2018 saw the release of some fabulous books and when we look at the most popular books that our Booko community has clicked on it certainly was an eclectic year. 

If you fancy a new book to read over the holidays have a look below at the most popular books clicked on by our community of readers in 2018. 

Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape

It’s not a new book (in fact it was published in 2016) but we just may need to give Scott a trophy. The Barefoot Investor has been our most clicked on book this year…and last year! 

Pape claims this is the only money guide you’ll ever need, which is a bold claim, given there are already thousands of finance books on the shelves. So what makes this one different? Well, you won’t be overwhelmed with a bunch of ‘tips’ or a strict budget (that you won’t follow). You’ll get a step-by-step formula: open this account, then do this; call this person, and say this; invest money here, and not there. All with a glass of wine in your hand. This book will show you how to create an entire financial plan that is so simple you can sketch it on the back of a serviette and you’ll be able to manage your money in 10 minutes a week. This book is full of stories from everyday Aussies; single people, young families, empty nesters and retirees who have all applied the simple steps in this book and achieved amazing, life-changing results.

Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi

Coming in at second place was this fabulous cookbook with recipes that we are sure featured on Christmas tables around the world this holiday season. Yotam Ottolenghi’s award-winning recipes are always a celebration: an unforgettable combination of abundance, taste and surprise. Simple is no different, with 140 brand-new dishes that contain all the inventive elements and flavour combinations that Ottolenghi is loved for, but with minimal hassle for maximum joy. Bursting with colourful photography, the book showcases Yotam’s standout dishes that will suit whatever type of cooking you find easy – whether that’s getting wonderful food on the table in under 30 minutes, using just one pot to make a delicious meal, or a flavoursome dish that can be prepared ahead and then served when you’re ready.

12 Rules for Life by Jordan B Peterson

What does everyone in the modern world need to know? Renowned psychologist Jordan B. Peterson’s answer to this most difficult of questions uniquely combines the hard-won truths of ancient tradition with the stunning revelations of cutting-edge scientific research.

Humorous, surprising and informative, Dr. Peterson tells us why skateboarding boys and girls must be left alone, what terrible fate awaits those who criticise too easily, and why you should always pet a cat when you meet one on the street. What does the nervous system of the lowly lobster have to tell us about standing up straight (with our shoulders back) and about success in life? Why did ancient Egyptians worship the capacity to pay careful attention as the highest of gods? What dreadful paths do people tread when they become resentful, arrogant and vengeful? Dr. Peterson journeys broadly, discussing discipline, freedom, adventure and responsibility, distilling the world’s wisdom into 12 practical and profound rules for life shattering the modern commonplaces of science, faith and human nature, while transforming and ennobling the mind and spirit of its readers.

The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers

This is a true story of a young Yemeni-American man, raised in San Francisco, who dreams of resurrecting the ancient art of Yemeni coffee but finds himself trapped in Sana’a by civil war. Mokhtar Alkhanshali grew up in San Francisco, one of seven siblings brought up by Yemeni immigrants in a tiny apartment. At age twenty-four, unable to pay for college, he works as a doorman, until a statue of an Arab raising a cup of coffee awakens something in him. He sets out to learn the rich history of coffee in Yemen and the complex art of tasting and identifying varietals. He travels to Yemen and visits countless farms, collecting samples, eager to bring improved cultivation methods to the countryside. And he is on the verge of success when civil war engulfs Yemen in 2015. The US Embassy closes, Saudi bombs began to rain down on the country, and Mokhtar is trapped in Yemen. Desperate to escape, he embarks on a passage that has him negotiating with political factions and twice kidnapped at gunpoint. With no other options, he hires a skiff to take him, and his coffee samples, across the Red Sea. A heart-pounding true story that weaves together the history of coffee, the ongoing Yemeni civil war, and the courageous journey of a young man, both a Muslim and a US citizen, following the most American of dreams.

The Barefoot Investor for Families by Scott Pape

We just knew this book would be on the most popular list. Scott Pape’s first book has become one of the best selling Australian books ever. Why is it so successful? It’s simple, funny and practical. And it has changed people’s lives. This eagerly anticipated follow-up, The Barefoot Investor for Families, sticks to the same script. It’s aimed fairly and squarely at parents, grandparents, and basically anyone who read that book and said: ‘Why the hell wasn’t I taught this years ago?’ Scott lays out ten money milestones kids need to have nailed before they leave home, and it’s all structured around one family ‘money meal’ each week (so roughly 20 minutes). If you follow the roadmap, with tailor-made lessons for each age group, your kids will know how to do things like: learn the life-changing value of hard work, set up a fee-free bank account (or jam jars!), go on a Treasure Hunt around the house, and sell some of their ‘stuff’ second-hand and save your parents $100 on household bills. 

Scott’s mission is to make sure children are financially strong so they never, ever get sucked into the traps that middle-aged bankers have devised to rob them of their money and their confidence.

The Unreal and the Real by Ursula K. Le Guin 

Ursula Le Guin worked mainly in the genres of fantasy and science fiction, and authored children’s books, short stories, poetry, and essays. Her writing was first published in the 1960s and often depicted futuristic or imaginary alternative worlds in politics, the natural environment, gender, religion, sexuality, and ethnography. In 2016, The New York Times described her as “America’s greatest living science fiction writer” although she said that she would prefer to be known as an “American novelist”. The Unreal and the Real is a collection of some of Ursula K. Le Guin’s best short stories and garnered a lot of attention when she died in January. She won multiple prizes and accolades from the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to the Newbery Honour, the Nebula, Hugo, World Fantasy, and PEN/Malamud Awards. She also had her work collected over the years, but this is the first short story volume combining a full range of her work. 

Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff

With extraordinary access to the Trump White House, Michael Wolff tells the inside story of the most controversial presidency of our time. The first nine months of Donald Trump’s term were stormy, outrageous and absolutely mesmerising. Now, thanks to his deep access to the West Wing, bestselling author Michael Wolff tells the riveting story of how Trump launched a tenure as volatile and fiery as the man himself. In this explosive book, Wolff provides a wealth of new details about the chaos in the Oval Office. Brilliantly reported and astoundingly fresh, Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury shows us how and why Donald Trump has become the king of discord and disunion.

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s phenomenal international bestseller The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable shows us how to stop trying to predict everything and take advantage of uncertainty. What have the invention of the wheel, Pompeii, the Wall Street Crash, Harry Potter and the internet got in common? Why are all forecasters con-artists? What can Catherine the Great’s lovers tell us about probability? Why should you never run for a train or read a newspaper? This book is all about Black Swans: the random events that underlie our lives, from bestsellers to world disasters. Their impact is huge; they’re impossible to predict; yet after they happen we always try to rationalise them. 

Ottilie Colter and the Narroway Hunt by Rhiannon Williams

In the most thrilling fantasy of the year, a young girl must pretend to be a boy to rescue her brother from a secret order of monster hunters. Ottilie Colter and her brother, Gully, have always fended for themselves. So when Gully goes missing one night, Ottilie sets out to find him and soon makes a horrible discovery. Gully has been forcibly recruited by the Narroway Hunt, a secretive male-only organisation that hunts savage, blight-spreading monsters called `dredretches’. Disguising herself as a boy, Ottilie infiltrates the Hunt but quickly realises that taking her brother home won’t be easy. Trapped in the heart of the dredretch-infested Narroway, it’s impossibly dangerous for them to leave. But as she trains to become a Huntsman alongside her brother, hoping for a chance to escape, how long can she keep her true identity a secret? From Rhiannon Williams comes book one in this bewitching trilogy about friendship, bravery and having the courage to do what’s right.

Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different by Ben Brooks 

This book can save lives. This book can change lives. This book can help to bring forth another generation of boys who dare to be different. Benjamin Zephaniah, Daniel Radcliffe, Galileo Galilei, Nelson Mandela, Louis Armstrong, Grayson Perry, Louis Braille, Lionel Messi, King George VI, Jamie Oliver… all dared to be different. Prince charming, dragon slayer, mischievous prankster… More often than not, these are the role-models boys encounter in the books they read at home and at school. As a boy, there is an assumption that you will conform to a stereotypical idea of masculinity. But what if you’re the introvert kind? What if you prefer to pick up a book rather than a sword? What if you want to cry when you’re feeling sad or angry? What if you like the idea of wearing a dress? There is an ongoing crisis with regards to young men and mental health, with unhelpful gender stereotypes contributing to this malaise. Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Different offers a welcome alternative narrative. It is an extraordinary compilation of 100 stories of famous and not-so-famous men from the past to the present day, every single one of them a rule-breaker and innovator in his own way, and all going on to achieve amazing things.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2 by Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli

This is the sequel to the sensational international bestseller Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. Inspiring girls around the world to dream bigger, aim higher and fight harder, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2 is an entirely new collection of one hundred bedtime stories that celebrate extraordinary women from Nefertiti to Beyoncé, Rosalind Franklin to J.K. Rowling. Queens and activists, ballerinas and lawyers, pirates and computer scientists, astronauts and inventors – a stunning juxtaposition leaving a thrilling sense of possibility. Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli are New York Times bestselling authors whose work has been translated into more than thirty languages. 

Enjoy!