2020 book report.

One of my goals for 2020 was to read every single day of the year, and aside from my wedding night (I was tired and buzzed, sue me!), I succeeded — at least up until now, with a two nights of the year left.

Reading, like everything else, looked different for me in 2020: rather than catching thirty or so minutes of my current read on the train home from work every night, I usually got my pages in right before going to sleep. My nightly routine consisted of applying skincare, putting on fresh PJs (okay, okay, a lot of nights I went to bed in the outfit I was wearing all day . . . 2020!), and reading as many pages as I could get in before I drifted off. Some nights that was a chapter, some nights it was half a book, and in rare cases, it was a page or two before I truly couldn't keep my eyes open.

My yearly reading goal was 30 books, which I hit in September, and it was the first time in years that I've not only hit my goal, but topped my record for the most books I've read in a year since I joined Goodreads (second highest was 34 books in 2015). So despite only getting in a few pages on some nights, it appears that my mission to read every day definitely helped get me tearing through things overall.

Here's the complete list of books I read in 2020:

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

When All Is Said by Anne Griffin

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

Meet Cute by Helena Hunting

The Whisper Man by Alex North

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

Verity by Colleen Hoover

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Audiobook)

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Beach Read by Emily Henry

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

If You Tell by Gregg Olsen

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Of those 38 books, I had quite a few favorites that I have consistently recommended to friends: 

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. I was completely engaged from the start of this emotional read, though I did get a bit lost in the writing here and there. The epilogue, though! Worth the read regardless, but definitely for those last pages.

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes. I loved this sweet story. It played out like a romcom in my head, so I would love to see it in movie form. The dialogue was both hilarious and heartbreaking — just so, so good — and the entire thing warmed my heart. 

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert. There wasn't a moment of this that didn't have my attention. Although it was long, every page was delicious. I laughed, I cried — I even gasped at one point when I realized I'd correctly guessed a twist — and I feel like I learned about myself along the way. If you love historical fiction, strong women, and fully developed characters with rich backstories, please read this so we can talk about it forever.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. I WISH THE EVENTS OF THIS BOOK WERE REAL LIFE. THE ROMANCE! THE DIALOGUE! THE HOPE FOR A BETTER, MORE ACCEPTING (ISH) AMERICA! God damn. That's it. That's all I got. Read this, you won't regret it, I promise.

Verity by Colleen Hoover. I read this whole book in one sitting and then needed to talk about it so bad after that I explained the entire plot to my husband just to reveal the twists to him. Every single page had my attention straight from the beginning, so don't start this one unless you're ready to hunker down and devour it — you'll need to know what happens because there is truly nowhere to stop. Can't wait to read more Colleen Hoover in 2021!

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert. This was such a delightful read that I breezed through with a smile on my face for 90 percent of it. Chloe and Red are great characters, and this story was charming and adorable. I'm hoping to get to the other two books in the series (one about each of Chloe's two sisters) soon, because I can't imagine them not being just as good.

Beach Read by Emily Henry. This was my favorite read of 2020 — that is, until I got to the fantasy series noted below. Although there was a lot of hype around it that put some people off, I found this read so relatable and fun (and raw) that I couldn't put it down. This is another one that I NEED to see in movie or series form.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. I haven't read a true fantasy series in a while, so I was excited to start A Court of Thorns and Roses, the first of a four-book saga about a human woman who is forced to live in a magical fairy (or "faerie" as it's spelled in these books) land she's grown up fearing. The first book was great, but now that I'm three books in and patiently awaiting the fourth, which comes out in February, I can confidently say that the second book in the series was my favorite book of the entire year. It's clever, exciting, anxiety inducing, and *whispers* sexy; plus there are a few good twists — it has all the things. I loved it so, so much, and I'm so dang attached to its characters. I'm hoping to get the second half of A Court of Frost and Starlight, the short companion tale to A Court of Wings and Ruin, under my belt before 2020 is out.

Which leads me to of my goals for 2021: to be in bed by 11:30 as much as possible (I've been going to actual sleep around 1:30 every night this year — I don't want to talk about it!) so I can hopefully get nearer my updated yearly target of 50 books. A jump from this year's 30, but with 38 books under my belt since January, I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Follow me on Goodreads to see how I get along!