My Top Books of 2018.

[@leenanorms]

If you liked the editing @craigsimmondsuk did it and I for one like his take on the booktube genre much more than my own.

[@jacquileather1329]

I love it SO much :'D Made me chuckle a few times, thanks Leena and Craig!

[@Sarah-zm3sl]

This editing felt very tipsy and I LOVED IT

[@LauraDFTBA]

I know we're meant to be "don't say anything if you can't say anything nice," BUT I really want to see you salt rant about the worst books of the year... like, the ones you couldn't make the 100 page threshold because they made you rage so badly.

[@leenanorms]

Also yes, I sleep under a dinosaur poster, what of it.

[@lavender_evie]

Thanks for your list, also love the editing from craig...but i could not stop looking at your gorgeous outfit. Brilliant vid!

[@GingerRootss]

OMG CRAIG'S EDITING. FANTASTIC

[@leenanorms]

I know right. He's shown me right up. I think he needs to do them all.

[@itsmeerikad1434]

the editing in this was so cool and v different than what you usually do! loved it!!

[@ellieangharad]

Craigs editing = 11/10. Book recommendations = Awesome. More Leena + Port + Book Reviews please!

[@lenazwarg4437]

Thanks Leena! Thanks especially for making me aware of the Vicky Beeching book, hadn't heard a thing about it yet! Just got the audiobook and love it so far. You're lovely

[@alliecity]

Women Talking by Miriam Toews was one of my favourite books from 2018, would definitely recommend! If you're looking for more contemporary Indigenous stories, quite a few are published in Canada every year. The Break by Katherena Vermette RIPPED my heart out when I read it. Content warning for sexual violence, but it is a very powerful read.

[@christinarox24]

My favorite books of 2018 were Fly Girls and the Alchemist. You should definitely check out Fly Girls, I think you would appreciate it, its about some of the pioneering women pilots of the 1920's and 30's and their impact on aviation. It's so interesting because women don't always have their image in so much of aviation, but they had a big part in the rise of its popularity when it first started. The book is also so great because it's somewhat of a biography that is written almost like a novel. Thanks for more books to add to my list, I'm so excited to read some of these. I'm reading Motherhood right now from your recommendation and LOVING it!

[@JasmineReads]

Ooooh lovely lovely books! I read There There last month, and I loved it!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Great list! I've not read any of these except Anna's magical book, but many I've meant to get to. I just saw that the feminist bookclub at Gower St Waterstones will be discussing Talking to Women in early Feb so that'll be a good motivation to prioritize it.

[@caoimhe1212]

my favourite book of the year was a book i read on the 29th and 30th Dec YEET, still counts. anyway, it was Normal People by Sally Rooney, probably because my little irish heart could relate to it so much, but also because, as you said about there there, there were no characters in that book but fully LIVING people and it was incredible.

[@stephaniesanderson3534]

Caoimhe Yes great book!

[@amyrocks88ss]

YEAHH loved it tooo

[@countaxelvonfursen8033]

Caoimhe d

[@MoonBeans]

I've been reading more middle grade lately and I'm loving it. It's just so nice and pure and wonderful for going to a fantasy world to get away from stresses. I love your videos

[@gracec010]

Hard to choose favorite reads in 2018 but some that come to mind are: Unbelievable by Katy Tur, To Light a Fire on the Earth by Bishop Robert Barron, Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick, and Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

[@klowne26]

I haven't read any of the books on this list BUT the way in which you talk about them makes me want to give them a go. There There has been on the list for a few months so I'll start with that I suppose. Some of my top books of 2018 (that seem more consistent with your tastes - so not inc fantasy which is my favourite genre): Beartown - Fredrik Backman The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober - Catherine Gray To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman

[@ljm792]

Thank you Leena, beauty video. Middle-grade recommendation: The Queen's Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner!

[@annahynson1177]

That all-woman diving community in South Korea still exists! Last I checked, there is a woman still diving in her 90s! It’s so cool - they don’t use any breathing apparatus - they hold their breath for minutes at a time!

[@Maria-gd4vf]

There is even a movie about it :)

[@BreakingProtocol]

Cool video - lots to go on the TBR. Also nice editing Craig 👍👍

[@leenanorms]

Thanks Jen! xxx

[@suziejmm]

Gonna add all of these to my (v rapidly growing) 2019 reading list, thanks leena :) also big fan of whatever the premiere function is on yt, should make that a regular thing 💛

[@leenanorms]

Yeah Rowan was here beside me to coach me through it but I think I liked it! Nice to be able to answer questions in real time etc

[@alenemarie1726]

READ MORE MIDDLE GRADE! It’s such a wonderful genre and my absolute favorite book of the year was a middle grade called Some Kind of Happiness. It’s about a young girl who goes to the spend the summer with her family she’s never met while her parents try to fix their relationship. It’s about mental health and what that means when your young and don’t have the language for it and family secrets and escapism and childhood and how you have no prejudices as children. It’s brilliant and one of the best books I’ve ever read. I love it.

[@katrienschiepers7300]

Thanks for this great video! I've been looking forward to watching it all day and it just makes me so excited... to read! My favourite books of the year were 'The Idiot' by Elif Batuman and 'My Year of Rest and Relaxation' by Otessa Mosfegh. They are just these crazy books and as I had an increased feeling of disorientation all year, they seemed to fit in well with my mood.

[@emilyschettlers]

Books I Read In 2018 That I Recommend: Sourdough by Robin Sloan, The Futilitarians: Our Year of Thinking, Drinking, Grieving, and Reading by Anne Gisleson, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, The Art of Gathering: How We Meet, and Why It Matters by Priya Parker. LOVED THEM.

[@sparkleofskies]

Love Daniel Pennac! I did a French degree, & we studied some of his crime novels and they were wonderful xxxx

[@theregoesrose]

Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett 🐰 I was honestly so surprised with this read and I couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks after reading it. Here's the synopsis just in case: Elvis Babbitt has a head for the facts: she knows science proves yellow is the happiest color, she knows a healthy male giraffe weighs about 3,000 pounds, and she knows that the naked mole rat is the longest living rodent. She knows she should plan to grieve her mother, who has recently drowned while sleepwalking, for exactly eighteen months. But there are things Elvis doesn’t yet know-like how to keep her sister Lizzie from poisoning herself while sleep-eating or why her father has started wearing her mother's silk bathrobe around the house. Elvis investigates the strange circumstances of her mother's death and finds comfort, if not answers, in the people (and animals) of Freedom, Alabama. As hilarious a storyteller as she is heartbreakingly honest, Elvis is a truly original voice in this exploration of grief, family, and the endurance of humor after loss. Honestly: SO GOOD. and Elvis is absolutely brilliant.

[@cassy981]

Thank you for recommending these! I have never heard of many of these beforehand & will now add many of them to my tbr :) Some of my favorite books last year were "Utopia for Realists", "The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo" & "Coraline".

[@lindawalk8100]

I mean i slept 3 hours last night, but for this i guess i could stay up just a liiiittle Bit longer i guess...

[@cutoutpaperheart]

liked the editing, but also enjoy your normal relaxed style :)

[@abigailwalker5154]

Read so many good books this year and am now desperate to read some of yours! I know you talked about 'unexpected' books and my top one of that (yes, that makes sense :s) is 'The shock of the fall' by Nathan Filer, completely not what I expected and I loved it :)

[@TaylorMeadowSun]

Your book reviews are my favorite! Perfect pace 🙏🏽

[@luke28]

Now I have a lot of new inspiration for the new year ! :) I am very happy you put 'There there' in your favourites! It was definitely one of- if not the favourite of the year for me, so beautifully written, well plotted and interesting! PS; I do like the editing, well done Craig! ;)

[@Lisolachenonce06]

living for this editing Craig ahahah

[@dragonsgorawr1]

The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers was my best book of 2018. The love I have for this book is NEVERENDING. Beautiful, speculative sci-fi fiction, that despite being set in outer space is oh so very human.

[@BeckieArt]

I am also doing 6 months no buy and listening to you talk about such wonderful books makes it so hard 😂 I'll be writing them down in my things I'd like to buy list tho rather than buying them this time. Thanks for another great video

[@emeline_4]

Maybe a library near you might have some of them in stock, or you can request them 🙂 That way you could read them without buying anything

[@BookNomming]

My mission is to read more of my old books , mostly because I am on a mission to declutter 1. Because buying my first home 2. Because I want to have less emotional ties to objects and feel more free

[@12reids]

I had a similar experience to yours with Golden Age Pirates with Utopia for Realists and How We Get There by Rutger Bregman. Read it last year and I’m currently rereading it because I feel like after having a year to digest it and have my own thoughts about it I’m gaining so much more from it than I did the first time. Check it out if you haven’t already! (Also it’s translated from Dutch, so even more reason for you to read it)

[@12reids]

Obviously I meant Be More Pirate

[@pastorytime2683]

Great list! I so want to read the Nell Dunn.x

[@jessnorman6412]

my favourite book published in 2018 was a poetry collection called Love's Many Names by Sam Davidson. It's partly about his time spent volunteering at a refugee camp in Dunkirk, and his relationships with women and with God. It's just really song-like and beautiful, would totally recommend to anyone

[@theliteraryexpat9852]

As one self help enthusiast to another I’d love to recommend The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker. Really interesting books on this list. Think I’m going to pick up that Friendship book. Thank you.

[@sian3475]

I'll be honest, I read Motherhood after seeing you had referenced it and I just wasn't really impressed? It was strangely formatted and I felt it didn't really break down the discussion in the way I hoped it would. But I suppose we all bond with books differently and overall it did have some points I found interesting

[@itsmeerikad1434]

also there's this book called I'm Very Into You which tracks the email correspondence between Kathy Acker and McKenzie Wark from 1995-1996 that sort of falls under the category 'fly on the wall non fiction'....it kind of gives you that sneaky feeling...like you're reading something that's supposed to be private...it's v good!

[@booksandbroadway]

I LOVE THIS BOOK! In college I worked on a play adapted from it and won an award for my work so it has a very special place in my heart.

[@itsmeerikad1434]

@@booksandbroadway so cool! what is the play called??

[@elelittle1474]

'Talking to Women' sounds great - the only thing off the top of my head that sounds similar is The Hite Report.

[@Catrionaos]

I feel u so much on the friendship thing. Also thanks for a great list! ❤️

[@Sarah-zm3sl]

A top quality YA book from 2018: I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman - fandom, fame, religion, LGBTQ+ teens, young female Muslim narrator, ALL GOOD THINGS

[@leenanorms]

AH yes Rowan keeps going on about this one, I should try it x

[@chloerixson4812]

Absolutely love this 😍 Can’t wait to read Hotel Silence at payday! X

[@Kat_Attack]

This was brilliant.

[@samirahssphere8187]

Nothing insightful to say Leena other than I bloody love you!

[@beccainlecorner]

10/10 hilarious editing on this video!!

[@theruby811]

I watched a doco on Netflix about South Korea omg the woman divers are incredible one of them was around 84 years old diving for conch shells it was insane!!!! it was really cool when a pod of dolphins (who also live in matriarchal groups) were interacting with the woman 😁😍

[@musicalneptunian]

I would as a consumer like to suggest improvements in the publishing industry. I only buy books when I get an Xmas book voucher every year. They last for 2 years which is great; sometimes I am too busy to use them for awhile. But I hate two things [1] the loss if I were to lose the voucher and [2] the weird lack of online options. There should be an online backup if I were to lose my voucher. For [2] when I used my book voucher this year [Angus and Robertson in Oz] I went to the online store to pick out books. Then i printed out my choices to show to the book cashier. But she said that I couldn't have those because the online books were not in stock. That is weird. If I can't have them then why put a huge book list online on their own Angus and Robertson site? The publishing industry has to sort out how it uses online/physical store sales. I could suggest more. But that's enough for now. Thank you.

[@vivihaku6681]

I enjoyed the Letters to Theo by Vincent Van Gogh. I think you might like it as well. The debut novel by Alice Munro could be something for you, but maybe you dont like short stories? maaaaybe the chess story by Stefan Zweig. The other books I adored this year would not be to your liking I guess. I am sure Nothing Holds Back the Night by Delphine de Vigan is worth your time!:D Im excited for new videos in 2019! :D

[@soph964]

please I need to know!!!!! where are those dungarees from!!! and the lipstick!!!! so beaut !!!!!1 ❤️

[@michellegantley6049]

Have you read any of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s books? I discovered her in 2018 and would really recommend everything she’s written! 😊

[@leenanorms]

Do you know what I never have and always have meant to. Perhaps 2019 is the year for it!

[@Oyearenita]

I love your videos!!!

[@beatriceengman4916]

The burp in the beginning, such beauty ❤️

[@Hillary429]

Just wondering why this video shows “premiering now” underneath??

[@brunabento4866]

Have you watched the documentary "Feminists" on netflix? From your description, it seems a lot like Nell Dunn's book :)

[@limegreenrox441]

where are your overalls from? :) i’ve been looking for a similar tie style

[@caitlinquinn79]

Because you lovely lot will probably know- any audiobook narrators you would recommend? I have recently had difficulty reading text (due to illness) and am looking for readers I like :)

[@Hillary429]

My favorite audiobook is still the five book trilogy of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, anytime the author reads the book themselves I typically really enjoy it.

[@AimingforEnigmatic]

I love listening to Aoife McMahon's narration! I listened to her narrate Normal People and Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney, and The Rúin by Tervla McTiernan (on audible) :)

[@alenemarie1726]

Caitlin Quinn Neil Gaimen narrates all his own books and they are amazing! Also I just listened to Mr Penurmba’s (def spelled wrong) 24 hour bookstore and that narrator was amazing in that book. Lots of middle grade has amazing narrators like Artemis Fowl, A Series of Unfortunate Events. Agatha Christie narrations are really well done, look for ones by Dan Stevens, he’s brilliant!

[@caitlinquinn79]

Thank you all, brilliant suggestion ☆

[@fokyoursocks]

Yes

[@catrinevansmusic]

I. LOVE. THIS. EDITING.

[@lucyrutherford]

Motherhood was on display in my library just asking for me to take it home with me, so that's going to be my next read! Some of faves from 2018 are On Chesil Beach, My Year of Rest and Relaxation and The Idiot :)

[@leenanorms]

My Year of R & R is on my TBR for this year, I can't wait!

[@kellyh3295]

sorry i am listening and this is all very good and you have sold me on all these books but can you PLEASE tell me where your top is from?! hotDAYM

[@leenanorms]

it's from the ASOS plus size range, but a while ago, perhaps a year, I think they've sold out :(

[@lisamarie9307]

So cool ❤❤❤

[@komodorhino]

My favourite book of the year was the name of the wind by pat rothfuss ( i'm late to the hype)

[@LaurenWade]

Ah, Talking to Women sounds fa-scin-a-tingggggg. I commend more writing, but also.....more reading please, so I can personally watch more of these videos :)

[@leenanorms]

You can borrow it if you like, Lauren X

[@amyrocks88ss]

will be interested to see your 47 lists of book you read.

[@Arapoib]

that little smosh high five omgggggg

[@susanoxburgh8835]

Can Craig edit everything please? I think the booktube genre is missing shameless memes.

[@bestiecon]

do a video on the worst books you’ve read this year !

[@blankarozsypalova6761]

More videos by the dreamteam, please! (= Leena, Craig's editing, wine)

[@leenanorms]

the holy trinity

[@danecobain]

Hurrah, slightly tipsy Leena

[@hannahsudbeck5153]

Hey Leena, I would love to participate in your "reading women in 2019" Facebook group. I only discovered it a few days ago, but I would love if you could still accept my request in there! Love your content and your personality!!!

[@AG-ub7sg]

👍🏼☺️

[@ciinthiamk]

That's what she said 😂

[@JillyC5]

I'm a new subscriber attracted by your 'no buy year' and so far have enjoyed the content, but the belch? EWWWW!!!! Why!!

[@leenanorms]

lol sorry Jilly that's just how I roll. Welcome!