my top 10 favorite reads of 2020
and what a year it was, eh?
I am almost embarrassed to say that I read 109 books this year, but here we are. I read 109 books this year. To be more precise, I listened to 26 audiobooks and read the rest. Obviously reading is important to me but this year, I think it’s safe to say that it saved me too. I don’t resonate with doom scrolling. The internet and specifically social media bored me in a way that I have never experienced this year. I wasn’t envious of others, I was annoyed by everyone, and I genuinely didn’t care what people were posting. I never felt left out, even after I stopped using my main twitter, an extension of me and my personality for like a decade. Getting off twitter freed up a ton of time and I was never even tempted to go back because it’s just a bunch of people screaming at each other for everything from the election to how to wear a face mask and why in the world would I want to spend time there instead of between the pages of a book about people that have nothing to do with me and sometimes aren’t even real people?
I can read a lot because I wake up early and read before work, which means I can potentially read for like three hours in the morning because I work from my living room now. I also read physical books, my kindle, and use the Libby app to listen to audiobooks. I appreciate and rely on my library, and though I’ve had to shift in the way I interact with it, they have great digital services and I am grateful. I always have a next book lined up when I finish something and I really do try to get through a full chapter before looking at my texts.
And remember: don’t let pretentious people shame you from exploring the variety of ways to consume words. Audiobooks count. And use your library! Support them! Buy from local bookstores when you want to own a book. Support them!
Oh and another answer to the “how do you read so much” question is that I take an antidepressant, which prob helps with my ability to both pay attention and find a bit of joy in reading (or anything).
So here’s my list. It’s not ranked, because even though I’ve loved making lists my entire life, I am bad at ranking. I also want to note that I re-read quite a few books that I would consider favorite books of all-time, namely a few of the Harry Potter books and Their Eyes Were Watching God and Heartburn, but I left them off this list. So this list is a few of my favorite books, the ones I most recommend, that I read for the first time this year.
And thank you, for reading these all year long. If you’re looking for books to start your 2021, consider these babies!
[The Best Books I Read in 2020]
wow, no thank you by Samantha Irby
What I said then: I don't know how to explain how much I love this book. I've read all of Samantha Irby's books, I've gone to her events in person, I admire her so much, and somehow this still exceeded my expectations? I laughed the whole time, I had to physically set it down at one point because I was laughing too hard. I just want to sit here and type out all of the passages I loved the most, but I won't, but you should read it and then tell me what made you laugh. You need this right now, I promise.
More people than ever took me up on this recommendation and I don’t know a single person who didn’t like it. I’ll be reading it again in 2021.
[essay collection, nonfiction, LGBTQ+, written by a Black cis woman, medium-ish read]The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
I read this relatively recently and it is long and so was what I wrote in my letter so I’ll just leave this one with a strong “you should read this book.” Credit goes to Kara Brown, who is the reason I even knew this book existed.
[Black history, migrant history, written by a Black cis woman, very long read]Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
I also read this in the past couple of months and it is long and what I wrote was long, so I’ll just say — if you like multigenerational epics, don’t miss this one! Credit goes to my dear friend Luisa, who highly recommended it and is also very pretty and nice.
[epic multigenerational novel, fiction, written by a Korean American cis woman, long read]The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
What I said then, February 2020: I can almost guarantee that when I am making my top 10 list of the year, The Yellow House will be in the top, like three? This book is such a gorgeous deep dive and beautiful observation of a family and somehow also pivots completely into Hurricane Katrina, which Broom and many others refer to as "the Water." My family—the Black side—has New Orleans roots that run as deep as the city itself. The city has always called me home. And this book hit me in a way that a person who has never been there should not be able to feel, but here I am, feeling.
[memoir, nonfiction, written by a Black cis woman, longer read]Zami: A New Spelling of My Name - A Biomythography by Audre Lorde
What I said then, March 2020: I studied African American Literature in college and have always been a person most drawn to Black voices, even from a young age, but somehow I had never previously read Audre Lorde. Kicking myself now, for this is one of the best books and I have literally never been immersed in such detailed and beautiful descriptions of sex. (And if you don't take me up on it based on that recommendation, we are different people.) Credit goes to my bff Brittney, who picked this for our now defunct book club.
[memoir, nonfiction, LGBTQ+, written by a Black cis woman, medium-ish read] Pizza Girl: A Novel by Jean Kyoung Frazier
What I said then, August 2020: I should start noting how or why a book is on my radar because Pizza Girl is a great example of me absolutely not remembering why I had it on hold. I read this in two days. I guess, quite in line with the opening of this letter, Pizza Girl is about a completely relatable and fucked up person. She's only 18, she's pregnant and doesn't want to be, she's struggling with, well everything, but alcoholism and her dad's death and her crush on a married woman and her family life at home and I just absolutely adore stories that do not sugarcoat a damn thing and this is that.
[novel, "slacker fiction," LGBTQ+, written by a Korean cis woman, pretty quick read]Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food by Gina Rae La Cerva
What I said then, September 2020: Since I bought a Kindle, I’ve gotten back into the bad habit of putting way too many books on hold and then having them all pour in at once. By the time I got to this, I had literally less than two days to read it before the digital return would disappear. Is this interesting? Not really, but I am sharing this because I started the book thinking it would be fine if the hold lapsed and I didn’t get to finish it, but instead, the exact opposite thing happened. I was immersed immediately and had to finish it with mere hours to spare. A simple summary: Feasting Wild is about our relationship to wild foods. I personally think it’s written compassionately and is self-aware. Interwoven with descriptions of wild food is commentary on climate change and there’s even a damn love story! Did I ever think a book “about food” (it’s bigger than that) would make me cry? (No.) Credit goes to Book Riot for inspiring me to pick this one up!
[travelogue, nonfiction, written by a cis woman of color, medium read]Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
What I said then, May 2020: More like such a fun read! (I am so sorry.) I didn't know much about Such a Fun Age but had seen the cover everywhere. This is another of my library book hostages and I was extremely aware that I hadn't read anything by a Black woman this whole month so I picked it up, flipped to the back cover, and was delighted to learn that Kiley Reid is Black. And this whole story is about race. And it's really close to a perfect read—not short, but reads quickly. Quite a page-turner considering it's about a privileged white woman and her nanny. And best of all, it's a damn good read on white women who think they are so liberal that they are immune from being racist.
[novel, fiction, written by a Black cis woman, decent length]Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory
What I said then, July 2020: Everyone knows I'm a Jasmine Guillory fan. This is her fifth book and nothing makes me happier than receiving a new one in the mail. I might have to revisit the others to definitively say this, but this was maybe my favorite. I cried at the end? Like actual tears down my face, though I was PMSing as well, so who's to say the real reason. (Also maybe her most explicit sex scene yet? Obviously loved that.)
[romance novel, fiction, written by a Black cis woman, medium length, but easy, read]Sounds Like Titanic by Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman
I read this in December so I don’t want to quote myself here but this book is really fun and interesting and unique and you should read it! It doesn’t have to have anything to do with the movie Titanic, but also it does if you really want it.
[memoir, nonfiction, written by a white cisgender woman, shortish read]
I’m going to throw in a quick bonus title here without much explanation. But if this at all calls to you, please read it.
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, Or Self-Involved Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson
Okay, that’s all from me! Congratulations to each of you for making it through a very tough time, and though turning a calendar doesn’t mean we leave everything behind, I do think 2021 will be slightly better. Until it is — please stay home as much as possible, wear your masks, call your friends instead of hanging out with them, avoid restaurants, and read a book! Love you bye.
