100 Books in One Year: The Challenge and Full List

I started 2018 needing an escape from the constant bad news coming from my phone and TV. I needed to immerse in something that took my mind offline. When I saw my friend Erin Ruberry give herself a goal of reading 100 books in 2018, I decided to join her. I figured I might make it to 50 - which was still a lot more than I'd read in recent years.

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton, read in Cheapside Cafe in Cincinnati

The 100 books in a year challenge became more of a solace than I could have imagined. I'm a fast reader, but still, this is a lot. Here's how I tackled it:

• Mornings: In the mornings before 8:30am, I put my phone away and read. At least one chapter - but that was usually enough to suck me into a few more.
• Nighttime: Before bed - again, put the phone away and read at least once chapter. Plenty of times, I got sucked in and read longer. But many others, I got sleepy and rested well without the glow of a screen. Spoiler alert: I also slept better.
• Print vs Audio: I love reading fiction in print book form... but non-fiction is less engaging to me. So, I decided early on - fiction would be paper, nonfiction would be audiobook. This allowed me to listen during travel, commutes, light tasks and errands - doubling my book intake per week.
• Libraries, Amazon & Bookstores: This many books could also be very expensive, so I made the conscious decision to switch to the library. Almost all of these books were checked out for free from the DC Public Library. I go online, request a book and they email me when it's at my local library for pick up - or it downloads to their Libby audio app. A few came from Amazon. Still more from my beloved nearby bookstore, Politics and Prose.

Here's the full list:

100 Books in 2018
Note: * starred books denote my favorite reads of the year
1. What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton
2. The Stars in Our Eyes by Julie Klam
3. Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
4. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
5. Together We Rise: The Women's March
6. Green by Sam Graham-Felsen
7. Paris for One by JoJo Moyes
8. Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker*
9. Real Love by Sharon Salzberg*
10. Swing Time by Zadie Smith
11. The Power of Onlyness by Nilofer Merchant
12. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
13. Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
14. Hunger by Roxane Gay
15. The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
16. Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza
17. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones*
18. The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
19. The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
20. Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
21. Spinster by Kate Bolick
22. A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo
23. Just the Funny Parts by Nell Scovell
24. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory*
25. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
26. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin*
27. Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel*
28. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
29. Unbelievable by Katy Tur*
30. Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan
31. Text Me When You Get Home by Kayleen Schaefer
32. Surf Travel: The Complete Guide
33. We're Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union
34. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
35. Serving Pleasure by Alisha Rai
36. Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat*
37. Let It Shine by Alyssa Cole
38. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
39. Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber*
40. A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
41. Brotopia by Emily Chang
42. Life and Death in the Sunshine State by Cutter Wood
43. The Sisters Are Alright: Changing the Broken Narrative of Black Women in America by Tamara Winfrey Harris
44. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
45. Dear Madam President by Jennifer Palmieri*
46. The World As it Is by Ben Rhodes
47. The Lost Vintage by Ann Mah*
48. Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
49. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón*
50. Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li
51. The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close
52. Food Swings by Jessica Seinfeld
53. Everything Trump Touches Dies by Rick Wilson*
54. How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry*
55. Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton*
56. No One Tells Your This by Glynnis MacNicol
57. How Hard Can it Be? by Allison Pearson
58. Look Alive Out There by Sloane Crosley
59. The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer*
60. Burn for Burn by Jenny Han
61. Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer*
62. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
63. Evicted by Matthew Desmond
64. I'll See You in Paris by Michelle Gable
65. Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
66. The Intermission by Elyssa Friedland*
67. The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
68. When Life Gives You Lululemons by Liane Weisberger
69. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez*
70. The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea by Jack E. Davis
71. Shug by Jenny Han
72. We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates
73. Educated by Tara Westover
74. Love and Ruin by Paula McLain*
75. Fire With Fire by Jenny Han
76. Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger by Rebecca Traister*
77. Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han
78. The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
79. Pie Squared by Cathy Barrow
80. The Lido by Libby Page*
81. God Save Texas by Lawrence Wright
82. I'm Not a Tractor! How Florida Farmworkers Took on the Fast Food Giants and Won by Susan L. Marquis
83. Wine Folly: The Master Guide by Madeline Puckette and Justin Hammack
84. The Power by Naomi Alderman
85. Exit West by Moshin Hamid
86. This Is Only Going to Hurt a Little by Busy Phillips* (highly rec audiobook version)
87. The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory*
88. Becoming by Michelle Obama (highly rec audiobook version)
89. Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi*
90. Buttermilk Graffiti by Chef Edward Lee (currently reading)
91. From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein*
92. Florida by Lauren Groff
93. We Fed An Island by Chef Jose Andres (highly rec audiobook version)
94. L'Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making Paris My Home by David Lebovitz
95. Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward (highly rec audiobook version)
96. Loving Bravely by Alexandra H. Soloman, PhD
97. Paris by the Book by Liam Callanan
98. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
99. The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes by Bryan Burrough
100. Read by Strangers by Philip Dean Walker
101. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Start Up by John Carreyou

A few fun stats:

• over 80% women authors
• over 35% diverse authors
• eight by former Obama White House staff members

Learn more about my favorite top ten novels here or follow on Instagram for real time reads.

Next year, I think I'm considering the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge.