the Gods, received the Pulitzer Prize in History in 1998 and is the single most authoritative account of a pivotal event whose combatants remain at odds in school districts and courtrooms. For this edition, Larson has added a new preface that assesses the state of the battle between creationism and evolution, and points the way to how it might potentially be resolved.

This book is a bit of long read, but it is so worth it. If you only know the Scopes Trial as “the monkey trial” or “that trial from Inherit the Wind where pro-evolutionists go at it with devout Christians,” then you don’t know the Scopes trial. Reading this book was like watching a movie where a character says “what’s the worst that could happen?” and then everything spins absurdly out of hand. The more academic parts are balanced out by great quotes from primary sources and the latent amusement of the whole situation.

8. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling

When Magizoologist Newt Scamander arrives in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when his magical case is misplaced and some of Newt’s fantastic beasts escape, it spells trouble for everyone… Inspired by the original Hogwart’s textbook by Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original screenplay marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved and internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. A feat of imagination and featuring a cast of remarkable characters and magical creatures, this is epic adventure-packed storytelling at its very best. Whether an existing fan or new to the wizarding world, this is a perfect addition for any film lover or reader’s bookshelf.

I initially bought and read this book in November 2017 after the release of the first film. I decided to read it again in the run-up to the second film this past November. Reading scripts is always fun to be because they’re quick to read and its something I’d love to learn how to do but also scriptwriting is such a different medium from prose where the audience might never see any of the words you write except the dialogue that ends up on screen. J.K. Rowling is an interesting scriptwriter too because her work is so descriptive. You can definitely tell she’s coming over from a prose world.  It’s a beautifully designed book and a great read though. And it looks amazing next to all my other Harry Potter books.

7. Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio by Jessica Abel

Every week, millions of devoted fans tune in to or download This American Life, The Moth, Radiolab, Planet Money, Snap Judgment, Serial, Invisibilia and other narrative radio shows. Using personal stories to breathe life into complex ideas and issues, these beloved programs help us to understand ourselves and our world a little bit better. Each has a distinct style, but every one delivers stories that are brilliantly told and produced. Out on the Wire offers an unexpected window into this new kind of storytelling—one that literally illustrates the making of a purely auditory medium. With the help of This American Life’s Ira Glass, Jessica Abel, a cartoonist and devotee of narrative radio, uncovers just how radio producers construct narrative, spilling some juicy insider details. Jad Abumrad of RadioLab talks about chasing moments of awe with scientists, while Planet Money’s Robert Smith lets us in on his slightly goofy strategy for putting interviewees at ease. And Abel reveals how mad—really mad—Ira Glass becomes when he receives edits from his colleagues. Informative and engaging, Out on the Wire demonstrates that narrative radio and podcasts are creating some of the most exciting and innovative storytelling available today.

This book was assigned as part of one of my graduate-level course, one about audio and visual production. It’s a great, couple hour crash course in storytelling not just for audio scriptwriters, but writers of any kinds. The illustrations, tips and anecdotes are amazing and relatable for anyone who’s ever written any kind of content. I would rather jump off a cliff than hear my voice on a podcast or radio segment, but I’m keeping this book and adding it to my writing-related collection.

6. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King’s Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert’s name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse—unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season. Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen’s brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister—the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms. Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki—whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.

I probably didn’t need to put the summary of this book except for consistency’s sake. But this is a book where I do have to include a shameful admission. I binged watched all seven seasons of Game of Thrones in one month but the five book series has been sitting on my bookshelf since December 2017 and I’ve only read one of them. It’s not that I didn’t love the book, I very much did. The size of these books is just daunting at about 1000 pages each. The first book is a good way to get into the series if you’re coming from the show though. The first season is a mostly faithful adaptation of the first book. And it’s nice to get inside the heads of the characters in a way you can’t in television and film.

5. The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

When Carrie Fisher discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved—plaintive love poems, unbridled musings with youthful naiveté, and a vulnerability that she barely recognized. Before her passing, her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon was indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was just a teenager with an all-consuming crush on her costar, Harrison Ford. With these excerpts from her handwritten notebooks, The Princess Diarist is Fisher’s intimate and revealing recollection of what happened on one of the most famous film sets of all time—and what developed behind the scenes. Fisher also ponders the joys and insanity of celebrity, and the absurdity of a life spawned by Hollywood royalty, only to be surpassed by her own outer-space royalty. Laugh-out-loud hilarious and endlessly quotable, The Princess Diarist brims with the candor and introspection of a diary while offering shrewd insight into one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars

I started this book a few weeks after Carrie Fisher passed away and it really helped me process her loss. The memoir of her early Star Wars years is full of revelations, quotable lines and great anecdotes about her life and the people in it. If you love Star Wars and Carrie Fisher, you should absolutely read this book.

4. Backwards and in Heels: The Past, Present And Future Of Women Working In Film by Alicia Malone

Women have been instrumental in the success of American cinema since its very beginning. One of the first people to ever pick up a motion picture camera was a woman. As was the first screenwriter to win two Academy Awards, the inventor of the boom microphone and the first person to be credited with the title Film Editor. Throughout the entire history of Hollywood women have been revolutionizing, innovating, and shaping how we make movies. Yet their stories are rarely shared. This is what film reporter Alicia Malone wants to change. “Backwards and in Heels” tells the history of women in film in a different way, with stories about incredible ladies who made their mark throughout each era of Hollywood. From the first women directors, to the iconic movie stars, and present day activists. Each of these stories are inspiring in the accomplishments of women, and they also highlight the specific obstacles women have had to face. “Backwards and in Heels” combines research and exclusive interviews with influential women and men working in Hollywood today, such as Geena Davis, J.J. Abrams, Ava DuVernay, Octavia Spencer, America Ferrera, Paul Feig, Todd Fisher and many more, as well as film professors, historians and experts. Think of “Backwards and in Heels” as a guidebook, your entry into the complex world of women in film. Join Alicia Malone as she champions Hollywood women of the past and present, and looks to the future with the hopes of leveling out the playing field.

I think this was the first non-fiction book I’d ever read for fun. And it was so good. If you’re a woman who loves film, this book is such a great overview of the history of important female figures in the industry and how their roles have changed over time. The book is a quick read (it took me about four hours) and is broken down into sections by era and person, meaning it’s very easy to pick up and put down if you only have short bursts of time to read. Malone’s writing is fun, engaging and the anecdotes in the biographies are equal parts moving and amusing.

3. The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone in a house that is slowly crumbling toward the Long Island Sound. His parents are long dead. His mother, a circus mermaid who made her living by holding her breath, drowned in the very water his house overlooks. His younger sister, Enola, ran off six years ago and now reads tarot cards for a traveling carnival. One June day, an old book arrives on Simon’s doorstep, sent by an antiquarian bookseller who purchased it on speculation. Fragile and water damaged, the book is a log from the owner of a traveling carnival in the 1700s, who reports strange and magical things, including the drowning death of a circus mermaid. Since then, generations of “mermaids” in Simon’s family have drowned–always on July 24, which is only weeks away. As his friend Alice looks on with alarm, Simon becomes increasingly worried about his sister. Could there be a curse on Simon’s family? What does it have to do with the book, and can he get to the heart of the mystery in time to save Enola?

Oh my gosh, I loved this book! It’s everything I love in fiction: fantasy meets history meets mystery. with a good dose of drama. But the thing about this book that I love most is that the most fantastical elements are never confirmed to be real. There’s always a sense that the magic could be real or it could not be. This is one of those books that doesn’t drag you into long reading stretches at first but then as you get further into the book you find yourself flipping pages for hours. And when you turn the last page you realize that you’ve been sitting there engrossed for the past three hours in the world Swyler has built.

2. Artemis by Andy Weir

Jasmine Bashara never signed up to be a hero. She just wanted to get rich. Not crazy, eccentric-billionaire rich, like many of the visitors to her hometown of Artemis, humanity’s first and only lunar colony. Just rich enough to move out of her coffin-sized apartment and eat something better than flavored algae. Rich enough to pay off a debt she’s owed for a long time. So when a chance at a huge score finally comes her way, Jazz can’t say no. Sure, it requires her to graduate from small-time smuggler to full-on criminal mastermind. And it calls for a particular combination of cunning, technical skills, and large explosions—not to mention sheer brazen swagger. But Jazz has never run into a challenge her intellect can’t handle, and she figures she’s got the ‘swagger’ part down. The trouble is, engineering the perfect crime is just the start of Jazz’s problems. Because her little heist is about to land her in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself. Trapped between competing forces, pursued by a killer and the law alike, even Jazz has to admit she’s in way over her head. She’ll have to hatch a truly spectacular scheme to have a chance at staying alive and saving her city. Jazz is no hero, but she is a very good criminal. That’ll have to do.

Along with my number one book of the year this was the other major Must Read of mine for the year. When I read The Martian a few years ago, I practically devoured that book. I took it with me everywhere and read a few pages every chance I got. If you loved The Martian, you will love Artemis.

The best review I could give you of Artemis is this: I read it in two days. This book is so engaging I found myself realizing I’d gone from chapter 3 to chapter 6 without even realizing where 4 and 5 started. The dialogue is witty and smart, the cast is diverse, the characters memorable and the science is fun and understandable. Plus how can you hate a book whose premise is “heist… but on the moon.”

1. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption. 1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She’s also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie’s parents banish her to Europe to have her “little problem” taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister. 1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she’s recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she’s trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the “Queen of Spies”, who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy’s nose. Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn’t heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth…no matter where it leads.

This was by far my FAVORITE book of the year. It’s also apparently selling like crazy on Amazon?? Which is wild, I’ve never been ahead of a trend before. I started this book in September where I read it for a whopping 30 minutes before life and grad school forced me to shove it on a shelf. It got pulled out in October whereby a small miracle I had 2 hours where I could do anything I wanted without having to worry about impending deadlines. Then it got picked up again for 20 minutes in November and then the semester ended and I laid in bed for over 2 and half hours and devoured this book the way I’d wanted to for literal months.

I cannot say enough how good this book is. Kate Quinn weaves together two timelines and the story of two women so seamlessly and engagingly. You will have to be forced to put this book down. And the best part is that the WWI plot is all based on real female spies from the era and their actual exploits. I would recommend this book to anyone who would listen and I came seriously close to shipping it to my sister who’s always asking me for book recs. Instead, I gave it to her the first chance I got when we saw each other for Christmas.

Seriously. Read this book. You won’t regret it.