Turning the Page on 2020

“2020 is going to be oh so sweet.” If only we could see into the future, right? At the end of 2019, I was newly engaged, just moved into my new house, and full of hope and excitement for what 2020 would bring. This post is usually my favorite of the year to write because I always do a little recap of the previous year, but right now, I’m just at a loss for words on how to begin to recap 2020.

I could write a book about all of the things 2020 brought, and it all definitely warrants its own post here to look back on, so I won’t go too much into it all. But we can all agree that 2020 was hard. In a year where we had so much to look forward to, it was truly so hard to find the positives in all of the bad stuff.

But 2020 brought me the happiest day of my life – marrying my best friend – and it brought me hours and hours of reading. Last year was the most books I’d ever read (62), and this year, I blew it out of the water with 107. I am fully prepared to absolutely never read that many books within a year again, but it was so much fun. I learned and grew and was so challenged this year, and I can look back at this list and pair the books with what was happening around me as I read them. I look forward to everything 2021 will bring.

1. Reunion – Karen Kingsbury
2. The Couple Next Door – Shari Lapena
3. The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg
4. The Dutch House – Ann Patchett
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
6. Something in the Water – Catherine Steadman
7. Normal People – Sally Rooney
8. Just Mercy – Bryan Stevenson
9. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking – Susan Cain
10. The Power of a Praying Wife – Stormie Omartian
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling
12. The Jetsetters – Amanda Eyre Ward
13. All the Missing Girls – Megan Miranda
14. Separation Anxiety – Laura Zigman
15. The Breakdown – B.A. Paris
16. The Confession Club – Elizabeth Berg
17. Don’t Overthink It – Anne Bogel
18. Over the Top – Jonathan Van Ness
19. The Day the World Came to Town – Jim DeFede
20. Fierce Kingdom – Gin Phillips
21. Alexander Hamilton – Ron Chernow
22. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling
23. Sisters by Choice – Susan Mallery
24. Severance – Ling Ma
25. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
26. City of Girls – Elizabeth Girlbert
27. 11/22/63 – Stephen King
28. Talking As Fast As I Can – Lauren Graham
29. One Day – David Nicholls
30. Know My Name – Chanel Miller
31. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling
32. Love Warrior – Glennon Doyle Melton
33. Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid
34. The Tattooist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris
35. The Upside of Being Down – Jen Gotch
36. Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng
37. When Life Gives You Lululemons – Lauren Weisberger
38. The Happiness Project – Gretchen Rubin
39. Brain on Fire – Susannah Cahalan
40. The Selection – Kiera Cass
41. Beach Read – Emily Henry
42. The Elite – Kiera Cass
43. Untamed – Glennon Doyle
44. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
45. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis
46. Open Book – Jessica Simpson
47. So You Want to Talk About Race – Ijeoma Oluo
48. Prince Caspian – C.S. Lewis
49. Anxious for Nothing – Max Lucado
50. The Stranger Beside Me – Ann Rule
51. The One – Kiera Cass
52. The Heir – Kiera Cass
53. You Are a Badass at Making Money – Jen Sincero
54. The Year of Magical Thinking – Joan Didion
55. The Crown – Kiera Cass
56. The Circle – Dave Eggers
57. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
58. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins
59. Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
60. Cinder – Marissa Meyer
61. Divergent – Veronica Roth
62. Redeeming Love – Francine Rivers
63. Insurgent – Veronica Roth
64. Allegiant – Veronica Roth
65. The Road to Jonestown – Jeff Guinn
66. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Suzanne Collins
67. Scarlet – Marissa Meyer
68. The Wives – Tarryn Fisher
69. Cress – Marissa Meyer
70. Winter – Marissa Meyer
71. Behind Closed Doors – B.A. Paris
72. Furious Hours – Casey Cep
73. The Glass Hotel – Emily St. John Mandel
74. The Identicals – Elin Hilderbrand
75. Pachinko – Min Jim Lee
76. Hidden Valley Road – Robert Kolker
77. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – C.S. Lewis
78. Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
79. The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
80. The Fountains of Silence – Ruta Sepetys
81. The Silver Chair – C.S. Lewis
82. Vox – Christina Dalcher
83. Burnout – Emily Nagoski
84. Still Life – Louise Penny
85. On the Come Up – Angie Thomas
86. A Fatal Grace – Louise Penny
87. Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia
88. Winter Street – Elin Hilderbrand
89. The Second Home – Christina Clancy
90. The Only Plane in the Sky – Garret M. Graff
91. The Horse and His Boy – C.S. Lewis
92. Daring Greatly – Brene Brown
93. We Were Liars – E. Lockhart
94. On the Corner of Hope and Main – Beverly Jenkins
95. It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way – Lysa TerKeurst
96. The Cruelest Month – Louise Penny
97. Lincoln in the Bardo – George Saunders
98. Winter Stroll – Elin Hilderbrand
99. Winter Storms – Elin Hilderbrand
100. Winter Solstice – Elin Hilderbrand
101. Conviction – Denise Mina
102. The Vanishing Half – Brit Bennett
103. A Rule Against Murder – Louise Penny
104. The Boys in the Boat – Daniel James Brown
105. The Magician’s Nephew – C.S. Lewis
106. Anxious People – Frederick Backman
107. The Comeback – Ella Berman