“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.
- Reunion – Karen Kingsbury
- The Couple Next Door – Shari Lapena
- The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg
- The Dutch House – Ann Patchett
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
- Something in the Water – Catherine Steadman
- Normal People – Sally Rooney
- Just Mercy – Bryan Stevenson
- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking – Susan Cain
- The Power of a Praying Wife – Stormie Omartian
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling
- The Jetsetters – Amanda Eyre Ward
- All the Missing Girls – Megan Miranda
- Separation Anxiety – Laura Zigman
- The Breakdown – B.A. Paris
- The Confession Club – Elizabeth Berg
- Don’t Overthink It – Anne Bogel
- Over the Top – Jonathan Van Ness
- The Day the World Came to Town – Jim DeFede
- Fierce Kingdom – Gin Phillips
- Alexander Hamilton – Ron Chernow
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling
- Sisters by Choice – Susan Mallery
- Severance – Ling Ma
- Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
- City of Girls – Elizabeth Girlbert
- 11/22/63 – Stephen King
- Talking As Fast As I Can – Lauren Graham
- One Day – David Nicholls
- Know My Name – Chanel Miller
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling
- Love Warrior – Glennon Doyle Melton
- Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris
- The Upside of Being Down – Jen Gotch
- Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng
- When Life Gives You Lululemons – Lauren Weisberger
- The Happiness Project – Gretchen Rubin
- Brain on Fire – Susannah Cahalan
- The Selection – Kiera Cass
- Beach Read – Emily Henry
- The Elite – Kiera Cass
- Untamed – Glennon Doyle
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis
- Open Book – Jessica Simpson
- So You Want to Talk About Race – Ijeoma Oluo
- Prince Caspian – C.S. Lewis
- Anxious for Nothing – Max Lucado
- The Stranger Beside Me – Ann Rule
- The One – Kiera Cass
- The Heir – Kiera Cass
- You Are a Badass at Making Money – Jen Sincero
- The Year of Magical Thinking – Joan Didion
- The Crown – Kiera Cass
- The Circle – Dave Eggers
- The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
- Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins
- Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
- Cinder – Marissa Meyer
- Divergent – Veronica Roth
- Redeeming Love – Francine Rivers
- Insurgent – Veronica Roth
- Allegiant – Veronica Roth
- The Road to Jonestown – Jeff Guinn
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Suzanne Collins
- Scarlet – Marissa Meyer
- The Wives – Tarryn Fisher
- Cress – Marissa Meyer
- Winter – Marissa Meyer
- Behind Closed Doors – B.A. Paris
- Furious Hours – Casey Cep
- The Glass Hotel – Emily St. John Mandel
- The Identicals – Elin Hilderbrand
- Pachinko – Min Jim Lee
- Hidden Valley Road – Robert Kolker
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – C.S. Lewis
- Twilight – Stephenie Meyer
- The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
- The Fountains of Silence – Ruta Sepetys
- The Silver Chair – C.S. Lewis
- Vox – Christina Dalcher
- Burnout – Emily Nagoski
- Still Life – Louise Penny
- On the Come Up – Angie Thomas
- A Fatal Grace – Louise Penny
- Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Winter Street – Elin Hilderbrand
- The Second Home – Christina Clancy
- The Only Plane in the Sky – Garret M. Graff
- The Horse and His Boy – C.S. Lewis
- Daring Greatly – Brene Brown
- We Were Liars – E. Lockhart
- On the Corner of Hope and Main – Beverly Jenkins
- It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way – Lysa TerKeurst
- The Cruelest Month – Louise Penny
- Lincoln in the Bardo – George Saunders
- Winter Stroll – Elin Hilderbrand
- Winter Storms – Elin Hilderbrand
- Winter Solstice – Elin Hilderbrand
- Conviction – Denise Mina
- The Vanishing Half – Brit Bennett
- A Rule Against Murder – Louise Penny
- The Boys in the Boat – Daniel James Brown
- The Magician’s Nephew – C.S. Lewis
- Anxious People – Frederick Backman
- The Comeback – Ella Berman
Evan’s cousin here 👋🏼 I’ve never met you but started following your other account after you two were engaged. I love this book list so much and have read many of the same books you chose! I’m definitely adding some of these to my “To Read” list 😌
Oh my gosh – hello! I had no clue you were a reader, as well! We need to finally meet in real life someday and talk books 🙂