The Books I Read in 2018


A Kindle is an expat's best friend. In case you need a book recommendation... In no particular order.
A few of the "real" books I have.

 Flipped (Wendelin Van Draanen)
            A young romantic comedy. Like, second grade.

The Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan)
            Mothers and daughters crossing China and America.

The Hiding Place (Corrie Ten Boom)
            Sheltering Jews during WWII – amazing, inspirational.

Turtles All the Way Down (John Green)
            Young adult fiction about a girl with OCD.

The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden (Jonas Jonasson)
            Intelligent and hilarious.

Crazy Rich Asians (Kevin Kwan)
            Reads like a gossip column. The movie was better.

A Man Called Ove (Fredrik Backman)
            This crochety old man made me laugh… and cry.

Country Driving: A Chinese Road Trip (Peter Hessler)
            Everything this guy writes about China is golden.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Kelly Barnhill)
            My favorite fiction read this year.

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures (Kate DiCamillo)
            It has pictures. It’s cute.

Once On A Time (A. A. Milne)
            Ridiculous mockery of a fairytale.

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon (David Grann)
            But did they make it out alive??

The Neverending Story (Michael Ende)
            Literally never ends. Enjoyed this second read better than the first.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (Jonas Jonasson)
            Also intelligent and hilarious.

I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban (Malala Yousafzai)
            Powerful memoir.

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China (Jung Chang)
            Best book I read this year. 

Survival Kit for Overseas Living: For Americans Planning to Live and Work Abroad (L. Robert Kohls)
            Why am I reading this five years into living abroad?

Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis)
            Sci-fi from my favorite author. Had to read it again.

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