Books I Read in 2020 (Part One)

As an adult, the amount of books I read each year tends to dwindle. Who has the time? Do people lose their brains as they age? I’d read less than 5 books a year, if I was lucky.

The book lover in me is over the moon with the extra time to read this year as a result of being home more due to the pandemic. I’m averaging around a book a month and would love to read even more than that for the second half of this strange year.

I love sharing good reads with others, so I thought I’d share the books I read this year with all of you!

Here are all of my reads from January-July 2020 🙂

A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve

A Wedding in December is about a group of friends who attended boarding school together in their teenage years and reunite in adulthood for a wedding. They learn about these new, older versions of one another while reminiscing about things of the past. Secrets come to the surface.

While it is a good book, I found it slightly anticlimactic. It primarily circles around these characters more than anything else plot-wise. I normally love Anita Shreve, but I would recommend reading Fortune’s Rocks or Testify over this one.

Jeremy Poldark (Book 3) by Winston Graham

I’ve been reading the Poldark series after watching the show a couple of years ago. I recently rewatched the show, so things in the plot get muddled in my mind between the book and the adaptation. The majority of this book takes place around a trial. Reading the trial segments were a slog to get through at times (much like the parts when he goes in depth about mining). It was not my favorite out of the series thus far, but if you enjoy the television show, you will enjoy a read through of the series.

A Mother’s Secret by T J Stimson

If you love a good mystery/thriller with an unreliable narrator, this book is for you! A mother’s secret is about a family who experiences tragedy and a whodunnit in it’s own way. The book throws plenty of curve balls just when you think you’ve figured it all out. I found myself wrong on several occasions and was kept on my toes. This one was hard to put down!

INFJ Handbook by Michelle Hobbs

I’m fascinated by personality types and how eerily accurate they can be. A friend got me this book for Christmas because INFJ is my Meyers-Briggs personality classification. It is one of the rarest types and I struggle finding people I honestly relate to, so I enjoyed reading more about it. I had fun highlighting all the parts I found spot on for myself! If you’re also into these types of things, I’d suggest picking up a copy and reading more about your own type.

When We Believed in Mermaids – Barbara O’Neil

This is the story of a woman named Kit whose sister passed away in a terrorist attack in Paris fifteen years ago. Then, Kit swears she sees her sister on the news. She sets out to find her while learning more about herself along the way and unearthing memories of the past.

I powered through this book and it did not unfold quite as I expected. It’s a bit of a mystery with some family history and romance tied in. An intriguing yet quick read!

Manacled – a fanfiction by SenLinYu

Okay, okay…this one is a fanfiction BUT a 77 chapter long one. It’s Harry Potter fanfiction in my favorite pairing of Dramione (Draco/Hermione for you muggles out there). It is honestly the best fanfiction I have read so far and writing this has me itching to read it again.

The story is told from Hermione’s point of view and starts on a premise that feels inspired by Handmaid’s Tale. Hermione has a secret locked away in her mind that she doesn’t remember and becomes an enslaved surrogate in Voldemort’s program in his effort to obtain that secret. After the initial inspiration, however, the similarities veer off into a dark and enthralling story set in an alternate timeline during/after the second Wizarding War.

It’s heartbreaking, it’s moving, it feels true to the characters, and had me feeling all sorts of emotions by the end. Words cannot describe how incredible this read was, but be warned, it is a dark story and some scenes may be triggering.

Looking For Alaska by John Green

I previously read this book over seven years ago, but wanted to check out the adaptation on Hulu and decided to read it again. It is about a young awkward boy named Miles who decides to go to boarding school in order to seek what he calls his “great perhaps”. He develops friendships that will become family, particularly fickle Alaska Young, who will change his life forever.

You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you’ll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.

John Green – Looking for Alaska

I didn’t relate as much as an older adult compared to the first time I read the book, but I love the character development and how it showed just how much one person can affect the lives of many.

Currently Reading: A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

I’m currently reading the 6th Outlander book and am about 300 pages into the 1400+ page beast! I’m excited to see where Jamie and Claire’s story takes them next.

My goals for the rest of the year are to read more than seven additional books books. I also hope to introduce some educational books on topics I’m interested in to continue learning. Knowledge is power, right?

What are you reading right now? What’s the best book you’ve read this year? I’m always looking for new reads!