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I won’t lie…2018 was not as well-read as I had hoped. Regardless, the new texts I came across readily sparked my curiosity, my love for learning, and my love for great storytelling. The genres/categories of books I read include but are not limited to psychology, neuroscience, religion/theology, anime, short stories, young adult fiction, romance fiction, science fiction, astrophysics, African fiction, philosophy, and history. And I have gone ahead to compile them into my second annual book list.

Just like last year’s annual book list, I made sure to read books that were in line with my worldview and opinions and read books that challenged them. You will also notice that some of these book titles have asterisks beside them. These asterisks designate books I genuinely recommend.

Each book on this annual book list is linked to a place to read the summary of the book and purchase it, or it is linked to a place to obtain free copies. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made from this post at no extra cost to you. If you want to maximize the amount of free books obtained from my list, you have couple of options:

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Now let’s get to this year’s annual book list!

1. The Bible (Yes. The whole thing, though I started reading it late 2016. I read the NIV Journalling Bible and took advantage of the margins designated for note-taking).
2. Four Views on Hell: Second Edition by Preston Sprinkle*
3. Tips For Living by Renee Shafransky*
4. Common Sense by Thomas Paine (free copy here)*
5. The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connel (free copy here)
6. The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron*
7. Sumerians: A History From Beginning to End by Henry Freeman*
8. The Dhammapada: A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic with Annotations
9. The Humanist Approach to Grief and Grieving by Jennifer Hancock
10. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff
11. Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta*
12. Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende* (this book made me cry)
13. The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge by Peter L. Berger*
14. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
15. Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson*
16. On Grace and Free Will by Augustine of Hippo
17. The Birds by Daphne Du Maurier*
18. The Songs Of Distant Earth by Arthur C. Clarke*
19. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume (free copy here)*
20. The Theory Of Social Revolutions by Brooks Adams (free copy here)
21. The Book of Love: Poems of Ecstasy and Longing by Rumi
22. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline*
23. The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus*
24. Tonight and Forever by Brenda Jackson
25. Rumi: The Big Red Book: The Great Masterpiece Celebrating Mystical Love and Friendship by Rumi
26. The Theory of Knowledge: A Jargon-Free Guide to Epistemology by Doug Erlandson*
27. Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence—and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process by Irene M. Pepperberg
28. What Women Want In A Man: How To Become The Alpha Male Women Respect, Desire, And Want To Submit To by Bruce Bryans
29. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon*
30. Akame ga KILL!, Vol. 01 by Takahiro*
31. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
32. How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Struggling with Divine Violence from Genesis Through Revelation by John Dominic Crossan*
33. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
34. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang*
35. So Much I Want to Tell You: Letters to My Little Sister by Anna Akana
36. How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringiyimana*
37. Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error by Kathryn Schulz*
38. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe*
39. The Social Contract by John Jacques Rousseau (free copy here)
40. Say You’re Sorry by Melinda Leigh*
41. Arriving Well: Stories About Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering Home After Living Abroad by Cate Brubaker*
42. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari*
43. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain*
44. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie*
45. The Skull by Phillip K. Dick (free copy here)
46. The Analects of Confucius by Confucius (free copy here)*
47. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin*
48. Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking*
49. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari*
50. Akame ga KILL! Vol. 02 by Takahiro*
51. Unthinkable: An Extraordinary Journey Through the World’s Strangest Brains by Helen Thomsen*
52. Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient: Reflections on Healing and Regeneration by Norman Cousins*
53. Introducing Logic: A Graphic Guide by Dan Cryan*

RELATED: Annual Book List #1 and Annual Book List #3

Do any of these books on this annual book list pique your interest? Please let me know in the comments below. Happy reading, friends!