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.