These are the books I read this past year, 2020. For each book, I have listed whether it is Fiction (F) or Nonfiction (NF) and the number of stars I gave it, based on how much I liked the book. Five stars ***** means it was amazing and life-changing. One star * means probably don't bother with this one. I don't think I gave any book I read this year one star. Favorite books of the year are in bold type. I chose my favorite books based on how much I enjoyed them, how memorable they were and the impact they had on my life.
1. **** (F) The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
2. **** (F) The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
3. **** (NF) Option B by Sheryl Sandberg
4. **** (NF) The Road to Character by David Brooks
5. ** (F) Failsafe by Traci Hunter Abramson
6. ***** (NF) I Can Choose Joy With God by Ganel-Lyn Condie
7. **** (NF) The Big Short by Michael Lewis
8. *** (NF) Lessons from Madame Chic by Jennifer L. Scott
9. **** (NF) Failure to Thrive by Julie Ann Toomey
10. *** (NF) Negative Self-Talk and How to Change It
11. *****(F) The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
12. **** (NF) The Vanishing American Adult by Ben Sasse
13. *** (F) The Call of the Wild by Jack London
14. **** (NF) I Thought It was Just Me, (But it Isn't) by B. Brown
15. **** (F) The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg
16. **** (NF) Carry on, Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
17. *** (F) Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
18. ***** (NF) The Book of Mormon - Journal Edition
19. **** (F) The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
20. **** (NF) Nomadland: Surviving America... by J. Bruder
21. *** (NF) Prodependence by Robert Weiss
22. ***** (NF) Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
23. **** (NF) Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump
24. **** (NF) Done With the Crying by Sheri McGregor
25. **** (F) Here to Stay by Mark Edwards
26. **** (NF) Moroni's Guide to Surviving Turbulent Times
27. ***** (NF) Coca Cola, Hot Pants, Cancer...by Nancy Foote
28. **** (NF) City of Endless Night by Preston and Child
29. ***** (NF) How the Right Lost Its Mind by Charles Sykes
30. ***** (NF) The Rational Bible - Exodus by Dennis Prager
31. **** (F) Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
32. ***** (F) The Girls With No Names by Serena Burdick
33. **** (NF) Healing Family Relationships by Rob Rienow
34. **** (F) The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
35. *** (NF) How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps
36. ***** (NF) Estrangement of Parents by Their Adult Children
37. **** (NF) Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
38. **** (NF) All the President's Women by Levine and El-Faizy
39. *** (NF) Three Years in a Walmart Parking Lot by S. Waters
40. *** (F) Finding Noel by Richard Paul Evans
41. **** (NF) Estranged: Finding Hope... by J. Plagens
42. ** (F) The Noel Diary by Richard Paul Evans
43. ***** (NF) Come Follow Me for Individuals and Families
44. ***** (NF) Joyful Union: A Better and Stronger Marriage...
45. ***** (F) A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
46. **** (NF) For You Mom, Finally by Ruth Reichl
47. *** (NF) When Your Child Breaks Your Heart by B. Johnson
For me, 47 books was a new personal best in yearly reading. Of course, stay-at-home orders gave me more time to read than normal, but I would like to continue reading at this pace, if possible. I have set my reading goal for 2021 at 30 books, but hope to exceed that.
About 67% of the books I read in 2020 were nonfiction. That left 33% fiction. Of the nonfiction books I read, 12 were biographies/memoirs, 6 were religious, 6 dealt with the subject of relationships, 5 were of the self-improvement genre and 5 were political in nature. Of those that were political, 2 were could also biographical. In the coming year, I don't have any particular goal about the kinds of books I will read, but I would like to read a significant number of books that I already own. It felt like I purchased a lot of books this year (most from Amazon), and I do have a significant "to read" shelf all comprised of books that I really do want to read. Here are some other things I learned about my reading habits and preferences in 2020:
- I prefer paperbacks to hardbound books. They aren't so heavy to hold when reading.
- I like to mark meaningful passages and annotate in books - especially non-fiction.
- I prefer to have my own copy of book, rather than to use the library. There always seem to be long hold lists for the books I want to read and when the book is available, I am already reading something else I don't want to interrupt.
- I use the library mostly for books I am not sure I want to purchase.
- I am more likely to purchase a nonfiction book than a fiction book.
- I am reading more and more books on my Kindle, but I so far, I still prefer paper and ink books.
- I tend to read faster when I am reading on my Kindle.
For those blog friends who post about books, I am looking forward to reading about your 2020 year in books!
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