I didn’t think that I had the time to write this but the kids are watching Wild Kratts and my husband is trying to figure out which local pizza place to get food from tonight. So alas, here I am to tell you about all the books I read in 2020.
2020 proved to be a good year for reading. For other people, that is. Not for me. All that spring quarantine stuff left me with so much kid time and 0 time for mental sanity.
How Many Books Did I Read in 2020?
All the above said, I did buy a ton more V.C. Andrews books and made myself a nice trash book / high heel bookshelf. But I had little time to read them. I finished the Casteel series and that was it.
In total, 2020 gave me the opportunity to finish 13 books. It’s not the 30 books that I managed to churn through last year, but 13 is a rather fitting number, considering all the bullshit that 2020 brought with it.
The List
Here are all the books I read this year:
- Monsters in Appalachia – Sheryl Monks
- The Paying Guests – Sarah Waters
- Ellen in Pieces – Caroline Adderson
- Fallen Hearts – V.C. Andrews
- Blackbirds – Chuck Wendig
- Gates of Paradise – V.C. Andrews
- The Dead Girls Club – Damien Angelica Waters
- The Family Upstairs – Lisa Jewell
- The Risen – Ron Rash
- The May Queen Murders – Sarah Jude
- Kens – Raziel Reid
- The Chosen One – Sarah Lynch Williams
- Web of Dreams – V.C. Andrews
- Against the Web – Michael Brooks
- Uncle Silas – J. Sheridan Le Fanu
- I’m From Nowhere – Lindsay Kerman
2020 Goals Achieved?
I referred back to my 2019 list and found this silly list of goals for this past year.
Read more indie authors (friends)(I fear a few more than usual, including Sheryl Monks, Damien Angelica Waters, and Lindsay Kerman.)- Read more Canadian literature (I only read 2 Canadian authors compared to 2019’s count of 4.)
- Read at least 35 books (lololololol)
Branch out in genre(I read some older stuff, a bit more literary, experimental stuff and some teen lit too. I really quite enjoy teen lit and do plan on seeking out more.)- Read at least TWO non-fiction books (The only non-fiction book I read was Michael Brooks’ Against the Web, which I read because it was short and Michael sadly passed this summer due to a sudden health issue.)
2020 Reading Takeaways
Allow me a moment to reflect on this year of reading:
I read new shit:
I tried new things and supported some writer friends by buying their books. For years my books always came off bestseller lists but it is nice to take the chance on new work. Granted, not all of my writer friends write work that I can fully appreciate it, but I do like new voices. I found them and supported some small presses along the way.
I found a new love:
Teen lit is kind of lit, honestly. I like being able to finish a book in a week while also enjoying the ride. I plan on reading more to bulk up my book load for next year.
I took on some bulky reads:
As for reading older works? I enjoy it, especially the gothic stuff, but holy shit, Uncle Silas took me OVER TWO MONTHS TO READ. Same goes for Sarah Waters’ The Paying Guests, which isn’t an older work but is a long book and takes place in an older time period. I’m counting it. I plan on being more sparing with longer books, not because I don’t enjoy them but because I’m not in the state of my life where I can properly appreciate them.
Most nights I literally just read 7 pages and fall asleep. The rest of my day is for work and shit.
I wasn’t horny:
For some reason I didn’t read ANY erotica?
I gave up on thrillers:
Funny how I bought quite a few but the only hyped thriller I dove into this year was Lisa Jewell’s The Family Upstairs, which sounded intriguing but ultimately let me down in the end, like they allllllllll do.
Don’t get me wrong, I still plan on reading them, but I’m so picky that I’d rather take chances on a lesser-known thriller like Damien Angelica Waters’ The Dead Girls Club, which I loved for it’s creepy factor and peak 90s aesthetic.
I didn’t read enough V.C. Andrews:
I’m sorry friends. I let you down. I have a nearly-finished review of the final book in the Casteel series on the way, though, and I’m currently reading this rare but obviously-cashing-in-on-Twilight standalone V.C. Andrews books right now and am kind of loving it so far? So I won’t let you down. In the meantime you can catch up on my back catalogue of V.C. Andrews reviews in clear anticipation.
2021 Goals
I failed this year and that’s okay. Now I can be a bit more realistic in 2021. Gonna keep it simple this year.
- Read more small press / friends’ books!
- Read at least TWO non-fiction books.
- Read more diverse voices.
- Reread a book! Any book!
How many books did you read in 2020?
Go on. Tell me. Any surprises? Loves? Loathes?
Have you ever reread a book? Because I haven’t and I know that’s kind of weird. Like, why have a bookshelf full of books you never read again?
The Comments
Emily Slaney
I managed to read 39 books this year, 21 of which were rereads – me and my mum did this big Robin Jarvis reread and discuss which was great fun, and that was 19 of the books for this year. The other two rereads are the first two books of Tana French’s Dublin murder squad, I have started 2021 rereading the 3rd book. I can’t believe you never reread 😮 there’s some much you can get from a story in retrospect! All the clues and hints, the stuff you’ve forgotten… Other than that plans for new books this year are: Tana French The Searcher, Courtney Summers The Project (if you’ve started reading YA now, you should consider checking her out), Tess Sharpe The girls I’ve been, Megan Abbott The Turnout (although none of her later books has ever blown me away like The end of Everything did) , and whatever else I discover throughout the year. New books I read and would recommend from 2020 are Ira Levin A kiss before dying, and Sliver (if you get the versions with introductions by other authors do NOT read them until after you have read the book, some of them have terrible spoilers!) And Chuck Palahniuk Consider This.