My goal in 2020 was to read 65 books and I read 47. I think a big factor in not reaching my goal was transitioning to working from home and cutting out my commute. I read 25 books through audiobooks on my commute last year. But I did read some great books this year, and I hope you did too! I’m usually reading until the last minute of the year but this year, I decided to cut it off early and if I finish any books in the last few days, it’ll be counted for next year.
Here’s a recap of my year of reading!
My Books of 2020
Here are the stats:
- Books Read: 47
- Pages Read: 14,330
- Average rating: 3.8 stars
- Audiobooks: 7
- Memoirs: 17
- Fiction: 17
- Non-fiction: 23
- Poetry: 5
- Graphic Novel: 1
- Romance Fiction: 6
- Shortest Book: 87 pages, Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Longest Book: 584 pages, Women Who Run With Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
- Average Length: 304 pages
My Favorite Books of 2020
Here are some of the books I loved and recommend to you.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
If you’re looking for a page-turning novel about a Hollywood actress’s glamorous life, this is it. This award-winning book came out in 2017 and it’s as entertaining as they say it is.
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
There are so many powerful points in this memoir by Chanel Miller. Her story touches on ways we can help victims of sexual assault and how we can transform our thinking and processes around justice and healing. A favorite line: “You have to hold out to see how your life unfolds, because it is most likely beyond what you can imagine. It is not a question of if you will survive this, but what beautiful things await you when you do.”
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
If you’re interested in self-help, therapy, and psychology, this memoir has plenty of thought-provoking nuggets. The book is structured with the author, a therapist, telling her story and in her revelations, she reminds us we all have much to learn. A favorite line: “But many people come to therapy seeking closure. Help me not to feel. What they eventually discover is that you can’t mute one emotion without muting the others. You want to mute the pain? You’ll also mute the joy.”
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
I was intrigued by this fiction book and love how the lives in the story weave together. It’s topped many lists this year and I agree! It’s a story about twins who grow up to live separate lives with different racial identities.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
If you’ve read anything by Glennon, you know she speaks the truth and she doesn’t sugarcoat it. If you need some inspiration, a push to be more, and encouragement while you’re stuck, this book has it. A favorite line: “If you are uncomfortable—in deep pain, angry, yearning, confused—you don’t have a problem, you have a life. Being human is not hard because you’re doing it wrong, it’s hard because you’re doing it right. You will never change the fact that being human is hard, so you must change your idea that it was ever supposed to be easy.”
Sorry I’m Late: I Didn’t Want to Come by Jessica Pan
I loved this book because Jessica felt so much like me. While she intentionally set out to do extrovert things, I did some of these things for fun and experienced a lot of the same introvert feelings. Jessica’s humor is also aligned with mine so I thought this book was hilarious!
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
This young adult poetry fiction was an unexpected favorite. It’s a beautiful story about family, grief, and belonging. It also gives a glimpse of the privilege of where you are born as it follows one teenage daughter in the Dominican Republic and another teenage daughter in New York City.
The Beauty in Breaking by Michelle Harper
I picked up this memoir randomly and was captivated by the beautiful writing, the look inside an emergency room, and the thoughtful insight Michelle shares about her life lessons.
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
This graphic novel about George Takei’s childhood, specifically about his time in an American concentration camp for Japanese residents during World War 2, taught me a lot about the shameful U.S. history we don’t talk much about.
Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman
This non-fiction book about a friendship, where it went right and wrong, kept me thinking. The subject of growing friendships is one I’ve noticed more and more in media. The concepts might be simple but the process is harder than it looks.
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong
The title says it all, doesn’t it? The term ‘minor feelings’ refers to the contradiction between your racial reality and American optimism, usually caused by the dismissal of your feelings. This book of essays explores being Asian in the U.S. and is a timely read.
And here are some feelings about other books I read this year:
- The one that had me laughing out loud: Dear Girls by Ali Wong
- The one that made me cry a lot: Finding Chika by Mitch Albom
- The one with a fascinating look behind the scenes: Becoming by Michelle Obama
- The one that was incredulous: Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur
- The one that re-ignited my farm dreams: The Rural Diaries by Hilarie Burton Morgan
Reading Goals for 2021
Next year I want to read 65 books. I have a handful of books that I started this year that I want to finish. I want to read more science fiction and fantasy and food-focused since I didn’t this year. Other than these guidelines, I’m up for anything!
What’s your favorite book you read this year? Do you have any book recommendations?
P.S. Here are my book recaps for 2019, 2018, and 2017. I track books I’ve read and want to read on Goodreads. See my profile here.
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