Books I read in 2020

This year was (obviously) a disaster, but there was some good to come out of it. I had some time to read, and it was definitely an escape to take my mind off all the anxiety and stress I was feeling. Thanks to my library's hot titles section and a membership to BOTM (book of the month), I got a chance to read a bunch of really great new titles. My goal was to read 20 books and I made it through 22. Here are the books I read in 2020...

1. Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano - This was a really sad book to start off the year and it was much harder to read this book now that I have kids. Luckily, I didn't fly on an airplane once this year, so I didn't have to worry about plane crashes.

2. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett - This one had a lot of buzz surrounding it, but I wasn't that impressed. 

3. Ghosted by Rosie Walsh - I really liked the twists in this one.

4. The Devil in the White City - Historical non-fiction that reads like a novel. I thought this book was fascinating.

5. Playing Dead by Elizabeth Greenwood - At the beginning of the year, I watched a lot of "Disappeared" on Discovery channel and was obsessed with the cases where people chose to disappear and weren't kidnapped. 

6. The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian - He is one of my favorite authors, but this book wasn't my favorite.

7. How to Disappear by Frank Ahearn - This guy was a superstar bounty hunter in his day and now knows everything there is to know about how to disappear so nobody can find you. 

8. Untamed by Glennon Doyle - One of my absolute favorite books of the year. It made me cry and laugh and stuck with me for a long time.

9. If it Bleeds by Stephen King - Three stories in one book. It didn't disappoint.

10. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - Like the title, this book was completely fine.

11. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides - This book was talked up a lot and I wasn't that impressed with it.

12. Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas - Not sure I really understood what exactly was going on at this school. The book was just ok.

13. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins - Another one of my top three of the year. This book was heartbreaking and devastating. I didn't want to keep reading because it was so tense and sad, but I also couldn't put it down.

14. I'm thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid - I picked up this book when I heard they were making a movie out of it starring Jesse Plemmons. I still haven't watched the movie, but the book was just ok. Not what I expected.

15. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett - This was named book of the year by a lot of different groups. I thought it was really interesting.

16. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - I am such a fan of his and really loved this book. His writing makes me feel a lot smarter when it comes to science than I really am.

17. The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen - The trend right now seems to be twisty mysteries. This one gave us a couple twists and was somewhat satisfying.

18. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi - This was another one that was talked up by so many people. I thought it was just ok.

19. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab - This was one of my BOTM picks and I really loved it. I read it in just a couple days and couldn't stop thinking about what I would do in that situation.

20. Just Like You by Nick Hornby - I normally love Nick Hornby's books, but this one wasn't my favorite. It dealt with Brexit and age differences in a relationship.

21. The Guest List by Lucy Foley - This was a fun, quick read that kept you guessing until the very end. I'm excited to read The Hunting Party next.

22. Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline - A disappointing follow up to Ready Player One. In this book, it felt like the author spent the entire time trying to prove to the reader how much he knows about 80s pop culture. It was overkill.

Books I read in 2019

I had several New Year's resolutions last year that didn't come to fruition, but I did manage to read 21 books (my goal was 20). I went mostly for bestsellers this year and was lucky enough to read several of them because it timed out that they were available on the "Hot Picks" shelf at the library when I was there. Here's the list...

1. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones - I honestly remember nothing about this book, but I think it was good?

2. Beautiful Boy by David Scheff - I haven't seen the Steve Carell movie, but the book was heartbreaking, especially if you have kids.

3. The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker - I loved this one. Again, having young children made parts of it difficult to read, but in general, very compelling.

4. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood - Not what I was expecting. I don't recommend.

5. Educated by Tara Westover - I read a couple non-fiction books this year and this one was fascinating.

6. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens - It seems like this was the book to read this year and I can see why. Heartbreaking and gripping all at once.

7. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn - They are apparently making this into a movie? I thought it was actually kind of predictable.

8. Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman - A good mystery.

9. The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff - Based off real-life accounts of women who operated radios and worked as spies during WWII, it was a good read.

10. The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian - His style has changed a little bit over time, but I don't hate the mystery path he's taken recently.

11. Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk - Typical Palahniuk.

12. Bad Blood by John Carreyrou - I found this non-fiction account of Elizabeth Holmes and her company Theranos to be FASCINATING.

13. Run Away by Harlan Conan

14. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead - President Obama recommended this book and I saw it on the bestsellers list, so I decided to check it out. Very sad.

15. Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - This book was so well-written that I was halfway through before I realized that it was a novel and not non-fiction. I loved it and wish the band was real so I could listen to their music!

16. The Institute by Stephen King - I like his recent work and this was a good story with a child protagonist.

17. Range by David Epstein - The big takeaway is that our kids should be well-rounded instead of focused on one particular discipline.

18. Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami - He is such a beautiful writer and these short stories were so poetic.

19. Do you Mind if I Cancel? by Gary Janetti - If you don't follow him on Instagram, start. This book was a hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking autobiography about growing up as a gay man in the 70s and 80s.

20. Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson - A story about 3 women who attended West Point and then followed different paths in the wake of 9/11, it took me awhile to get into this one, but it was great by the end.

21. The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian - This one meandered and took awhile to really get to the climax and it just wasn't my favorite by him.

Happy reading in 2020!