At the beginning of 2020 (what an innocent time that was, right?), I set a goal to read 24 books by the end of the year, and according to my Goodreads account, I read 21. Pretty close! I’ve set the same goal for 2021 so we’ll see where I end up.
Today, I wanted to look back at my favorite books I read last year. There were some good ones! I read for about 30 minutes to an hour every night before bed. It helps calm my mind and prepare me for sleep.
I get almost all of my books from the library so most of the books in this list aren’t current releases because there is a long waitlist for those. As you can see, I enjoy different genres, everything from romance to historical fiction to thrillers. Perhaps you’ll find some new favorites among this list.
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
I put this book on hold at the library months before it came out so I was one of the first library patrons to receive a copy. This book is loooong (700 pages and this is just the first volume!). I really loved it though, and it’s definitely worth the length to not have to sacrifice in detail. I wasn’t surprised that President Obama’s writing is very elegant and beautiful. It was really interesting to hear his thought process behind policy decisions and what it was like interacting with other politicians and world leaders.
Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey
If you’re a rom com fan, you have to check out this book. The protagonist of this book is a rom com super fan, and I love the references to all the rom coms I love like Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally. The love story is really cute, too.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
This thriller is so good. I think I read it in a few days time because I had to know what was going to happen. There is definitely a plot twist that I did not see coming. The story is about a painter named Alicia who shoots her husband and refuses to speak afterward and an ambitious young therapist who tries to figure out why she did it.
One Day in December by Josie Silver
Another fun romance novel. This book is a perfect read for the holiday season, but still entertaining to read other months, too. This book tells the story of two people who experience love at first sight one busy holiday night through the window of a bus in London. They meet again later when he begins dating her roommate and best friend. I like how this romance novel didn’t seem superficial or cheesy.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
This is the debut novel for this author. The two main protagonists in this book are women, one a wealthy white woman and the other a young black women who is her babysitter. It’s somewhat difficult to read at times due to the sensitive nature of racially driven situations (not to the fault of the author, but my own internalized issues). This is definitely an interesting read.
Educated by Tara Westover
You’ve probably already heard about this book, but I had to list it here because it was so good. This is a memoir written by a women who grew up in a very religious and dysfunctional family. Parts of this book were extremely disturbing and shocking so be prepared. I could not put it down.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
You may have seen the television adaptation of this book on Hulu that stars Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. Racial prejudices are exposed in this book when a rich white woman with four children rents a home to a single black mother. The author does a compelling job of showing the complexity of racial prejudices that exist in our society.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
You’ve probably already heard of this book as well, but if you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it. This is a beautifully written book that tells the story of a girl who grows up essentially alone in the swamps of North Carolina. The book keeps you in suspense, but also manages to beautifully describe the natural world to which the girl feels very connected.
The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
This thriller was so good. I would get excited every night when it was time to pick it up again. This is probably about as scary as I like my books to get (I need to be able to sleep afterwards). This is a murder mystery that takes place in a coastal town of Maine where a wealthy summer guest is murdered, and her best friend, a town local, is suspected. This is a page turner.
The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
If I had to pick, I would choose this one as my favorite of the year. It’s a historical fiction novel about a girl and her grandmother. The grandmother (an immigrant from Poland) becomes sick and asks that her granddaughter return to her homeland to search for answers about her past. It’s beautifully written, the character development is excellent, and the story is very endearing. I shed tears. Multiple times. I loved it.