#MustReadIn2018: Fiction, Nonfiction and Indigenous Authors


Carrie Gelson at There's a Book for That, hosts #MustRead. If you have a "want to read" list on Goodreads (or somewhere else) that goes on forever, then you might be interested in joining for 2018. All you have to do is choose any number of specific books on that list, and do your best to read them all.



I couldn't manage to winnow my list down to a manageable number this year so I've taken a lesson from other readers and changed things up. I have three lists of books that I plan to read from this year. Of course I will enjoy other serendipitous reading of books that catch my fancy. I like my new approach to these lists because it keeps me focused at the same time as it permits me to read with some flexibility. 
The two lists here include a fiction and nonfiction list that I plan to read from. The other is a more flexible list of books by Canadian Indigenous authors that I plan to read at least 24 books from. You can see that list here. I'm also working on a Must Read Picture Book list but will see where that one goes.

I'm hoping to read at least 25 books from the following fiction list.




  1. Ban This Book by Alan Gratz 
  2. Book Scavenger (Book Scavenger, #1) by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
  3. The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club by Phillip M. Hoose 
  4. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo 
  5. The Daybreak Bond by Megan Frazer Blakemore 
  6. Dear Martin by Nic Stone
  7. Diamond Boy by Michael Williams
  8. A Dirty Job (Grim Reaper, #1) by Christopher Moore
  9. Echo After Echo by Amy Rose Capetta
  10. An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo
  11. The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish
  12. Eugenia Lincoln and the Unexpected Package (Tales from Deckawoo Drive #4) by Kate DiCamillo
  13. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
  14. Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow 
  15. Give Me Some Truth by Eric Gansworth
  16. The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley
  17. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  18. Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate,
  19. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 
  20. I Love You, Michael Collins by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
  21. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
  22. The Last Grand Adventure by Rebecca Behrens
  23. The Law of Finders Keepers by Sheila Turnage, 
  24. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
  25. Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
  26. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
  27. Moon Shadow by Erin Downing
  28. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
  29. Once by Morris Gleitzman 
  30. The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz
  31. Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
  32. Restart by Gordon Korman
  33. The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
  34. The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall
  35. Smart Cookie by Elly Swartz
  36. Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard (Peter Nimble, #2) by Jonathan Auxier
  37. Sunny by Jason Reynolds
  38. The Theory of Hummingbirds by Michelle Kadarusman
  39. Thousand Star Hotel by Bao Phi
  40. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
  41. Under Suspicion (Friday Barnes #2) by R.A. Spratt
  42. The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
  43. The Way Home Looks Now by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
  44. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
  45. What Elephants Know by Eric Dinerstein
  46. Where You'll Find Me by Natasha Friend
  47. Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer
  48. Wish by Barbara O'Connor
  49. You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins
  50. Zero Repeat Forever (The Nahx Invasions #1) by Gabrielle Prendergast

From this list of Nonfiction titles I plan to read at least 12




  1. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel A. van der Kolk
  2. The Bee Book by by Fergus Chadwick, Steve Alton, Emma Sarah Tennant, Bill Fitzmaurice, Judy Earl
  3. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  4. Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism by Daisy Hernandez
  5. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
  6. Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters by Robert Probst
  7. Firewater: How Alcohol Is Killing My People (and Yours)
    by Harold Johnson
  8. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women by Elena Favilli
  9. Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World by Kelly Jensen
  10. The Hunting Accident by David L. Carlson
  11. The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King 
  12. Love and Laughter in the Time of Chemotherapy by Manjusha Pawagi
  13. Maximum Canada: Why 35 Million Canadians Are Not Enough by Doug Saunders
  14. Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer 
  15. On The Move: A Life by Oliver Sacks
  16. The Rose That Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur
  17. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Yuval Noah Harari
  18. The Second Shift: Working Families and the Revolution at Home by Arlie Russell Hochschild 
  19. Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating 
  20. Strong Is the New Pretty: A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves by Kate T. Parker
  21. This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein
  22. Waiting for First Light: My Ongoing Battle with PTSD by Roméo Dallaire
  23. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 
  24. We Were Eight Years In Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  25. Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky

14 comments:

  1. I like your approach! It was hard to narrow down my list and I kept it short because I know many other books I want to read will pop up. I loved Homegoing. I should add more nonfiction into my reading. If you want another great nonfiction title check out The Power of Moments.

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  2. Oh my, Cheriee, there are so many good books on your list, and some I've forgotten about! As I read everyone's lists, I've added a 2nd private list so I can remember. Of your books, I loved The Serpent King, The Seventh Most Important Thing, The War I Finally Won and The Only Road. The Eugenia Lincoln book is just perfect, too!I have Dear Martin on my list. And I have Daring Greatly and Strong Is the New Pretty which I'm saving for my granddaughters! Thanks for sharing so many, love seeing the lists! And Happy Reading!

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    1. I've added a few to my want to read list too after reading everyone's list.

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  3. What a list - or should I say lists! I got so excited when I saw Give Me Some Truth by Eric Gansworth - this is a book I MUSt read this year. Can't wait to follow along with you over the year.

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    1. I can't wait to be able to compare our reactions to Give Me Some Truth!

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  4. You've got an increbible list of books - many I want to read as well. All the best in your reading this year!

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  5. Love your lists! The Body Keeps the Score is truly one of my favorite books--a must-read for understanding trauma and working with people who have experienced it. Love that Tupac is on your list! I'm crowd-sourcing my list again this year and really appreciate the diversity of choices your list gives me--including so many Indigenous authors who are new to me. Thank yoU!

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    1. I'm looking forward to reading The Body Keeps the Score. You have some impressive books on your list!

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  6. I like this approach - making a number goal from a list of books/genres. So many great ones to choose from! I have Shark Lady in my bag right now and highly recommend Disrupting Thinking! My favs from your fiction list are WISH and The Serpent King! Both so good! Happy reading!

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    1. Happy reading to you and good luck on your own goals this year!

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  7. What a wonderful way to approach this challenge! I love it! I hope you enjoy The Serpent King, Diamond Boy, Turtles, Dear Martin, Long Way Down, Cactus, Moon, and Sophie Quire as much as I did!!!

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    1. I have no doubt that I will since we seem to appreciate the same kinds of books!

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  8. Great list! Tupac's book is great. I'm reading Daring Greatly now, so will be interested to hear what you think.

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    1. People keep saying that theTupac book is good, so it will certainly be one that I get to!

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