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Category: Art & Culture

2020 in Books

Here we are my friends, my annual book roundup.

I intentionally planned to be a bit slower at reading in 2020, because after a few years of upping my goal, I wanted it to be less about the number and more about enjoying books. (Though I will forever be the person who is jealous of book influencers who are able to read 150+ books a year.) Little did I know what a year it would be, and that I’d be in lockdown for months with a full-time job and a kid, meaning books were often not a high priority, and sometimes the only escapism I had the energy for was playing Animal Crossing.

However, we’re one day away from the end of the year, and I made it to my goal of 55 just last night. Those 55 books also fulfilled a lot of other goals, namely to read fewer white men and to read more People of Color. I did have a lot of authors from other countries, but another thing I’d like to aim for in 2021 is fewer American authors.

Here’s a little breakdown of numbers:

Authors: 58
Women Authors: 50
Non-Binary Authors: 2
Men Authors: 6
BIPoC Authors: 24
Books I Edited: 2
Books that Were Rereads: 0, though I read the books I edited more than once

Last year’s breakdown was 100 books, 71% of which were not written by men. This year, that percentage is 89%. Meanwhile, I wanted to read more BIPoC authors, and I went from 22% in last year to 41% this year. It’s still not at my target of at least 50%, but I’m getting there.

Here are the books I read, in chronological order, with my favorites (4 out of 5 stars or above) in bold.

The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani
In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
The Revisioners by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
Can You Feel This? by Julie Orringer
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Thinking in SwiftUI by Chris Eidhof, Florian Kugler
Coal to Diamonds by Beth Ditto
Girl by Edna O’Brien
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress by Rachel DeLoache Williams
All Adults Here by Emma Straub
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
Now I Climb Rocks by Liv Hambrett
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Self Care by Leigh Stein
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
Godshot by Chelsea Bieker
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Wives by Tarryn Fisher
Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities by Chen Chen
Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
Playful Parenting by Lawrence J. Cohen
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
High School by Tegan Quin, Sara Quin
The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, Survive Everyday Parenting Struggles, and Help Your Family Thrive by Daniel J. Siegel, Tina Payne Bryson
The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories by Danielle Evans
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad
Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future…: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned by Michael J. Fox
The Antifa Super-Soldier Cookbook by Matt Lubchansky
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell, Faith Erin Hicks

Want to see what I’ve read in years past? Here are my lists for 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014.

TL;DR: Here’s my Year in Books on GoodReads.

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