Quarantine is the perfect time to reorganize your bookshelves!
This year was surreal for a lot of reasons. All of the
exterior circumstances had a huge impact on my choices in reading material. I
read Biden and Harris’ memoirs before the election. I read many books on
social justice to push myself to a deeper understanding of diversity issues. I started a virtual book club, Pandemic Pages, with a few
of my closest friends and we had a blast connecting on zoom. And
then, when it all became too much, I signed up for Audible Escapes for a month
and sunk into some mindless clean YA romances to give my brain a break.
Quarantine for me meant life at home with two kids (ages
1 and 4) while trying to work. It’s been hard. It also included a LOT of books!
I read plays for the American Theatre Critics Association’s new play award. I
listened to tons of audiobooks to keep my sanity while at home. I reread many
old favorites and returned to authors I hadn’t read in years. And I curled up
with my kindle or a real book when I needed a moment's respite from the stress
of this year. Here are some of my favorites from 2020.
Number of Books You Read: 212
Number of Re-Reads: 12
Fiction: 115
Nonfiction: 48
Plays: 33
Graphic Novels: 4
1. Best Books You Read In 2020
Classics — If Beale Street Could Talk, Death on the Nile, and Go Tell It on The Mountain
Historical Fiction — Lovely War
Mystery — A Madness of Sunshine, Little Secrets, The Guest List
Literary Fiction — Anxious People, Nothing to See Here
Nonfiction — Talking to Strangers, The Body, Furious Hours, The Hiding Place, and I'm Still Here
Fantasy — The City We Became
Play — Every Brilliant Thing, Silent Sky, and Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley
YA — Clap When You Land and Piecing Me Together
Science Fiction — This Is How You Lose the Time War
Children’s — Ramona Quimby series and Gooseberry Park
Graphic Novel — Pumpkinheads
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and The Glass Hotel
3. Most surprising (in a good way) book you read?
I Love You, But I Hate Your Politics
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
Clap When You Land and The Hiding Place
5. Best series you started in 2020?
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2020?
Elizabeth Acevedo and Georgette Heyer
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Untamed, I'm not a big self-help fan, but I got a lot out of this one!
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Wylding Hall, an unputdownable, gothic gem for sure.
9. Book You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
The Kitchen Counter Cooking School, I learned so much. I know I'll return to it to refresh my cooking skills in the future.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2020?
With the Fire on High, Shadow and Light, Twisted, and The Vanishing Half
11. Most memorable character of 2020?
Sheba from South of Broad, Emoni from With the Fire on Hire
Scenes from a quarantine life of reading in 2020.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2020?
This Is How You Lose the Time War and If Beale Street Could Talk
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2020?
So You Want to Talk About Race and I'm Still Here
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2020 to finally read?
Go Tell It On the Mountain and The Hiding Place
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2020?
“The world changes, the ground shifts. We still make plans. We still find gifts.” - Gmorning, Gnight!
“I think that control might actually be the opposite of
love because control leaves no room for trust. And love without trust is not
love at all.” - Untamed
“It’s true that we haven’t done very much recently other
than keep two small people alive.” - The Guest List
“Traveling changes you. It open to up to in ways you
never imagined and makes you appreciate home.” - Piecing Me Together
“One of the benefits of being a journalist is that I get
to be nosy for a living.” - The Year of Living Danishly
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person
you wish to become.” - Atomic Habits
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2020?
Silent Sky - 64 pages
Angle of Repose - 569 pages
17. Book That Shocked You The Most?
Talking to Strangers, the way he unfolds how the training of police officers has led to our current situation was enlightening and heartbreaking.
18. Favorite Couple?
Dash and Lily
19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship of The Year?
Everyone in Anxious People and Hig and his dog Jasper in The Dog Stars
20. Favorite Book You Read in 2020 From an Author You’ve Read Previously?
How the Light Gets In and the rest of the Inspector Gamache novels
21. Best Book You Read In 2020 That You Read Based SOLELY On A
Recommendation From Somebody Else?
The Soul of the Octopus
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2020?
Peter Kavinsky and Dash
23. Best 2020 debut you read?
The Jane Austen Society
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
The City We Became, The Searcher, and House of Salt and Sorrows
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
The House in the Cerulean Sea and the Christy Miller marriage and baby series.
26. Book That Made You Cry in 2020?
Lovely War
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
I loved Mythos and Heroes by Stephen Fry, but I've heard almost nothing about them. They retell the Greek myths with famous art, illustrations, and Fry's clever commentary.
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
If Beale Street Could Talk and Every Brilliant Thing
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2020?
Endurance, a nonfiction book that is set in space!
30. Book That Made You the Maddest?
The Great Alone, that ending, ugh.
31. Best Audiobook?
Arabian Nights and the Inspector Gamache series
32. Best Book to Film Adaptation?
Dash and Lily
Thanks to Perpetual Page Turner for once again hosting this survey! It’s always so much fun to look at everything I read throughout the year and think about what I loved/hated.
Photo by me.
