My Favourite Books of 2020 and 10 Hopefuls for 2021

 

Picking my favourite books of the year is never easy. I usually try to stick to a top 10, but this year I just couldn't do it. I had it narrowed my titles down to a dozen or so, but then it felt completely ridiculous to keep going back and forth to decide which books I liked just a little bit more than the others. I didn't want to judge them so much, and it felt entirely unfair to the authors. I read so many wonderful books this year, and I want to celebrate all of them. I read 90 books this year, and I made a stack of my Top 16 (in no particular order).

1. Our Darkest Night, Jennifer Robson

2. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse, Charlie Mackesy

3. Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman

4. The Forgotten Home Child, Genevieve Graham

5. One Good Reason, Sean Mccann and Andrea Aragon

6. The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown

7. The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones, Daven McQueen

8. Last Christmas in Paris, Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

9. Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

10. All Along You Were Blooming, Morgan Harper Nichols

11. Red, White, and Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston

12. The Year of the Witching, Alexis Henderson

13. Crescent City, Sarah J. Maas

14. Anxious People, Fredrik Backman

15. Magpie Murders, Anthony Horowitz

16. Greenwood, Michael Christie

In 2020, I read 10 less books than 2019, but according to Goodreads, I only read about 600 pages less. I definitely read bigger books this year! #thankslesmiserables. I find it particularly fascinating that I read less given the pandemic. I felt like I was reading more, but it turns out that wasn't the case.

In general, I'm quite pleased with what and how I read in 2020. I read so many incredible stories, I made progress on my unread shelves, I used the library a bit more often, and, while I know it can be better, I did read more Canadian authors and authors of colour this year than I ever have before.

A few more bookish stats (2019 numbers)

34% were published this year (39%)

29% were ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  reads for me (23%)

0.5% were rereads (0%)

17% were nonfiction (27%)

0.5% novellas (2%)

80% were by female authors (85%)

18% were by authors of colour (14%)

22% were by Canadian authors (20%)

0% books in French (2%)

Right now, I own 226 unread books. This year, I want to have as few reading commitments as possible (outside of my IRL book club.)

What I am keeping in my reading life for 2021:

*Focusing on my unread shelves

*Not setting a numerical goal for the year

*Seeking out compelling stories from BIPOC/LGBTQ+/Canadian authors

What I am focusing on in my reading life for 2021:

*Less reading challenges and buddy reads

*Discovering and reading more books in French

Reading from my unread shelves remains a priority for me and on that note, here are my top 10 TBR for 2021.

1. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna, Juliet Grames

2. What You Wish For, Katherine Center

3. Miracle Creek, Angie Kim

4. News of the World, Paulette Jiles

5. All Together Now, Alan Doyle

6. The Dovekeepers, Alice Hoffman

7. Transcendent Kingdom, Yaa Gyasi

8. The Pull of the Stars, Emma Donoghue

9. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, V.E. Schwab

10. The Fiery Cross, Diana Gabaldon

 

Have you set any reading goals for yourself this year? Tell me int the comments!

xo

Jenn