5 Best Books I Read in 2018
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The 5 Best Books I Read in 2018

ByLeigh Ann Dutton

Want to know my favorite books I read in 2018? Then, keep reading because today I’m sharing the 5 best books I read in 2018.

5 Best Books I Read in 2018

Psst! Did you see that we’ve started a new reading challenge?
Click here to sign up for the 2019 Intentional By Grace Reading Challenge!

Join the Intentional By Grace Reading Challenge 2019!

I always love this time of year.

It’s a time to just reflect and evaluate and ponder the year gone by…

And one of the things I love to reflect on each year are the books I read. 

In 2018, I set the goal to read 104 books.

It is the second year in a row that I’ve set this goal, and for the second year in a row I came up short.

Shucks.

However, I did manage to read 70 books this year, and I’m pretty happy with that. 😛

If you missed it, you can check out my Reading Goals for 2018 and the 2018 Intentional By Grace Reading Challenge.

As I’ve thought back over the list of books I read in 2018, there were five that really stood out above the rest.

These are books I recommend adding to your 2019 reading list.

These are the books that left me quiet in contemplation, drove me deeper in thought, and/or made think about life in a different way.

So without further ado, here my favorite books from 2018.

The 5 Best Books I Read in 2018:

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1. The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson

Y’all this book series is magnificent! I could not put it down, and I simply cannot wait to read them aloud to my children.

There were several times I had to close the book and just sit in silence in order to process the events. It was just so very good.

And yes, I realize I told you nothing about the book…you just need to read them. 🙂

2. Let Me Be A Woman by Elisabeth Elliot

I read this book almost a decade ago, and I don’t think I quite understood it then. At the recommendation (and coaxing) of a friend, I picked it back up and decided to re-read it.

Reading it now as a woman who has been wrecked and put back together, and a woman who is genuinely seeking God’s truth for womanhood, I found this book to be a breath of fresh air.

Elisabeth Elliot’s perspective on womanhood transcends culture and time because what she stands on is God’s original design for womanhood and the beautiful privilege it is to be made a woman in the image of God. This is a must read for every woman.

3. Dance Stand Run by Jess Connolly

I will be honest. I totally expected this book to be fluffy because so many women’s books are these days. However, this was an incredible book on holiness for the modern woman.

Jess unravels the lies of cheap grace our culture feeds us in the name of authenticity, and informs our perspective with the call to live holy lives. Because grace isn’t cheap. True grace compels us to change.

4. Union with Christ

This is hands down the best book I’ve read in the last five years. I’ve shared about this book on Facebook and Instagram, and I wrote an entire email series for my subscribers after reading this book.

Rankin does an incredible job of breaking down what it means to live united to Christ. He answers the basic questions:

  • Who am I?
  • Why am I here?
  • Where am I headed?
  • How will I get there?

My favorite quote from the book is this one:

“Christ now sets you free to be your true self: the self you are by grace, not the self you are by nature.”

This was a true paradigm shifting moment for me. This book offers the message needed to thos

5. My Name is Hope

The number of people battling fear and anxiety are staggering.

My Name is Hope is the story of one follower of Jesus who went through the horrors of anxiety and depression and came out the other side. It is a refreshing look at this topic that is so prevalent today, and I couldn’t put it down.

This is a topic we’ll be talking more about here on the blog in 2019.

Other Books I Read Worth Mentioning:

Overall, I would consider it a pretty good reading year.

Even though I read 70 books, I feel like I could do a better job reading books that stretch my thinking in the coming year.

I had a lot of fiction and children’s lit on my “Read” Shelf this year. And though that’s okay, I really want to challenge myself in 2019 to grow in wisdom through the reading of good books.

But we’ll talk more about that tomorrow!

For now, below is the final tally for the 2018 Intentional By Grace Reading Challenge, as well as a list of links to all the books I read this year.

2018 Intentional By Grace Reading Challenge: Breakdown & Favorites

Goal: 12 books
Current Books Read: 9
Number of Books to Go: 3

Note: Below are the books I have read so far for each category. In parentheses beside each book, you will find a link to the post where I share my thoughts on the book.

What about you? What were the best books you read in 2018?

Other posts you might be interested in:

My 5 Favorite Books from 2018. These are books that you should add to your 2019 Reading List!