I have read so many amazing books this year, it\u2019s honestly painful trying to select a favourite. Nine Perfect Strangers<\/em> by Liane Moriarty played merry havoc with my emotions, making me messy-cry and laugh-out-loud.<\/p>\n The Lost Man<\/em> by Jane Harper held me completely transfixed from the first page to the last. The Girl on the Page<\/em> by John Purcell left me feeling deeply traumatised (in a good way!) and I found a new favourite author in Sally Rooney, after losing my heart to Normal People<\/em>.<\/p>\n Oh, and the pure, otherworldly beauty of Laini Taylor\u2019s Muse of Nightmares<\/em>\u00a0totally blew my mind!<\/p>\n Click here to view the rest of Sarah’s Top Picks of the year (there are loads!)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The year started off with a bang with the release of Julian Barnes\u2019 The Only Story,<\/em> a virtuoso performance, beautiful and devastating.<\/p>\n Then came the blast furnace of The Shepherd\u2019s Hut<\/em>, Tim Winton\u2019s savage tale of Jaxie Clackton\u2019s run from his inner demons.<\/p>\n But the standout for me was Irish writer Sally Rooney\u2019s second novel, Normal People<\/em>. This book combines youth and art in a way that made me fall in love with the possibilities of writing again. If literature has a purpose, this book exemplifies that purpose.<\/p>\n Click here the view the rest John’s Top Picks for 2018 (there are many!)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Jo Lewin<\/strong> My year of reading has been full of surprises! Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe<\/em> took our office and, from there, the whole Australian book market by storm.<\/p>\n I’ve also indulged in the weighty goodness of Haruki Murakami’s Killing Commendatore<\/em> and have delighted in the gleeful and provocative novels Less<\/em> by Andrew Sean Greer and The Girl on the Page<\/em> by our own John Purcell.<\/p>\n To top it all off, Clementine Ford’s Boys Will Be Boys<\/em> is both urgent and incendiary.<\/p>\n Click here to view the rest of Jo’s Top Picks for 2018 (there are stacks!)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Ben Hunter<\/strong> Early in my reading year, the bar was set impossibly high by the gritty, blood-drenched lyricism of Tim Winton\u2019s The Shepherd\u2019s Hut<\/em> and the harrowing dissection of imperfect love in Julian Barnes\u2019 The Only Story<\/em>.<\/p>\n I thought I\u00a0thought I\u2019d never need to read a new book again until Sally Rooney\u2019s Normal People<\/em> struck me like an asteroid from beyond the Orion Arm. Plus my life is infinitely better now that it has Trent Dalton in it.<\/p>\n Click here to view the rest of Ben’s Top Picks of the year (there are lots!)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Olivia Crowley<\/strong> Jane Harper\u2019s third masterpiece, The Lost Man<\/em>, was atmospheric, gripping and unrelenting; and along with John Purcell\u2019s The Girl on the Page<\/em> and Boy Swallows Universe<\/em> by Trent Dalton, rounded out my top three fiction reads.<\/p>\n However, it was the study and understanding of memory that has emerged to be a huge part of my reading this year – Deep Time Dreaming, The Edge of Memory<\/em> and Diving for Seahorses<\/em> have all been stand outs.<\/p>\n In depth explorations of the Cnidaria phylum in Spineless<\/em> and the mass migration of birds in The Eastern Curlew<\/em> highlighted how much the human world and natural phenomena are intertwined, whilst Shaun Tan\u2019s heartbreaking Cicada<\/em>, quietly questioned corporatisation that has moved so far from nature.<\/p>\n So many of my assumptions of the world were shattered and rebuilt by Factfulness<\/em> and Richard Glover\u2019s The Land Before Avocado<\/em> instilled hope that we have it rather good today.<\/p>\n Click to view the rest of Olivia’s Top Picks of the year (there are heaps!)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Robert O’Hearn<\/strong> As Booktopia\u2019s Non-fiction specialist I\u2019ve enjoyed a rich harvest this year.<\/p>\n Simon Winchester\u2019s perfect history of machining obsession, Exactly<\/em>, was enthralling. Leigh Sales\u2019 Any Ordinary Day<\/em> and Anita Heiss\u2019 Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia<\/em> had me crying, laughing and pondering (sometimes all at once).<\/p>\n The Arsonist<\/em> by Chloe Hooper was breathtaking – so superbly dark and poetic. Peter Frankopan\u2019s awesome The New Silk Roads<\/em> reshaped my world and pointed me eastwards. But I also snuck into fiction and found goodies like The Girl on the Page<\/em> (so brilliant I read it again!), and Barnes\u2019s heartachingly best, The Only Story<\/em>.<\/p>\n Oh, and Trent too … so many!<\/p>\n Click here to view the rest of Rob’s Top Picks of 2018 (there are oodles!)\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n 1. The Land Before Avocado<\/em> by Richard Glover\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n 2. Any Ordinary Day<\/em> by Leigh Sales<\/a><\/p>\n 3. \u00a0<\/a>The Ice Monster<\/em> by David Walliams\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n 4. Dear Santa<\/em> by Samuel Johnson and Shaun Tan<\/a><\/p>\n 5. Becoming<\/em> by Michelle Obama\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n 6.\u00a0Simple<\/em> by Yotam Ottolenghi\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n 7. Modern Baking<\/em> by Donna Hay\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n 8.\u00a0The Barefoot Investor 2018 Update<\/em> by Scott Pape<\/a><\/p>\n 9. Babies and Toddlers<\/em> by Kaz Cooke<\/a><\/p>\n 10.\u00a0Nine Perfect Strangers<\/em> by Liane Moriarty<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/xsarah.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.cGjHxeVAuj.jpg\")
\nSarah McDuling<\/strong>
\nEditor of The Booktopian<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"year](\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/xjohn.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.Pif2ZE6m-q.jpg\")
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\nJohn Purcell<\/strong>
\nDirector of Books<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"year](\"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/xjo.jpg.pagespeed.ic_.FA1APrExQp.jpg\")
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