Books of 2020

I started keeping track of my reading in 2019, and I really enjoyed being able to look back and see what I'd read.  You can see my Books of 2019 wrap up here.  

While I'm a little disappointed to have read fewer books in 2020, we can all admit that 2020 was a little crazy, so I'm trying to extend myself some grace.  My total for the year was 62.  

I discovered that I read more in the winter.  I read 9 books in January, and 12 in December.  

I vastly prefer fiction to non-fiction, but I'm trying to read more non-fiction.  I read 12 non-fiction books in 2020.  Which is not great, but it's up from the 4 non-fiction books I read in 2019.  

Starting with non-fiction:  

Animal lovers, if you like cats, you might enjoy Dewey, and Dewey's Nine Lives, both by Vicki Myron.  If you like dogs, you might enjoy Until Tuesday, by Luis Carlos Montalvan.  

If you're interested in the military, you might like Inside Marine One, by Ray L'Heureux.

Are you a WW2 buff?  Have you read Blitzed - Drugs in the Third Reich, by Norman Ohler?  Eli suggested this one, and I was really glad I read it.  Super interesting.  My favorite was the advertising claiming that meth chocolates make housework more fun.  I'll bet they do.  

Up for a different sort of 9/11 story?  The Day the World Came to Town - 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland, by Jim Defede was an inspiring tale of a town coming together to feed and house literally thousands of displaced passengers, whose 38 planes were sent to small town Canada when the USA closed it's airspace.  

Brushing up on Black history?  How about Hidden Figures, by Margot Lee Stetterly, which helped open my eyes to the different experiences of blacks and whites during the space race time period.  The Other Madisons - The Lost History of a President's Black Family, by Bettye Kearse was also eye opening.  Books like these made me vaguely uncomfortable, in a good way.  Or Hidden in Plain View - A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, by Jacqueline Tobin.  

Fiction:  

 

Hidden in Plain View is actually the perfect segue to fiction, because I really enjoyed Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilts series, particularly the historical ones that deal with the Underground Railroad:  The Sugar Camp Quilt, The Lost Quilter, and The Union Quilter.  

I read the last couple books in the Shopaholic series, by Sophie Kinsella.  I kinda "love to hate" these books.  The main character is soooo shallow, but the books can make me laugh aloud.  

Speaking of laugh aloud, I read Twisted Twenty Six, and Fortune and Glory (27), as well as a couple lesser known novels by Janet Evanovich.  I refer to the numbers series as "junk food for the brain."  They are great, hilarious, escape reading.  

My most-read author of 2020 is Susan May Warren, with a total of 9 SMW books this year (up from 5 last year).  A couple of these were review books.  

Runner up for most-read is Joanne Fluke, with 5 books read this year, up from one last year.  

Honorable mention goes to Irene Hannon, with 3 books read this year and one last year.  Also, if you like her stuff, you'll enjoy Terri Blackstock, too.  Same niche.  I read one of hers this year, too.  

I still haven't finished The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes, started in 2019.  My copy is over 600 pages, so it's a little intimidating.  

In summary, I'm crazy grateful that our libraries have continued to function, via curbside pickup, during 2020's shenanigans.  While we were stuck at home/safe at home, books allowed us to travel the world, go on adventures, express feelings, and learn new things.  I don't have a specific number goal for reading in 2021, but I'm hoping my total, whatever it may be, is higher than the 62 I managed in 2020.