2020 Year-End Wrap-Up
Another year of reading has come to an end. This year has been different, that’s for sure! At the beginning of the pandemic, I had a lot of trouble calming my mind enough to concentrate on reading. I stayed up way too late every night working on puzzles and then always felt like a tired zombie the next day. Add to that a baby and distance learning for my three older kids and I’m surprised I read a single book! I got my mojo at least part of the way back over the summer – just in time for the baby to get mobile and into everything. I was able to read a bit, although I still spend way too much time doom scrolling. Cutting that out will be a New Year’s Resolution for sure.
All right – let’s get to the wrap-up!
How many books read in 2020?
I read 37 books.
How many fiction and non-fiction?
I read 14 non-fiction and 23 fiction books in 2020. Of the 14 non-fiction books, 9 were memoirs. I’d like to read more non-memoir non-fiction in 2o21.
Male/Female author ratio?
I read 28 female authors compared to 9 male authors. It’s usually a more even split for me but I’m fine with reading more women authors!
Favorite book of 2020?
I read a lot of really good books this year but if I had to choose one favorite it would be Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.
Least favorite?
I didn’t hate it but I definitely had mixed feelings about The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.
Any that you simply couldn’t finish and why?
I didn’t finish Flights by Olga Tokarczuk and Apeirogon by Colum McCann. They are both award-winning books but neither one clicked for me. I gave each about 100 pages before throwing in the towel. I feel like that was a decent try. Neither is included in my total read for the year.
Oldest book read?
I didn’t read any classics this year – which I will remedy in 2021. One of my book club’s February 2021 pick is The Age of Innocence. I’m the host that month so I’ll read and finish it for sure. Back to 2020 – the oldest book I read was Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie which was published in May of 2013.
Newest?
I read a lot of books that were published in 2020. I’m not sure which one was the absolute latest.
Longest and shortest book titles?
The longest title was Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult That Bound My Life. The shortest was Luster by Raven Leilani.
Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author?
I read three books by Abbi Waxman: The Garden of Small Beginnings, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill and I Was Told it Would Get Easier.
I reread Leah Remini’s Trouble Maker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology to refresh my memory because it was a pick for one of my book clubs and I first read it a few years ago. I reread The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey (also to refresh my memory!) before I read the prequel, The Boy on the Bridge.
Favorite character of the year?
My favorite real-life person was Jenny Lawson. She is second only to David Sedaris in terms of the laugh out loudness of her books. My favorite fictional character was Nina from The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.
I went to Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, the Korean island of Jeju, India, England, France, Cuba and Bangladesh.
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. I asked my friend Kelly to recommend a book I could have my book club read because the women in it have read almost everything and I was stumped. Kelly has read over 100 books this year so I knew she’d have a good recommendation!Which author was new to you in 2020 that you now want to read the entire works of?
Clearly, it was Abbi Waxman! I’ve now read three of the four books she’s written.
Which books are you annoyed you didn’t read?
I’m annoyed that I didn’t read the parenting books I’ve been meaning to read. I started one on dyslexia but haven’t finished it. I have a book about how to help your kid choose a college on my shelves that I keep meaning to read as well. I think I’m in denial that I need to read it but my oldest son is halfway through his sophomore year of high school and his younger brother is only one year behind him so I need to get on it! Parenting books aren’t nearly as fun to read as other books though…
Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?
I actually read a couple of books from the depths of my bookshelves. After watching the Netflix series The Last Dance, I was inspired to read Phil Jackson’s Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. I haven’t unpacked all of my books from when we moved three years ago and had to dig through several boxes before I found it. I also pulled The Art of Fielding off my shelves when it was my turn to choose one of my book club’s next reads. Then it turned out no one liked it very much – including me! Fortunately, it was only $1 at a used book sale. Unfortunately, it was over 500 pages!
That’s my year of reading in a nutshell. I’d love to hear about yours!
