Happy Wednesday, friends! My next two “Best of 2020” posts are some of my favorites to compile because I’m talking all about reading! I finished 2020 with a staggering 153 books read, a number I didn’t even think was possible. (I remember following a Bookstagrammer who was trying to hit 150 books a few years ago and thought she was CRAZY.) This year, instead of listing out my top 10 books of the year, I thought I would do things a little differently. On the year-end podcast episode for Sarah’s Bookshelves Live, Sarah and a guest discussed some of their favorite reads by listing out their overall favorites, their favorites by category, and some fun superlatives. I couldn’t help but play along myself! I hope you have as much fun reading this as I did compiling all of my favorites. 🙂
OVERALL FAVORITES
Favorite Overall Book
The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall
It was difficult to name my favorite book of the year because I read so many great books, but I kept coming back to The Dearly Beloved. It was a book that took me by surprise at how much I loved it. I went through a major book slump after I finished it because it was a book that perfectly met my reading needs at a time when I needed the escape (I read it early on in the pandemic). I loved the exploration of faith, and how differently each character came to think about religion. I loved the time period of the novel—the 50s through the 80s—and the writing. I will read everything Cara Wall writes!
Favorite Fiction
Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova
This book wrecked me. It’s about Joe, a father of four who is diagnosed with Huntington’s disease. All of his children have a 50/50 chance of having the disease themselves and they have to decide whether or not to get tested. The book mainly follows the youngest child, Katie, as she tries to deal with this new reality and considers the benefits and drawbacks of getting tested for Huntington’s. And it follows Joe as his symptoms get worse and worse and how that affects his marriage, his children, and the way he sees himself.
Favorite Nonfiction
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
I loved the way this book broke down common racial issues, such as micro-aggressions, the “N” word, affirmative action, and the model minority myth. Oluo has a frank, accessible writing style, and this is a book I would confidently place in the hands of anyone. I think we could all learn a lot from her.
Favorite Romance
Lucy Parker is an auto-buy romance author for me. Her books are perfect in every way, and this book was no different. It had witty dialogue, a super sexy buildup to the relationship, and a fun mystery thrown into the mix. I also loved that there was no dark moment—every time the characters were close to a miscommunication, they simply talked to each other and cleared everything up. I really liked that!
FAVORITES BY CATEGORY
Favorite Literary Fiction
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
This was one of the first books I finished in 2020, and it was excellent. It provides a clear look into the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and the way its effects reverberated throughout family lines in the years since. A difficult read, but an important one.
Runner-up: Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Favorite Contemporary Fiction
Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson
I loved this book so very much! It follows three women who meet at West Point and how their lives diverged afterward. There’s a twist near the end that shattered me (it’s alluded to in the first chapter, so I don’t think this is spoiler-y), and I can’t stop thinking about this book and the way it made me feel, even nearly a year later!
Runner-up: Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
Favorite Historical Fiction
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Just like everyone else in the world, I loved this novel and went through a huge reading slump after finishing it. Nothing else could compare to it! It was such a fun look at Old Hollywood and I loved the twist at the end.
Runner-up: Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Favorite Contemporary Romance
Applied Electromagnetism by Susannah Nix
Susannah Nix is a hit-or-miss author for me (I read two other books of hers in 2020 and gave them 3 stars), but this one was SUCH a hit! It’s an enemies-to-lovers romance that has witty banter, great chemistry, and beautiful vulnerability. I loved this one!
Runner-up: Love on Lexington Avenue by Lauren Layne
Favorite Historical Romance
Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean
Sarah MacLean is always someone I can count on for a well-written, feminist historical romance. While they may not be totally realistic about time and place, they are still super fun to read. And the scenes between the two main characters in this novel just delighted me to no end.
Runner-up: The Governess Game by Tessa Dare
Favorite YA
Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
Perhaps this is recency bias, as this was the last book I finished in 2020 and it gave me all of the happy, mushy feels, but this was such an excellent YA novel. It deals with hard themes—grief, death of loved ones, overdose—but at the heart of the novel is a sweet love story between two teenagers. I read this in less than 24 hours and adored every page!
Runner-up: The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
Favorite Mystery/Thriller
Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone
We read this thriller for book club (one of the few book club meetings we had all year!), and it was excellent. I loved being in the mind of a female sociopath and the way Jane exacted her revenge. So, so good!
Runner-up: Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas
Favorite Memoir/Essay Collection
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton
What a brilliant memoir of something that never should have happened. It’s heartbreaking to recognize how unjust our justice system is for people of color. Anthony Ray Hinton’s story is no different, documenting the 30 years he spent in prison and his exoneration thanks to the work of Bryan Stevenson.
Runner-up: We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union
Favorite Graphic Novel
Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob
Whether or not you consider yourself a graphic novel person (I certainly do not!), this one is a must-read. Mira discusses her life growing up as a child of immigrants, the tough conversations about race she has with her young son, and the difficulty of dealing with her in-laws who voted for Trump in 2016.
Runner-up: March: Book 1 by John Lewis
SUPERLATIVES
The Most Disappointing DNF
Anxious People by Fredrick Backman. I had such high hopes for this book and even selected it as a Book of the Month pick. I abandoned it around page 100 because I was so annoyed by the characters.
The Most Disappointing Book I Read
Pride by Ibi Zoboi. I wanted to like this modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, featuring Black characters and taking on the issue of gentrification in a Brooklyn neighborhood, so much! But it just did not work for me at all, and I found Zuri (aka, the Elizabeth Bennett of the novel) to be wildly unlikable.
The Book I Was Most Surprised to Love
Deacon King Kong by James McBride. I figured this was the kind of literary fiction that wouldn’t hold my attention, but I couldn’t have been more wrong! I loved this book so much, and still think of those characters today.
The Book I Thought I Would Love More Than I Did
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb. This book has gotten so much buzz and rave reviews, but it just didn’t impact me the way it did for so many others. I found it hard to really learn anything from the client examples since she (understandably!) had to change many details of the stories to protect client confidentiality. Maybe it would have worked better as a novel? But perhaps not, since I am definitely in the minority in my opinion!
Most Deserving of the Hype
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. I am a Brit Bennett superfan, after reading and loving both of her books. I was worried about a sophomore slump with this book, but Bennett delivers an incredible story about race, culture, family, and acceptance. It’s a must-read, in my opinion.
Least Deserving of the Hype
The Guest List by Lucy Foley. Ughhhh, this book. It was such a good example of when thrillers go wrong. I had high hopes for it, as several people highly recommended it to me, but it just did not work for me at all. The characters were so unlikable, the plot was over-the-top, and the reveal at the end was incredibly unrealistic. I basically hate reading this book and will side-eye anyone who recommends it.
The Book I Loved That Other People Hated
The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren. This book has a 3.51 average on Goodreads, which is a very low rating for that site. I gave it 4 stars and enjoyed it! I think most people wanted more character development and/or didn’t love the HGTV angle, but it all really worked for me. (Also, I didn’t see the HGTV couple in this novel as Chip and Joanna Gaines, but rather as Rachel and Dave Hollis.) Anyway, I can understand why it’s not a favorite for most Christina Lauren fans, but it’s one I remember fondly.
The Book I Hated That Other People Loved
Get a Life, Chloe Brown! by Talia Hibbert. This book got so much love around Bookstagram, and while I did love the body diversity and exploration of chronic illness, I found the actual writing to be disjointed and, well, a bit boring. This is just a good example that what’s great for one reader does not always work for another!
The Underrated Gem of the Year
You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe – In selecting a book for this category, I looked for a book published this year with under 10,000 ratings on Goodreads. This one has just under 6,400 ratings and that was surprising to me! I felt like I was seeing this book everywhere, but perhaps it was just in my little corner of the Interwebs. I loved this biography—it was filled with infographics and charts and gave an in-depth look into George Washington’s life in under 300 pages. (Much more manageable than Chernow’s 900+ page Washington biography.) It was super accessible and I learned so much!
What was the best book you read in 2020? And let’s get snarky—what book was least deserving of the hype, in your opinion?
I also loved Dearly Beloved! Such an excellent book. I need to do my best of post! Love the format you used this year! A couple of books that were overhyped for me were ‘the midnight library’ and ‘queenie’. It’s tough to pick an absolute favorite but Brit’s book is towards the top of the list for me. I also loved ‘know my name’.
I FEEL THE SAME ABOUT “THE GUEST LIST.” Oh man, while the book was easy to read and had a nice fast pace that kept me going, like you said, the characters were unlikable and the plot was completely unbelievable while being super predictable. I kept thinking, this CAN’T be where this is going, and then voila! it was indeed where it was going.
It’s weird to me that I am picking on these things, though, because unbelievability and predictability don’t necessarily make a book disappointing. For instance, the premise of “The Likeness” by Tana French was SUPER unbelievable… but that is one of my favorite books. And I hated most of the characters in “The Goldfinch” but THAT is one of my favorite books… And with a lot of books, being able to predict the outcome is part of the pleasure of reading. But man, “‘The Guest List” was just so disappointing. Maybe it was the pacing? It felt so breathless to get to the Big Reveal that maybe the author just didn’t take enough time to earn our trust? Or to build up believable characters with motivations we understood and could empathize with?
I really spend a lot of time analyzing why I DIDN’T like a book (especially one that got so much positive attention), LOL, which is, I guess, at least SOMETHING I get out of reading a piece I didn’t enjoy.
I love seeing what other people read! I’ve got some new books on my list now. I agree with you on The Vanishing Half and I was one that loved Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. I liked the therapy nuggets. The book I struggled to get through and almost didn’t finish was wow, no thank you.
Hi! I found your blog through Suzanne (HI SUZANNE) and I love it! I am an avid reader so I really enjoyed this. My favourite books of 2020 were Arabic for Beginners, Turtles All The Way Down, and You Can’t Stay Here. All very good and very different. I just read Friends and Strangers by J Courtney Sullivan and it was EXCELLENT.
I’ve been waiting for your list! Can’t wait to check some of these out.
Well you know my answer for least deserving of the hype – Untamed 😉 Best book of 2020 that came out in 2020 was Long Bright River!
This list is fab. I wish there was a way I could import all the good stuff in to my Goodreads TBR, or even better, my personal TBR I keep in Google Docs.
I love that that one romance had the folks talk through communication instead of getting to the Dark Moment. Already in 2021 I’ve had so many conversations with folks about the importance of communication and I am really going to strive to be better at it this year!
I did not see the twist in Beyond the Point. The whole time, I thought it was someone else. That was really intense. But such a good debut and interesting topic!
Oh, so many good books…I also loved “So you want to talk about race”, “The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo”(which I read in 2019) and “The Sun does shine”.
I think my favorite book in 2020 was “Where the Crawdads sing”.
Oh, soooo many good books! “So you want to talk about race” is on your list and SO MANY others… I think I might have to pause Stamped and shift to that one instead. I need a jump start in my nonfiction antiracism reading.
I am amazed – constantly – by your reading speed! (I’m also envious…) My reading is pushed to a short period of time in the evenings, which limits what I can read on any given day. Sigh.
Can’t wait to see what you read in 2021… I do love your recommendations and reviews!