I think we can all agree 2020 was a year like no other…
Unfortunately, one of the victims of this year’s dumpster fire was this book blog. Neither Haddi or myself blogged all that well or often. It has been over six months since we last posted…sigh…
BUT, we did read. That’s right! 2020 wasn’t good for much, but it was great for our reading habit. Both of us went above and beyond our 2019 numbers, but as was no surprise to anyone…I AM THE WINNER!
In all fairness it as a hell of a year and both Haddi and I stuck with the reading thing, even if the blogging has gone by the wayside ;). Here are some numbers for you:
| 2019 | 2020 | Pages (2020) | |
| Haddi | 82 | 83 | +29,000 |
| Hannah | 85 | 100 | +33,000 |
So yeah, it’s been a good year reading wise. I met my goal of reading 100 books and of course, beating Haddi and I have done so with some excellent books along the way. Below you will find a recap using the same categories we used last January with some of the best and worst BOOKS of 2020. 😉
The Most Difficult to get Through
There are going to be some feelings about this one but for 2020 it was Dune by Frank Herbert. A science fiction classic. My father had us watch these movies as kids and it was weird then and it was still weird now. I know it has had a profound impact on many and on the science fiction genre in general. I picked it up on the recommendation of adrienne maree brown (more about her later) but I still didn’t get it. I did get through it though and I am taking that as win. Leonel has purchased basically the entire Dune universe prior to this book on Audible and though he has asked many times, I find myself unmoved to read any of them.
Most Fun Book
The most fun book I read was Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory. If you follow me at all you will have heard Guillory’s name a few times as she is my grown up romance novelist. Her feminist take on some classic tropes has been refreshing and fun honestly. This particular novel is about finding love later in life and made me so happy. These books fit into the beach read category for me and I highly recommend.
Most Profound Book
There are sooooo many! I read pretty profound books after all ;).
- Eloqent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
- Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown
The above are my top two. These women continue to break down my internalized assumptions and ways of being in the world and are conversation partners for the remaking of my self as I look down my 5th decade.
Some additional profound-ness I would recommend from my reading this year are:
- When They Call You Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors
- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer: Writings to Stop Violence Against Women and Girls edited by Eve Ensler (soooooo much content warning on this one. Read it carefully and with compassion for yourself if you need to stop)
Worst Book
For the Love of Men: From Toxic to a More Mindful Masculinity by Liz Plank. I wanted to love this book and I did…for a while. Then she fell into the very trap she was trying to release women from, the responsibility to help men be better men. She has some excellent things to say and through much of this book I was cheering her on, but I also struggled with the highly anecdotal research padded with names of studies as well as the responsibility she once again shoulders me and other women (particularly those in heterosexual relationships) with.
Honorable Mentions
These two books would qualify as my favorite reads from 2020 (alongside Emergent Strategy). Both are YA, but both deal with that often deeply traumatic time in life with compassion, insight and an unvarnished honesty that let me go deep into these characters. Absolutely worth the read.
- Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
- The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum
Well that’s a wrap on 2020. In many ways, thank goodness, but also some great reading came from this year and I look forward to blogging (I’m gonna try…again) about more of 2020 even as I move int 2021.
Happy reading!
