Books of 2020

Phew, what a year! Like many, I’ll be glad to see 2020 in the rear view mirror. But despite the pandemic, or more likely because of it, I was able to pack more reading into my life. Some truly amazing books were published this year and there’s no doubt the darkness of lockdowns and isolation have been a time of great creativity for some. Not me, but for some.

Although I didn’t get a lot of writing done, I’m not going to beat myself up about it. We’ve all responded differently to this new reality and I’ve struggled to regain my creative mojo. Instead I wanted to get lost in the stories of others. Here are the books of 2020 I filled my reading time with. Some were old favourites I came back to again, some were just old but new to me. Some were read for research purposes and some were recommended by fellow readers. Some were picked up and put back down. But always, they entertained, educated, inspired and lifted me up.
My favourite fiction of the year: Stones From the River by Ursula Hegi
My favourite non-fiction of the year: in Extremis: The Life & Death of War Correspondent Marie Colvin by Lindsey Hilsum
The book I recommend most: American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
The book I couldn’t put down: My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

The other contenders:
Where the Crawdads Sing by DeliaOwens
The Body in Question by Jill CimentTruth Be Told by Beverley McLachlin
Atomic Habits by James Clear
The Swiss, the Gold & the Dead by Jean Ziegler
The Hidden Child by Camilla Lackberg
The Boy Who Couldn’t Die by Rick Gillis
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Dual Citizens by Alix Ohlin
Under Occupation by Alan Furst
In Extremis: The Life & Death of War Correspondent Marie Colvin by Lindsey Hilsum
Shrewd: A Wry and Closely Observed Look at the Lives of Women & Girls by Elizabeth Renzetti
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
The Old Man Who Read Love Stories by Luis Sepulveda
Stones From the River by Ursula Hegi
Fortune’s Rocks by Anita Shreve
The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich
Art Lessons by Katherine Koller
The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Godmother by Hannelore Cayre
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Henricks & Sarah Pekkanen
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Successful Aging by Daniel J. Levitin
Catch & Kill by Ronan Farrow
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland
Lampedusa by Steven Price
Come From Away by Genevieve Graham
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Cottonmouths by Kelly J. Ford
The Traitors of Camp 133 by Wayne Arthurson
Snare by Lilja Sigurdardottir
Tangerine by Christine Manganese
Figment by C.W. Johnston
The Shadow Killer by Arnaldur Indridason
The Good German by Dennis Bock
The Swap by Robyn Harding
The Team of Five: The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump by Kate Anderson Brower
Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
A Good Neighbourhood by Therese Anne Fowler
Dear Evelyn by Kathy Page
No Great Mischief by Alexander MacLeod
All We Left Behind by Danielle R. Graham
The Ash Garden by Dennis Bock
Housekeeping by Marilynn’s Robinson
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Seven Lies by Elizabeth Kay
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurice
El Jefe, the Stalking of Chapo Guzman by Alan Fever
The Last High by Danielle Kalyan’s
The Chair by Rick Gillis
The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert
This Christmas might look less cheery than usual, but I hope you can find some small pleasures in the season. Take advantage of this window of less festivities and grab yourself some reading time. Maybe Santa will leave a book or two under your tree.
Merry Christmas my friends and thanks so much for allowing me to bring my reading & writing thoughts into your day. If you know anyone who might be interested in my blog, please pass it along and ask them to subscribe so they can get it straight to their inbox.
There’s a vaccine coming. Take it when it’s your turn. Keep wearing your mask and washing your hands. Above all, stay hopeful.
In the meantime, happy reading!
Joni