Reading List 2020

Some exciting and not-so-exciting news about my 2019 Reading List before getting into my 2020 Reading List. First, the bad news: I didn't follow my goal of reading books I already had over buying or reading new books. Like, at all. I bought the WHOLE Harry Potter series over the course of a year - hardback editions I can proudly pass down to my children one day - or I read books through the Kindle app or listened through my library's apps. Books not on my shelf already. New books. So, as far as my one goal for 2019, I failed miserably. Lol. BUT, the exciting news: I read 20 books in 2019! That's a five-book increase from 2018, and 2018 was a three-book increase from 2017. How fun!

Some positives about reading more books in 2019: I took the last hour to two hours before bed most nights and read. I found that I not only felt more tired around bedtime, but that my sleep was significantly better, AND, I was able to get through books quicker this way. I'm always excited when I can add a new book to my nightstand.

So, my new goal for 2020 (which I'm hoping I'll follow better than last year's): check more books out from my local library (in addition to reading books I already own). I love my library because they offer so many cool things for free, apps to listen to audiobooks being my favorite, and I want to take advantage of their resources. Buying new books is fun, but I want to utilize borrowing, especially since some of the books on my list this year are new reads for me.

And so, as always, here is my 2020 Reading List! Right now, there are only 17 books on it because I'll be going through my attic throughout the year and pulling books down that I want to read. I also don't want to get ahead of myself as I usually always leave books on my list at the end of every year. But, per usual, this is a live, constantly shifting list, so make sure to check back throughout the year and let me know what's on your reading list! Happy reading!

Reading List 2020

To Finish Reading

The Summer before the War by Helen Simonson

To Read

Almost Somewhere by Suzanne Roberts

The World Doesn't Require You: Stories by Rion Amilcar Scott

Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia by Steven Stoll

The Heart of Aleppo: A Story of the Syrian Civil War by Ammar Habib

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

~Dune by Frank Herbert*

The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair*

Read

My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem

The Way through the Woods: On Mushrooms and Mourning by Long Litt Woon

Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman

Flux by Orion Carloto

My Life in France by Julia Child

~The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

^The Jamestown Project by Karen Ordahl Kupperman

The Body Book by Cameron Diaz

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Everybody Always by Bob Goff

~The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf

The Champion Mindset: An Athlete's Guide to Mental Toughness by Joanna Zeiger

Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory by Deena Kastor

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston

~The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

~The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Down River: Into the Future of Water in the West by Heather Hansman

A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir by Donald Worster

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

Circe by Madeline Miller

~The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

~Pax by Sara Pennypacker

^Timeline by Michael Crichton

Me by Elton John

^The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Henry IV, Part I by William Shakespeare

Be Calm: Proven Techniques to Stop Anxiety Now by Jill P. Weber

^Intimate Death: How the Dying Teach Us How to Live by Marie de Hennezel

Jew(ish): A primer. A memoir. A manual. A plea. by Matt Greene

^Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words by Andrew Morton

Your Blue is Not My Blue: A Missing Person Memoir by Aspen Matis

Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Dr. Gary Chapman

Picnic in Provence: A Memoir with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard

Did Not Finish Reading

^The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa - The second time that I've ever stopped reading a book with no intent to return to it. To read my reasons why, please consult my GoodReads review on it. Because of this, I will aim to read an extra book in 2020.

* Books I am currently, actively reading.

^ Books I've added from my attic.

~ Library books I've borrowed.