Diving Back Into Reading: What I Read in 2020
This year I really made it a priority to read more. I’ve read some good books here and there over the past few years (mostly due to my book soul-mate Brittney) but I never really read constantly, it just comes in waves. I had a strong desire to change that in 2020, and I definitely succeeded! I continued some series I love, discovered new books, and went back to some old faves. Here they are, the good and the bad, all of the books I read over the course of 2020.
(I’m not going to talk about the book subject much as you can get a good idea on Goodreads!)
If you discovered any must-read books this year, leave them in the comments so I can check them out in 2021!
The Conference of the Birds
[Latest book of the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series]
Goodreads: “A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.”
I’ve been reading the Miss Peregrine series since the first book came out in 2011. The concept really sucked me in: old, strange photos that were found, and a story was written around them. Right up my alley! The story ended up being compelling as well, and 5 books later I’m still just as in love with the character development and increasingly fast-paced storylines. I cannot recommend this enough!
These books follow a series of children with peculiarities - one is invisible, one has two sets of mouths, another floats, and so on. They live in loops of time to stay away from the danger of regular people, and therefore do not age. There’s a lot more to the stories, but I don’t want to give anything away!
Hush Hush Series
Goodreads: “For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.”
I started off this year with my goal of reading more. But I’ve been having a hard time getting into new books. I find myself getting so hooked on characters that I nearly get mopey when one book reads and don’t want to have to get invested in new characters all over again! I wanted to break that cycle with something a little bit mind-numbing that I could read on my trip to Thailand and not pay a ton of attention to, just to get back into the rhythm of reading. I find a lot of my books through Goodreads, and in one of my newsletters I saw this book series describing itself as similar to Twilight, which was my jam in middle school. Seemed to fit the criteria I was looking for!
I read 3 of 4 books in the series. They. Were. Garbage. Why did I keep reading? Because the reviews were so funny I had to know what they related to. Also, there was so little to them that I was able to basically skim until the last 20% of the books when things actually started happening. As funny as the reviews were, I’d highly recommend staying far, far away from these books.
Evermore
Goodreads: “After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them.”
This book was actually an accident. I was looking to read a book I’d read in middle school that I remember loving, called Everlost, and accidentally started reading this book instead, which starts the same way - with a car accident. This book is actually part of a long series that, from what I’ve read online, gets much worse than this very bad beginning. Basically, a girl gets in a car accident. Her parents move on, her sister remains as a ghost, and she lives but now has physic abilities. Then a random guy starts going to her high school who mutes her physic abilities and she kind of? dates him. It is so bad! I was halfway through before I was certain it wasn’t what I had read in middle school, but I had to finish it (I hate leaving a book unread once I’ve gotten that far in).
Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas
[Book 2 of This is Going to Hurt]
Goodreads: “Welcome to the life of a junior doctor. Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking, this diary is everything you wanted to know – and more than a few things you didn't – about life on and off the hospital ward.”
Last year in Portugal, I read This is Going to Hurt. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a series, but this book did follow the first one, and reference a few points mentioned in This is Going to Hurt so I’ve lumped them together here. I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while (it’s Christmas themed) and just only got around to it now! Both are a real junior doctor (in the UK)’s journals from while he was practicing. They are laugh-out-loud funny, and wonderfully gross, and also cover some really important topics. Did I mention they’re non-fiction? Highly recommend reading!
Ruth Chew books
[Unrelated children’s books]
You’ll start to notice that I have a habit of going back to books I know I love. This, for me, is the epitome of childhood. I for some reason got it in my head that I wanted to find this particular book by Ruth Chew that I’d read. These books were actually my mother’s, which she’d let me read as well. They’re all about children going on adventures, magic, just kid things. It’s great! I found the one I was thinking of, Magic in the Park. It’s about a girl who moves to the city and visits the park, where she makes a friend. They notice a hollow tree which moves around the park, as well as an old man who feeds the birds. When they eventually find a way into the tree, they come back out as pigeons.
I also ended up reading a few of the others. What the witch left is about two friends who figure out that their mom’s aunt’s drawer of belongings which she’s left at their house is actually full of magical items that let them travel long distances, find lost belongings, see other places, and complete tasks extremely well.
Fog Magic
Goodreads: “Greta found herself launched on an adventure that would take her back to a past that existed only through the magic of the fog.”
Reading the Ruth Chew books reminded me of another book I read when I was super young. It’s much different to my vague, distant memory, but was still a nice, cosy trip down memory road.
One of Us Is Lying Series
Goodreads: “What happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive? Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.”
I’ve had One of Us Is lying on my Goodreads list for a while now, and finally got around to reading it. It’s a high school version of a “who done it”. A few kids end up in detention, and one of them dies. The entire book is told through each of their perspectives. It’s described as a cross between The Breakfast Club and Pretty Little Liars. Not too far off! I found the character development in the first book really compelling, and enjoyed the ending. The second book actually follows a set of secondary characters from the first book, which I’m normally not ecstatic about since I get so attached to the characters, but it was still really interesting and does bring in some of the characters from the first book. It wasn’t quite as good as the first one, but both are quick, easy reads.
Everlost Series
Goodreads: “A sort of limbo known as Everlost: a shadow of the living world, filled with all the things and places that no longer exist.”
Back to books from my childhood! This is the book I was trying to find when I accidentally read Everlost. I think in middle school I only read the first book, so this time I read the entire trilogy. It follows two (older) kids who both get in a car accident and don’t make it “where they’re going”. They end up in a sort of purgatory, where they have to keep moving or they’ll sink to the centre of the earth. It covers off really interesting topics that are digestible for kids, and is a fun, light-hearted story. Definitely sways more towards a read for 10-14 year olds, but was enjoyable to re-visit!
Unwind
Goodreads: “Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end.”
Interesting concept and a fast-paced story. Neal Shusterman really gets you thinking about bigger concepts in a digestible way! I enjoyed the firs book, but didn’t feel the need to continue on with the story in the sequel.
Then She Was Gone
Goodreads: “It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.”
This book is told initially between two different periods of time. A girl goes to the library one day and doesn’t come home. It shows her perspective that day and her mother’s, 10 years in the future, back and forth. Not necessarily a book for plot twists, this was still a really interesting story and a quick read. An eerie, creepy feeling the whole way through, and although there’s nothing drastic you can’t anticipate, and you still want to see how it’s going to all end the entire way through.
Fablehaven Series
Goodreads: “For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic.”
Once again, back to my childhood with the Fablehaven series. I was obsessed as a kid. To the point where I once entered the author’s competition to make a video about the first book and won. It was ridiculously embarrassing, created back in the potato-quality iMovie days, but I had so much fun doing it and loved communicating with the author when I won. I actually own this entire series (my books are back in the states), but I never ended up reading the entire series. It was so long between books that I’d forgotten who was who and it was too hard to follow without going back to the beginning, so I set it to the side to get back to from the first book and just never got back to it! It was finally time.
The Lies We Told
Goodreads: “When Clara's boyfriend, Luke, disappears, everyone believes that he's left her, but Clara thinks she knows the truth.”
Back and forth between “current” time and the past, this story was definitely interesting and kept me eager to learn more. But I do wish there’d been more character development, and the reveal (like all of Lisa’s books) isn’t anything earth-shattering. Still, it’s a good/quick read and while I won’t be re-reading it I wouldn’t put anyone off of picking it up.
Watching You
Goodreads: “Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighbourhoods in Bristol, but it is the sort of place where everyone has a secret. And everyone is watching you.”
Okay, I know in the book above I said that there’s never much of a reveal at the end, but I would say this book is more of the exception to the rule. At first a bit confusing as it’s told between so many different viewpoints, you start to get really invested in each person’s life and curious as to how they’ll all connect. Plus, it’s a great twist at the end. A nice, cosy read.
Becoming
Goodreads: “Michelle Obama chronicles the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address.”
To be truthful, this is a bit of a slow read. Especially in the beginning, I had a really difficult time getting hooked in. But she provides such insight and reflection, it’s definitely worth the inspiring and candid read.
The Binding
Goodreads: “People visit book binders to rid themselves of painful or treacherous memories. Once their stories have been told and are bound between the pages of a book, the slate is wiped clean and their memories lose the power to hurt or haunt them.”
If you’ve read the post of my favourite books, the vibe of the first third of the book really reminded me of Uprooted. Really it’s difficult because all I can say is I’d recommend reading the book but not looking it up beforehand because the less you know the better the experience will be. It takes place in a world where if memories feel overbearing you can have them bound into a book so that they no longer have any effect over you. You get really connected to the characters and are eager to read on in each section of the book to see what happens next, but for a different reason in each section so it doesn’t grow boring.
Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving
Goodreads: “This book is a practical, user-friendly self-help guide to recovering from the lingering effects of childhood trauma, and to achieving a rich and fulfilling life.”
I Cannot. Recommend This. Enough. If you have a good bit of anxiety, even if you don’t think this book would apply to you, check it out. I follow Advanced Bitches on social media, and she talks quite a bit about the 4 trauma responses: Freeze, Fawn, Fight, and Flight. It was ground-breaking in my work on myself - and that’s coming from someone who’s been to multiple therapists and tried multiple types of therapy! The book covers loads, but this is the gist of the 4 F’s:
Freeze: When feeling anxious you shut down. You don’t feel like yourself, and rather than do even something small/simple you close in on yourself and do nothing.
Fawn: Overly people-pleasing to the point where other’s needs/wants come before your own. Can’t say no.
Flight: Can’t stop/has trouble “relaxing”. Overextends, always multiple projects/jobs/etc on the go at one time.
Fight: Very quick to react, push others away and avoid intimacy, strong need for control at all times.
Regardless of who you are and where you are on your mental health journey, I think this book can be a good way to be more subjective about your reactions and thought process.
Blue is for Nightmares Series
Goodreads: “She's having nightmares again. Not just any nightmares – these dreams are too real to ignore, like she did three years ago. The last time she ignored them, a little girl died.”
Another one that I had stuck in my memory from childhood that I wanted to round out the visuals in my memory. Another one that proves that my change in books has grown exponentially, and thankfully my self growth is through the roof. I’m interested in the concept of solving crimes via dream premonitions, but this just isn’t done very well. It’s readable, and I did work my way through the series so that I could get it out of my head, but I would strongly recommend staying far away!
Charming as a Verb
Goodreads: “There is only one person who seems immune to Henri’s charms: his “intense” classmate and neighbor Corinne Troy.”
After so many thrillers and more serious books, I wanted something light-hearted and easy to devour. Here comes Charming as a Verb. I loved the concept - dogwalker romance in New York City. In the end, I personally would’ve been much more hooked on this storyline as a film, rather than a book. I needed more connection between the characters, and character development. For me, it fell a bit flat.
A Bit of a Stretch
Goodreads: “Where can a tin of tuna buy you clean clothes? Which British education system struggles with 50% illiteracy? Where do teetotal Muslims attend AA meetings?”
I enjoyed Orange is the New Black, so was interested in the UK perspective on prisons from a position of white privilege. Insightful, humorous, and interesting, Chris provides an honest look at one slice of prison life in the UK.
The Midnight Library
Goodreads: “Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life.”
When I read the description of this book, I was really intrigued and had to know how it would pan out. Then, it ended up being voted the best fiction book of 2020! It’s definitely one that gets you thinking - is the grass really greener?