In the same way 2020 turned life upside-down it had the same impact on people’s reading. For me, I read more nonfiction than ever before—from 11% up to 20%. Even more surprising, after reviewing my 2020 book ratings I saw how varied my favorite reading ended up being. Here are the six best new releases of 2020 covering six genres. Enjoy!
REALITY
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Published by Dial Press
Publication date: March 10, 2020
Bookshop, Amazon
If I were to pick the one book that meant the most to me this year, it would be Untamed by Glennon Doyle. In a series of funny, touching essays Doyle used her own life to relate to women everywhere. It was not simply a ‘I know, I understand’ it was an admission of all so many of us don’t know and haven’t experienced, but done with kindness. To say this is not great, but “we can hard things.” Recommended for pretty much everyone. My review
FANTASY
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Published by Tor Books
Publication date: October 6, 2020
Bookshop, Amazon
I don’t read a lot of fantasy but knew I would need something supernatural, a world far away from this one, to get through the first week of November. Sadly, given that election week lasted over a month, I wish I was a slow reader because The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was a wonderful escape. A young woman in the 1700s is given the gift of immortality, but with the curse of leaving no trace of her existence. A fantasy concept, but it played out in a realistic way. My review
POLITICS
Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld
Published by Random House
Publication date: May 19, 2020
Bookshop, Amazon
I know, why would I want to read about politics? Well, when the premise is what would have happened to Hillary if she’d never married Bill it’s a big enough twist that it could count as fantasy. Thankfully, Sittenfeld keeps the trajectory plausible, without letting Rodham fall into the “perfect future” trap. Politics is always a dirty business. My review
DYSTOPIA
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
Published by Ecco
Publication date: October 6, 2020
Bookshop, Amazon
Like Rodham this choice is a bit controversial. Plenty of people didn’t like or get Leave the World Behind and I can see why. I read it so early there was no hype and I had no idea what to expect. What it did is trigger my own preconceptions and then expose them as the limited thinking they are. This is definitely of the “less is more” psychological drama genre, but the completely ambiguous ending felt perfectly suited to the pandemic uncertainty of this October. My review
COMING-OF-AGE
The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe
Published by Knopf Publishing Group
Publication date: May 28, 2020
Bookshop, Amazon
They are the odd couple of friendship: Michael is diminutive, girlish, with a mother in prison, and poor while Bunny is 6’3” tall, motherless, boyish, and rich. The Knockout Queen follows their unlikely friendship from their teens into their 20s. I loved this one for the friendship aspects even if the story left me sad. My review
FAMILY
All Adults Here by Emma Straub
Published by Riverhead Books
Publication date: May 4, 2020
Bookshop, Amazon
Witnessing a deadly accident forces Astrid to take stock of her life and what she finds is concerning. All Adults Here is beautiful literary fiction about one family, flaws and all, their history, and where they go from here. My review
For a final twist, I had four backlist books in 2020 that I rated 5 stars. Outstanding reading in even more genres.
Blowout by Rachel Maddow: My review
American Royals by Katharine McGee: My review
The Road by Cormac McCarthy: My review
The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West: My review
That’s it for my favorite books of 2020. How did your reading year go? Anything you loved that I missed?
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Untamed and All Adults Here were terrific. I read about half of Leave the World Behind and then it started to freak me out too much. I have to be careful with dystopian reads! I have Addie Larue on my holds list.
I had such a great reading year. My three faves were: The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett, Real Life by Brandon Taylor, and The Book of Delights by Ross Gay.
I love your list, Catherine and what discipline to keep it to 6. We overlap on three and I seriously considered including Rodham on my list, as well. Here’s hoping 2021 ends up being a heck of a lot more sone!
I only winnowed to 6 because otherwise it would have been more than 10! I had a lot of 4 star books this year so made my criteria 4.5-5.
Yes please to sanity.
Okay, so I’m definitely going to give Addie LaRue a try now…if you enjoyed it, then I should be safe – ha! We have so many favorites in common this year, reading has been the one bright spot in our dreary year!
It really has- even if it didn’t feel like it when it was happening! I read so many 4 star books that I made the cutoff for my favorites 4.5-5.
I think you will love Addie!
The Road is a modern-day classic and chilling to the bone. Of the rest, I liked best Leave the World Behind which I thought was pretty well done. And I want to read the Addie LaRue book even though I don’t usually read Fantasy. So many are saying it’s great. I hope so. Happy 2021.
Are we ever going to be able to correctly use the word “happy” when it applies to a year again? I’m stunned at where we are in America and that we’re still supposed to worry in the days ahead.