Well I’m finally getting my 2020 year-end stats and list out. It was an unprecedented year with the pandemic and millions of lives lost around the globe and with a White House that worked to overturn a democratic election. It’s been disturbing, shocking, and upsetting to say the least. And now today I’m watching an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol with a mob in the Rotunda and the Chambers. This is outrageous. It’s come to this.
Which leads me to wonder how I was able to concentrate enough this year to surpass my reading goal of 60 books, but it’s probably because of all the lockdowns and cancellations — there was not much open or places to go. My part-time tournament officiating job was shutdown … and I eventually picked up a freelance gig in November to review some books, which ended up boosting my reading towards the end of 2020. It helped too that Biden/Harris won the election in early November, which was a great relief. Let’s just hope there’s no more political violence in the U.S. in the weeks ahead.
As for which books were my favorites — there were many good ones that took me away to faraway places and stories. I narrowed down my picks to 11 novels and 7 nonfiction books from a long list of ones I enjoyed and reviewed. While Stella, at left, was more interested in playing with her kangaroo.
I think it was Australian author Charlotte McConaghy’s novel “Migrations,” which I finished late in the year … that sort of captured the global times and general feelings for me this year — so I’ll pick that one as my favorite novel of 2020 — and Nina Willmer’s 2016 book “Forty Autumns: A Family’s Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall as my favorite nonfiction read … since it taught me quite a bit about life during the Cold War. My big sagas of the year were Min Jin Lee’s novel “Pachinko” and Rebecca Makkai’s “The Great Believers” — both of which I was very pleased to finally get to. Let me know what you think of my lists below and whether you liked some of these as well.
67 books finished
18 nonfiction, 49 fiction
13 male authors, 54 women authors
35 print or ebooks
32 audiobooks
15 Non-white authors
50 American authors
5 Asian born/raised authors
3 British authors
3 Canadian authors
2 Irish authors
1 Africa born/raised author
1 Polish author
1 German author
1 Australian author
Favorite Fiction
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy (2020)
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (2017)
Long Bright River by Liz Moore (2020)
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (2020)
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (2016)
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (2012)
Sea Wife by Amity Gaige (2020)
The Innocents by Michael Crummey (2019)
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai (2018)
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (2020)
Writers & Lovers by Lily King (2020)
Favorite Nonfiction
- Forty Autumns: A Family’s Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall by Nina Willner (2016)
- She Came to Sleigh: The Life & Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar (2019)
- She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey (2019)
- A Bookshop in Berlin by Francoise Frenkel (1945)
- Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment by Jeanne Wakatsuki & James D. Houston (1973)
- Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road by Kate Harris (2018)
- The Yellow House: A Memoir by Sarah M. Broom (2019)
Favorite Audiobooks
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy (read by Barrie Kreinik)
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (read by Marin Ireland)
Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha (read by Greta Jung, Glenn Davis)
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (read by Kimberly Farr)
Long Bright River by Liz Moore (read by Allyson Ryan)
Sea Wife by Amity Gaige (read by Cassandra Campbell)
The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett (read by Shayna Small)
The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali (read by Mozhan Marno)
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (read by Traci Kato-Kiriyama)
Categories:
Post-Apocalyptic / Dystopian / or Speculative Novels
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy (2020)
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (2020)
The New Wilderness by Diane Cook (2020)
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (1994)
A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet (2020)
Pandemic or Plague Novels
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue (2020)
The End of October by Lawrence Wright (2020)
The Second Sleep by Robert Harris (2020)
Memoirs
The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom (2019)
Already Toast: Caregiving & Burnout in America by Kate Washington (2021)
Assume Nothing: A Story of Intimate Violence by Tanya Selvaratnam (2021)
Classics
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (1962)
Coming of Age Novels
Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett (2019)
Writers & Lovers by Lily King (2020)
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (2016)
The German House by Annette Hess (2019)
Debut Novels
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (2016)
The New Wilderness by Diane Cook (2020)
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary (2019)
What’s Left of Me Is Yours by Stephanie Scott (2020)
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby (2020)
The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar (2018)
The Falling Woman by Richard Farrell (2020)
Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel (2009)
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (2019)
The Cactus League by Emily Nemens (2020)
The German House by Annette Hess (2019)
Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett (2019)
Crime & Popular Fiction Novels:
These Women by Ivy Pochoda (2020)
Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha (2019)
Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby (2020)
You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen (2020)
The Holdout by Graham Moore (2020)
What’s Left of Me Is Yours by Stephanie Scott (2020)
Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger (2019)
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (2020)
Long Bright River by Liz Moore (2020)
The Holdout by Graham Moore (2020)
The Falling Woman by Richard Farrell (2020)
Literary & Contemporary Fiction:
I Give It to You by Valerie Martin (2020)
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (2017)
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich (2020)
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (2020)
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai (2018)
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (2012)
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (2020)
Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld (2020)
Sea Wife by Amity Gaige (2020)
Heft by Liz Moore (2012)
Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel (2009)
Heat & Light by Jennifer Haigh (2016)
The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar (2019)
The Topeka School by Ben Lerner (2019)
The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy (2019)
The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary (2019)
Monogamy by Sue Miller (2020)
The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali (2019)
Prairie Fever by Michael Parker (2020)
The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve (2017)
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (2019)
Separation Anxiety by Laura Zigman (2020)
A Keeper by Graham Norton (2019)
A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier (2019)
You read an impressive number of books. You also read a lot of books that seemed good.
I am a bit jealous of your reading.
Happy reading in 2021!
Hey thanks Brian. Yeah 67 books is the most I’ve completed in a year before … so I guess I was a bit pleased … though I’m not totally caught up in the numbers. I did enjoy much of the quality, which I thought was quite good. Anyways happy reading to you as well in 2021!
I love posts like this and your favorite nonfiction, Forty Autumns, has been on my TBR list for a while so thank you for reminding me about it. Today’s events were embarrassing and horrific. What the hell has the US come to?!
Happy New Year!
Hey thanks Helen. I tried to make some sense of what books & which authors I picked up this past year, which is always a bit interesting.
And yeah the Capitol attacks were really disturbing yesterday — I’m still trying to process it all … I’d like another impeachment! Happy reading to you.
Such great lists and many of your faves are ones I enjoyed as well. Others from your list are ones I plan to read. The only book, I had abandoned from your list was The Great Believers. I just couldn’t get into the story for some reason. I actually tried twice and ended up donating it with no regrets .
Yesterday was disgusting, an embarrassment.
Hope 2021 is a better year for all of us.
Thanks Diane … I know you’ve read many of these books …. I’ll be honest that The Great Believers was not an easy book for me … it jumps around a bit and takes awhile to attach to the characters … but I eventually was wowed by some vivid passages over loss and the AIDS crisis and by the characters of Fiona and Yale. It took me a long while to get through the book!
Happy 2021 to you! It must get better from here.
I love how many debut novels you read last year! I don’t usually track that metric but feels good to try. And oh yeah, pandemic/plague novels have claimed their own spot, haven’t they? I don’t think I read any last year but I do have a few lined up for this year.
Kudos to you for surpassing your reading goals! Hope 2021 is a great one too.
Thanks Athira … yeah I was surprised actually by all the debut novels that I picked up — which I didn’t realize at the time, who knew?! I like them though … they always seem to have an energy & freshness about them. I like finding new authors! And I think there will be more pandemic & dystopian books to come this year, which I might grab if I’m not too burnout on it all by then. Happy reading to you in 2021!
Impressive list. So much nonfiction… If only I could! I put Migrations on this year’s reading per your endorsement. I read only 22 books–not including the 2 DNF, which I read a lot of before casting them aside. That’s twice my total in the last two years. Three were above 500 pages, and three more flirted with the 500 page range. Sixteen (16) out 22 I rated 4* or higher. My favorite were Every Note Played by Lisa Genova, Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, and The New Girl (Gabriel Allon # 19) by Daniel Silva.
BTW, Stella looks adorable with her fluffy friend beneath. 🙂
Thanks Carmen, great to hear from you. Stella is just funny about her Kanga.
You too had a great year of reading … and I was impressed by the long ones you read … which I’m often not good at. I like hearing the three picks you mention which sound excellent (I’ve read one of Genova’s so I should pick up this one as well). I usually don’t read much nonfiction but this new freelance gig has me reading memoirs which boosted those totals. It seems like if your books were 4 stars & above then you really liked the ones you picked up … good going on your selections! quality reads. Happy reading to you in 2021!
I’ve read four of your fiction faves. I am with you. I don’t know how I made my goal (passed it by 4) when I did zero reading from March -May. Or, at least it felt like it. And then that election knocked me off the rails too. And yesterday’s coup at the Capitol took me away from a nice picnic and afternoon of reading. I was in totally oblivion and then my husband and son texted me separately about what was going and poof, there went my afternoon.
I am not reading quickly into the new year but enjoying what I am reading between The Memory Police and The Overstory.
That’s great Ti — I’m glad you had a good reading year … and you picked up a lot of great ones. I need to read The Overstory too so I’ll be interested to know what you think of it. I did like The Memory Police, which gets a bit odd for sure. I’m hoping things will get back to normal once Biden/Harris are inaugurated. I was so alarmed by yesterday’s events. It was totally hard to think about anything else — like it’s so often been like for the entire 4 years of 45’s administration. Just glad he’ll be gone. Happy reading to you in 2021!
Looks like quite a year of reading. I got a lot of great stuff read too. I’m planning on reading Migrations either this month or next. And I’m currently reading The Snow Child which I’m loving.
I also hope there’s no more violence. I hope you have a great week despite all the craziness.
Thanks Heather, so glad you are liking The Snow Child … that was a good read for me — and happened when I was in 14 day travel quarantine so I needed it! You read a lot this year and I was impressed by all your nonfiction. Hoping things will calm down in the world and we can all have good reading years in 2021. It’s starting off crazy. take care.
I do love the picture of Stella and the kangaroo and I’m impressed with your list of books, especially with the number of nonfiction books read. My list of nonfiction books was severely lacking last year. I’m determined to try to improve on that this year. I read a lot of wonderful books in 2020, but I think that Migrations may have been my favorite. It certainly had a powerful impact on me.
Hi Dorothy, Wow that’s pretty cool if we both pick Migrations as our top pick. I too thought it was moving. You read so many novels this year – one’s I haven’t gotten to – so I’m glad you vetted those for us. Good luck on your nonfiction goal – they seem to take longer for me to read than novels … though a lot of mine were memoirs, which aren’t as dense as histories etc. Happy reading to you in 2021!
You read many books that I did, many that I liked or loved. One of my reading groups will discuss Migrations this month. Looking forward to that. You also read some I wanted to read but didn’t get to.
I have not posted for almost a week, though I have been reading.
The stuff going on in America right now has got me feeling pretty low. Waiting for that day when I can bounce back.
Yeah Judy, it’s been a really hard week to come to grips with what happened and is going on — so it’s understandable. It was scary & very disturbing to see.
I’m glad we liked many of the same books … though you got to so many more ones that I still need to get to – I’m glad for your reviews. We will see what 2021 reading brings — I’m not sure I have a plan or real focus yet … but I will plow on with the same kind of mix of backlist & new etc. Wishing you a great reading year ahead!
You are a guide for me to good books, especially good novels, and I thank you for that.
Migrations was one of my favorite reads of last year. I will look for Forty Autumns and I still hope to read Leave the World Behind. Did you consider Weather by Jenny Offill?
I find myself stepping back a bit from contemporary fiction and nonfiction, and taking on stories from the past. I think it’s my way of exploring ideas of great importance while also reminding myself that we have always had horrible days, months, years, and horrible individuals, peoples, civilizations, and that we have always had wonderful days, months, years, and wonderful individuals, peoples, civilizations.
Thanks Deb, kind of you to say – we seem to get ideas on books to read from one another. And yeah I can see how stepping away from contemporary fiction & nonfiction would appeal. Perhaps I will look for more variety or a mix this coming year. Glad you liked Migrations. I tried Offill’s Weather but didn’t finish it – which perhaps was just me at the time – I know others really liked it. Hope you are off to a good reading start in 2021!
I’m beyond ready for Trump to go away. I’m tired! Everybody is tired! I’m glad you read some awesome books last year. The Great Believers is one I want to read. I can never find a cheap copy when I have money.
Hi AJ … thanks it was a decent reading year somehow — despite of all the bad that was going on in the world. We were locked in our houses. It seems I had thought about reading The Great Believers forever before I finally took the plunge. It’s not exactly an easy book to get through (took me awhile!) … its storyline has a lot of dialogue & atmosphere & loss of those days but not a ton of action … but I thought it was quite notable nonetheless. Check it out if you get a chance.
I’ve been looking forward to your list! Especially thrilled to see Forty Autumns as your nonfiction fave – it was mine a few years ago. Several favorites on your fiction list as well. The Snow Child and Writers & Lovers are must reads for 2021. You had an excellent year despite all of the challenges we faced.
Hey thanks JoAnn: great to hear from you! Yeah Forty Autumns really hit the mark for me – & I’m sure I read it b/c of your high praise & review of it. I actually learned quite a bit from the story, which was heartbreaking in many regards. I don’t know how this year’s reading will go but we will see. Happy New Year to you! I hope you like The Snow Child. & Writers & Lovers. Hmm.
This is my favorite kind of post! Thank you for helping me add more great books to my TBR list. I’ve considered nominating Migrations to my book group since it’s been on so many “Best Of” lists. I’ve already read Forty Autumns and Pachinko (which you liked better than I), but Great Believers is in my audiobook queue. I may nudge that one up. The Vanishing Half is another consideration for my book group, as is Leave the World Behind. I loved The Snow Child (which made my list this year, too) and I gave my mom a copy of Writers & Lovers, so I’m eager to borrow it once she’s finished. Oooh, and Olive Again is on my audio list and Monogamy is on my bookcase. I need more hours in my life!!
Ugh. Yes, the insurrection at the Capitol was outrageous. I am appalled, angry and sad. I guess it was too much to ask that 2021 be an improvement over 2020. I wonder if we’ll ever feel like life has settled down…
In other news, Stella and her kangaroo are adorable.
Thanks Lesley, Stella is our lightness in today’s world. The news this week was appalling so somehow we need to rise above. I’m glad you like these kinds of posts — sometimes I’m curious to see what happened in my reading over the year — as I don’t really plan – I just try to pick up a mix of light & heavier reads etc. Just to warn you a little that The Great Believers audio takes some perseverance. It took me weeks & concentration to get through it … it’s not “easy” but it has its moments & really hit a mark on the AIDs epidemic etc. I’m glad you liked The Snow Child ! just a great/nice story. We all need my reading hours in our days. Ha. Have a great week!
What a great year of reading! I loved The Great Believers too. Yale is one of my all-time favorite characters. I wanted to reach into the book and hug him.
Hey thanks Rachel. Yeah I agree Yale is a memorable character in The Great Believers … it’s thru him (and Fiona) the whole story comes to life … and all the loss of his friends … Yale has to navigate through. It is quite a sad story that marks so well the AIDs era. Thx for stopping by, hope your week is good. take care.
Congratulations on all of your 2020 reading and great reviews. You know how much I liked Migrations, too — definitely top of the list in 2020, but might be edged out by Hamnet for me. You definitely need to put that on your 2021 list — I would love to read your review. Strange to call it a lovely read (or listen in my case) since it is so sad, but I would read it again, for sure. And I don’t re-read too many books! It was interesting to see your reading “stats.” The male/female author one jumped out at me. Are we, as women, drawn to reading more books (especially fiction) by female authors, are there more of them or was it an especially good year for women authors? Hmmm. On that note, I am glad you included She Said, which I read last year. The reporting and the tenacity of the writers is as incredible as the story itself — a real accomplishment.
Adorable photo of Stella! Happy 2021 Reading!!
Hey thanks Sarah. Yeah the book She Said was such a fierce & brave reporting effort. And I guess I think we are drawn to female authors more, though I try to read whatever is held in highest regards by others. So it seems to me women authors are on a roll these days … with their quality of books coming out. We often like strong female protagonists too. Hmm. I definitely want to get to Hamnet sometime in these early months. I’m looking forward to it. Happy reading to you too in 2021. There’s so much to pick up.
That is a seriously awesome amount of books 🙂 There are several I want to read in there but the only one I read, Pachinko, I loved very much !
Hey thanks Iza, 67 books is about what I can handle per year. And yeah Pachinko was a winner. I’m glad you liked it too. Have a great week.