My 61 Books of 2020
Every year my goal is to read 50 books. Depending on the year I usually end up right around that mark. In 2020 I passed my fifty book milestone in October and have kept right on reading. Here is what I’ve been reading and some reflections on the books I’ve found most impactful in 2020.
Every book I read this year impacted my mood, my headspace, what I was thinking about, and how I view the world. We are an amalgamation of our thoughts and experiences and reading is always a big part of that for me, particularly this year when I spent more time alone and with my own thoughts.
Every book has your attention as you are reading it but some stay with you longer, dancing around the edges of your thoughts long after you have turned the last page. Some add a new tint to the lens through which you see the world. Here were some that stood out for me in 2020:
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
Hood Feminism really changed that why I think about and understand both feminism and racism. It gave me a more intersectional and integrative understanding of the interplay between gender, race, and socioeconomic stability. Kendall highlights the ways in which women of color are overlooked in our current systems and in doing so points out many things that I thought were progressive yet are unintentionally exclusive. NPR wrote a great summary that does a better job than I could of highlighting Kendall’s points. The fact that it was so eye-opening is an indication of how much more work I need to do to be a better, more intersectional feminist and ally.
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
A friend sent me an interview Jia Tolentino did back in July that resonated so strongly with me that I immediately read her entire essay collection titled Trick Mirror which blew my mind repeatedly. Her thoughts on the social internet and marriage really rang true to me. Really on-point cultural criticism.
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
Did you know that caffeine has a half-life of seven hours?? This book blew my mind and made me extremely anxious all at the same time. Despite how often sleep is discussed and lauded, I had never really dug into the science previously. Walker, a research neuroscientist, explains sleep science and what happens when we sleep. He goes into the positive benefits of sleep as well as the numerous and terrifying side effects of not getting enough sleep. I was stunned to learn about research suggesting that if you don't get enough sleep before getting a vaccine it is less likely to be effective, a detail that stuck with me during this pandemic. After reading it I have been making a consistent effort to give myself at least nine hours of “sleep opportunity” as Walker calls it aka time in bed that I could be sleeping. But I’ve also gotten extremely anxious when I don't get enough sleep, now knowing the irrevocable damage I’m doing to both my brain and the rest of my body. I’ve stopped drinking coffee after 9 am and switched to decaf or part decaf a lot of the time. Really interesting science, worth the read.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel and The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
Both Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel and The Testaments by Margaret Atwood were unnerving to read during 2020. They were probably not the smartest to read during a global pandemic but perhaps the setting made them all the more vivid. Station Eleven is a novel about a “Georgia flu” pandemic that rips around the globe and leaving only a scant number of people behind to fend for themselves. It was startling to read early on in the pandemic despite being a good reminder that things could be worse it mostly served to heighten my stress and anxiety. Atwood brought one of my nightmares to life in The Testaments even more so than in A Handmaid’s Tale. As I feared for the future of the American democracy this fall I had flashbacks to how I crafted Gilead in my head. I’m thankful I’ve had the self-control not to watch either movie.
Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
I loved this quick read. I was so happy for Alex and Henry in this novel that I read it twice. It brought me so much joy to imagine a world where a Latina single mom is president and young gay romance is celebrated. It was fun to get lost in this book and imagine a different, more hopeful world.
Overall reading was a great escape for me this year. I'm thankful for all of the things I learned from these books and the opportunity I had to slow down and enjoy them. Here are all of the books grouped by topic and numbered by the order that I completed them:
Some books about pandemics and the state of the world (4):
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
The Pull of Stars by Emma Donoghue
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Some books with race as a major theme (10):
All of these were excellent, thought-provoking, and moving. I highly recommend them all.
The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehsi Coates
How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones
So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women the Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Some books about other people’s lived experience (4):
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
Some books about science (4):
Let it Rot!: The Gardener’s Guide to Composting by Stu Campbell
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker
The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson
Lots of novels just for fun (25):
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
Little Big Lies by Liane Moriarty
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Agency by William Gibson
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
Chances Are… by Richard Russo
Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
The Books of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell
Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen
Skin Tight by Carl Hiaasen
All Adults Here by Emma Straub
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
The Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes
Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves
Native Tongue by Carl Hiaasen
Too many Michael Connelly mystery novels (14):
The Reversal by Michael Connelly
The Drop by Michael Connelly
The Black Box by Michael Connelly
The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly
The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly
The Burning Room by Michael Connelly
The Crossing by Michael Connelly
The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly
The Late Show by Michael Connelly
Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly
Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly
The Night Fire by Michael Connelly
Fair Warning by Michael Connelly
The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly
All thoughts are my own. This piece was not sponsored by anyone and I receive no benefit for promoting these books.
