Coming up with my best books of 2020 was a bit challenging. 2021 will be way more robust in terms of what I devour, but let’s go ahead and work with what we have.
Even though I am an avid reader, the first few months of the year were a veritable dead zone of literature. With the accident, surgery, meds, and emotional recovery, I was literally unable to focus on anything. Words on a page blurred, ran together, and gave me a headache. There was a time I could barely concentrate on movies and TV, let alone the written word.
It was a sad, sad time.
But I’m back and reading and happy to share My Best Books of 2020! Here they are, in no particular order!
Where The Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens
Truthfully, I didn’t want to read this book. There was too much hype, and I couldn’t imagine liking it at all, let alone having it end up in my best books of 2020.
Where The Crawdads Sing is masterfully pieced together, and beautifully detailed. I love narration and the characters, even the ones who aren’t particularly likeable.
At the heart, this is a murder mystery, but to solve the crime, readers are treated to rich storytelling and a twisting, turning, looping plot with a stunning twist.
I would 100% read it again.
The Alice Network – Kate Quinn
A librarian friend suggested The Alice Network to me, and at first, I didn’t think I would really be into it. I was wrong.
Quinn writes of the women who trained to be part of a real-life spy network that infiltrated the enemy in 1915. We follow Charlie St. Clair on her quest to find her missing cousin in Nazi-occupied France, and meet Eve Gardiner, the terrifying and bitter woman she convinces to help her.
Of course, nothing is as it appears, Eve bears her own secrets of a hidden life long ago, and Quinn weaves the fabric of several timelines to follow the narratives of both women on their quest. I couldn’t put it down.
I loved it so much that I asked for The Huntress, another Quinn novel, for Christmas.
Such A Fun Age – Kiley Reid
This made my list of best books of 2020 after several recommendations from friends. According to Amazon, this “is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.”
In a time when I am trying to expand the authors I read, Such A Fun Age was a great way to start. Reid is a phenomenal storyteller, and presented the perspectives of both protagonists with eloquent clarity. There were many times when I felt pushed out of my comfort zone, and even unsettled by things happening in the plot, but ultimately, things ended in a way that made perfect sense, even if it wasn’t a happy ending for everyone.
The Testaments: A Novel (The Handmaid’s Tale) – Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood has long been one of my favorite authors, and The Handmaid’s Tale one of my favorite books.
With The Testaments, Atwood returns to give us a bit of the next piece of the story of Gilead since we last saw Offred, and what a story it is. Told from the perspective of three narrators (including Aunt Lydia!!!!), readers get first-hand accounts of all the corruption, betrayal, and lies that make up this horrifying, dystopian world.
It didn’t take me long to get through this novel. I was so excited to see how everything would come together in the very satisfying conclusion. Will there be more? Not even Atwood can say for sure, but I would be incredibly pleased to have another chapter in this incredible saga.
So What’s Next?
I have a fairly robust to-read list for the upcoming weeks.
- The Stand, by Stephen King
- Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
- Bring Up The Bodies, by Hilary Mantel
- The Mirror & the Light, by Hilary Mantel
- The Huntress, by Kate Quinn
- Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams (not pictured)
I finished The Stand a few days ago and am moving right along. And yes, I realize there aren’t any running or fitness books, but I’m just not in love with non-fiction. I have such limited reading time that I would rather fill it with beautiful (or grotesque) stories than realism.
Want to keep up with my progress? Follow me on GoodReads!
I am linking up with Kookyrunner and Zenaida this Tuesday for Tuesday Topics!
What are your favorite books of 2020? Have you read any of these?
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