Well, if there is anything good to come out of this year just past, it is the reading. I had some very good reads, and then some slumps, some which were easy to explain, and some which were not.

I actually met my reading goal of 100 books on GoodReads. I had to push to make it (due to aforementioned slumps). The one thing that I was tempted to do which might have derailed the whole thing was to read my most-anticipated book of the year, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab. I have been hearing about this book for literally years. I watched every pre-launch interview and promo.  And I wanted to just read it already. But I was afraid that if I did, it would lead me to the monster of all book hangovers. Then how would I make my goal? I know, I know, best way to combat that would be not to bring it down to the wire. But it was too late for that. All that to say, now it’s a clean slate, and hangover be damned, I will get to it!

Anyway, you didn’t come here to hear me moan about bookworm problems. Did you? 😉 No, you came here to see what I might call the best books of last year! Yes I’m late. Yes, it is now 2021. And yes, we are on to better and bigger things. But we also had some doozies in 2020. Apart from the non-book doozies. Note that these were all books I read in 2020; they were not all published in 2020. But that’s when I got to them, so I’m calling it.

Comfort Reads

First, the comfort reads. This was a tough year. I had a really hard time with the civil unrest in Minneapolis, starting in late May, for many reasons (on top of pandemic lockdown). I only read four books in June, and most of them were by Agatha Christie. JK Rowling’s despicable behavior (another stress factor) kept me away from my usual comfort reads, and I found Agatha to be a lovely replacement. The books I read in June were not my favorites, however. My new very favorite Agatha titles are The Hollow (part of my read-through of all of Poirot) and They Came to Baghdad, which was not one of her regular detectives but a very espionage-type thriller. The thing that I love about it is the setting and the danger. It was really excellent! I am partial to her archaeological stories, and this was the best one yet. I also read her memoir Come, Tell Me How You Live, which I highly recommend (more archaeology).

I read The Hollow about the same time as I was reading Rebecca, and the whole house-as-a-character thing was very strong in both. So that gave The Hollow a feeling that I hadn’t gotten from any previous Agatha. Plus, Lady Angkatell was just wonderful. The characters in this one were far more developed than in some of her other works.

Classics

I found a new favorite Shakespeare. I know, right? I did a readalong of As You Like It in November, and I just loved it! I had somehow never read or seen this one. I loved Rosalind, and the whole situation and storyline was just so interesting and, well, easy to follow. I mean, my old favorite has always been Macbeth, with its moving forests and witches, but that story is a bit obtuse. This one is a very clear narrative, mostly makes sense in places, and had a wonderful roster of characters. Rosalind is just about the best thing ever. I would love to see it performed!

And then there’s Maria Dahvana Headley. I discovered her early in the year when I found out she was releasing a new translation of Beowulf, which came out in August. While I was waiting, I picked up her previous novel, based on it, called The Mere Wife. It was absolutely stunning! Split my head wide open! Then I was able to follow along on a read-aloud of the Beowulf translation in December. It is, as one might expect, epic. After all, this is how it was meant to be heard! Aside from the performers, the translation itself was just so wonderful. It is clear, yet modern, full of slang, yet relatable situations. The end brought a tear to my eye! If you are interested in Beowulf, or even if you are not, you definitely ought to hunt it down. I am now off to hunt down all of Maria’s previous work, and try to get my hand on a copy of The Mere Wife for my very own.

YA and MG

The third in a great new MG trilogy released in March, which rounded out nicely the Wizard for Hire series by Obert Skye. I loved this series! I thought this final book did just a great job of wrapping everything up – one of the most satisfying endings to a series that I can think of. It is just such a magical story, and the characters are so wonderful. I enjoyed every book in this series, and highly recommend it for anyone looking for something to replace Harry Potter. It’s got everything. I am now on a mission to find his other work, too. Don’t you love it when you find a gateway drug?

I got a chance to read an early copy of Tales from the Hinterland by Melissa Albert, and even though it didn’t come out until January, I am including it here, so that you can all go get it and maybe if you need to catch up on this stunning YA fantasy series you can do that (and this post is oh so late). This is an absolutely amazing collection of tales, sort of like Language of Thorns, if you are familiar with that work by Leigh Bardugo, in that it peoples a world of background tales (background to the original book, The Hazel Wood). Fairytales? If you will. The Night Country was the sequel. I loved that book. But the tales themselves? Blew. Me. Away. Here is this nice seemingly normal lady author, writing these dark, nasty, nearly horrifying tales of wronged brides, lost girls and other macabre imaginings. I cannot wait to see the gorgeous final copy, too. Thanks to the publisher, FlatIron Books, for inviting me to read this on NetGAlley. (I read it on my PHONE, which tells you how good it is.)

I also had some great spooky reads this year. The two that stand out as the best were Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake, and Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. I loved them both! They were both slightly creepy (especially Anna!) and had just great stories with great characters, that went in surprising directions. Cemetery Boys was very interesting culturally, with a lot of dia de los muertos influence apparent. These are both YA fantasy, and I would highly recommend them.

Favorites

And finally, I owe it to my Book Aunt for letting me borrow her copy of A Gentleman in Moscow! I simply adored this historical novel. Wow. What a tour de force. To encompass this great historical epoch within the walls of a hotel room? Oh my gosh. And the food! Lord have mercy. I need a chef. All I’m saying is, if you want to take a trip without ever having left your chair, through time and space, go read this beautiful, bittersweet, heart-warming story. It is beyond. And couldn’t we all use that right now?

I rounded out the year with some nice nonfiction, and I want to give it a mention. I loved The Book of Runes by Robert Blum, Salt on My Skin, a memoir and reflection by Sarah Kennedy Norquoy, and The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs by Tristan Gooley. These were all very late in the game, and I probably will go back to each of them and mark them up. I already have several tabs in the Gooley title. I’ve been neglecting nonfiction the past couple years, and it’s time I picked it up again.

Honorable Mentions

Under honorable mentions: I loved The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by FC Lee! I had an ARC sitting here forever and then I used it for a prompt in a reading challenge and I am so glad I did! It was just a fantastic story. I want to track down the rest of the series now. I also devoured The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White, an Arthurian legend turned on its head. Now to find the second book! And a big shout out to Brandon Sanderson. I found myself in a little bit of a Sanderlanche in the spring, reading Mistborn Era 2, and LOVING it! I loved Wax and Wayne so much. Like Batman and Robin, only funnier. And then I read Elantris. Whoa! And there is to be a sequel!! Some day. Who knows. This guy is writing something like four series right now. I would have started Stormlight Archives but I had to get back to my other books, and I found out it is a projected 10 book series, so I think I’ll wait a bit.

Drumroll

So that’s roughly my top 15. I mean, don’t quote me on that. But it is hard to narrow down so many good books! If you are wondering which I would call my top read of 2020 – *drumroll* – I am calling it Tales from the Hinterland! I feel like this belongs to 2021 (how can you read in the future?), but I’m sticking to my rules. I’ve read it, so there. Beowulf is not far behind! We’ll just have to save Addie Larue for 2021.

Looking Ahead

I did have a great reading year. I ran a readalong of The Silmarillion in March 2020, and enjoyed all my Poirot. I loved all the readalongs I participated in. I finally finished my first full-length Dickens novel, Oliver Twist, which was mainly just sad (there are four on my Currently Reading GoodReads shelf. Oops). I also finished several other series that I had been working on, including The Raven Cycle and Shades of Magic. I know, they didn’t individually make my top books of the year, but it was great to finish those series. I loved them. What I have realized is that the final books were not my favorites of the series. And that’s okay. Some of my top reads made it to my Halloween Reads post, so feel free to check that out.

I am looking forward to 2021, for so many reasons. I have just wrapped up co-hosting a readalong of The Lord of the Rings with my friends Alicia and Morgan, and I am also co-hosting a readalong of The Collected Short Stories of Eudora Welty with Alicia, which will go all year. I am excited about both of these. Other than that, I am hoping to read more backlist fantasy, and finish a few more series. I am setting my overall goal at 100 books again (I’ve already read 42!), and I want 50 of those to be books that I own. I plan to read at least 12 classics, and I’ve already started. I hope to unhaul 50 books, and work on building a more purposeful library.

That concludes our reading recap for the annus horribilis. I’m hoping 2021 holds fewer surprises of the nasty variety, more laughter and long walks, and at least one trip to a Great Lake. I wouldn’t say no to going further afield, but we shall see. I also hope there are wedding bells and toddler playtime, and a completed manuscript in there somewhere. If you’ve made it this far, cheers to you, and here’s to a Much Improved New Year!

*Yes, this is very late. Who knew that 2021 would be almost as difficult as 2020? As I polish this for posting, I am getting ready to go to Houston, as my father-in-law passed away on Monday. I was derailed by the insurrection at the Capitol, and I spent the rest of January reading books for the Minnesota Book Awards. I am still waiting for my Covid vaccination, masking up and hunkering down. It has been a bumpy year already. But I wanted to post this as I spent so much time compiling it! I hope you find some new favorites here.