Books I Read in 2020

Back at the end of 2019 I thought to myself “I’ve read a lot of difficult, complex books. In 2020 I just want to read fun books!”

Then March happened. I actually couldn’t read at all for a few weeks, and when I started reading again I could barely focus on Star Wars books, let alone anything more serious. Thank goodness I had already planned to read only fun books.

I also did a fair amount of rereading favorite books, from The Portable Dorothy Parker to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and In the Time of the Butterflies. And I discovered a few new favorites, though all were by favorite authors – The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri), The Starless Sea (Erin Morgenstern), and The Testaments (Margaret Atwood).

And while I was disappointed by Garth Nix’s Keys to the Kingdom series (I only made it through Wednesday), as well as Bridget Collins’s The Binding (for which I had such high hopes!) there was not a single single-star book this year. Not bad for such a rough year!

Rating System

If you’re unfamiliar with my rating system, here’s how it works:

• * I couldn’t finish reading it, I hated it so much
• ** I finished the book, but I wish I had the hours back I spent on it
• *** It was about as expected, glad I read it but I wouldn’t recommend it
• **** I really enjoyed reading the book, and would definitely recommend it to others
• **** I MUST OWN THIS NOW! ! I want to reread it over and over and over

Looking for past years? Here’s 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012.

Books in 2020

Hoorah for a year of fun books!

• Heir to the Empire, by Timothy Zahn***
• Dark Force Rising, by Timothy Zahn***
• The Death of the Heart, by Elizabeth Bowen**
• The Last Command, by Timothy Zahn***
• The Portable Dorothy Parker, by Dorothy Parker***** (reread)
• The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri*****
• Magic for Liars, by Sarah Gailey****
• Red Harvest, by Dashiell Hammett***
• The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett****
• The Thin Man, by Dashiell Hammett***
• Bridge of Clay, by Markus Zusak***
• All Systems Red, by Martha Wells***
• Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison***
• The Water Dancer, by Ta Nehisi Coates***
• The Starless Sea, by Erin Morgenstern*****
• Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart, by Steven Bach***
• Specter of the Past, by Timothy Zahn***
• Vision of the Future, by Timothy Zahn***
• Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov**** (reread)
• The Real Lolita, by Sarah Weinman***
• Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik****
• The Old Republic: Revan, by Drew Karpyshyn***
• Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling***
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith (reread) *****
• We Ride Upon Sticks, by Quan Barry***
• Etiquette and Espionage, by Gail Carriger***
• Cheaper by the Dozen, by Frank Gilbreth****
• The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood*****
• Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston****
• Mister Monday, by Garth Nix***
• My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry, by Fredrik Backman****
• Grim Tuesday, by Garth Nix***
• Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor****
• Me and White Supremacy, by Layla Saad****
• The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O, by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland***
• Drowned Wednesday, by Garth Nix**
• Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes, by Stephen Sondheim***
• Survivor’s Quest, by Timothy Zahn***
• The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way, by Bill Bryson**
• Akata Warrior, by Nnedi Okorafor****
• Uncanny Valley: a Memoir, by Anna Wiener***
• Shade’s Children, by Garth Nix (reread)***
• Such a Fun Age, by Kiley Reid****
• Marjorie Morningstar, by Herman Wouk (reread)****
• Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo****
• How Long ‘Til Black Future Month, by N.K. Jemisin****
• Nonviolent Communication, by Marshall Rosenburg***
• The Keeper of Lost Things, by Ruth Hogan***
• Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi***
• Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, by Balli Kaur Jaswal***
• Crooked Kingdom, by Leigh Bardugo****
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning, by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds***
• The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John le Carré****
• The Binding, by Bridget Collins**
• Brothers and Sisters, by Diane Keaton***
• In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez***** (reread)
• Homage to Catalonia, by George Orwell***
• The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson***** (reread)