My 2020 Reading List
Last week, I shared the books I’m hoping to read aloud to my girls this year (if you missed that post, you can see it here!) and I thought it’d be fun to share my own reading list with the titles I’m hoping to get to on my own in 2020.
I get asked all the time if I have a good system for tracking the books I want to read and the answer is. . . no.
I occasionally mark a book to read in Goodreads and I have books on my shelf I want to get to and I screenshot books in Instagram.
And of course, there are quite a few books on the 2020 Everyday Reading Book Club list that I haven’t read yet.
But clearly, I have no real system, good or otherwise.
So this post is as close as I’m going to get to keeping track of the books that are currently on my to-read list.
My 2020 Reading List
- Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. This one is getting a crazy amount of buzz and got optioned for a movie even before it was released (and it’s a debut novel!). You know me – I can’t resist a buzzy book.
- A Curse So Dark And Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer. Fantasy isn’t really my happy place when it comes to reading, but I can’t resist a fairy tale retelling – especially a Beauty and the Beast one – and this one has such amazing reviews. Count me in.
- The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates. I’ve had this book on my list since it came out and so many friends who have raved about it – I’m determined to get to it this year!
- Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder. This was one of the books on my Texas book club’s list for 2019 and I got so many messages about what an amazing book it is, plus it’s being made into a movie.
- The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See. When Bart and I went to Korea, so many people recommended that I read this book.
- The Formula: Unlocking the Secrets to Raising Highly Successful Children by Ronald F. Ferguson and Tatsha Robertson. My mom RAVES about this book and has given it as a baby shower gift to pretty much everyone she knows this year, so clearly I need to read it.
- The Huntress by Kate Quinn. Embarrassingly, I haven’t yet gotten around to reading The Alice Network, but I’m not going to let that stop me from reading this new book of hers that everyone is talking about.
- Why Marriages Succeed or Fail by John PhD Gottman. I have meant to read this for literally 7 years. Let’s make 2020 the year.
- Still Life by Louise Penny. This was one of my picks for the Spring 2019 Tell Me What to Read and I STILL haven’t read it. Time to finish that list so I can do another round!
- Inconspicuous Consumption by Tatiana Schlossberg. I always love a good non-fiction book about the environment and I’ve heard amazing things about this.
- Lovely War by Julie Berry. This WWI book has been on everyone’s lips for the past few months and since I already OWN a copy, it would be ridiculous not to read it.
- Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen. I’ve been meaning to read this one for a solid year and then discovered it was available on Scribd so I actually just started this one over the weekend.
And if you’d like a printable copy of this list that you can take to your library or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come right to your inbox!
What books (new or old!) are you hoping to get to this year? I’d love to hear what’s on your reading list!
I held off on Maybe You Should Talk to Someone for a long time, but now, after so much buzz from trusted readerly friends, I’m next in line for it at the library. I also want to tackle at least one of the doorstop classics I’ve been putting off–think Les Miserables and Gone With the Wind.
I’ve read Island of the Sea Women, and it was pretty good. I’ve read a ton of Lisa See novels, and I’m beginning to think that all her stuff is kind of the same, but it was good—she does a good job writing strong female characters and delving into lesser known aspects of the Asian and Asian-American experience.
This is how I am. I have some saved in good reads, some lists on Pinterest, a special shelf of to be read. My problem is I love rereading my favorites and spend a lot of time doing that! Of the three books I’ve read in 2020 one id already read.
I’m interested in see what you think of The Huntress. I really didn’t love either of her books, but I liked The Huntress better than The Alice Network.
Lovely War was great. I should have included it in my favorite books of 2019, but I had just finished it and I didn’t know if I had recency bias or not. I don’t think I did; I just liked it!
me too! The Huntress was way better! I wish they would make that into a movie!
I have an Amazon wishlist dedicated to all the books I want to read. I can then sort it by price to catch when a book is on sale!
What a smart idea!
I also have a ‘Books to Read’ Amazon Wish list. I reference it when visiting the used book stores in town and often find great options for $3-6.
You can rearrange the order of your “to read” shelf on Goodreads, so I usually make a list of 5-10 books I want to read next then I put them first on my to read shelf so that I can remember them. Next on the list is The Count Of Monte Cristo!
Oh this is cool! Thanks for the tip!
I’m looking forward to Such a Fun Age too. Unfortunately I’m one of a zillion people who has requested it at the library and in 2020 I’m trying not to buy hardcovers. I read Still Life in December after years of hearing people rave about Louise Penny and… eh. I can think of a lot of mysteries I liked better. I had a specific problem with the ending but I won’t ruin it for anyone who reads this!
I started the Louise Penny series last year and heard from many people that book 4 is when it starts to hit its stride. I would agree with that. I still enjoyed books 1-3 and getting to know the characters, but I have liked books 4-6 better. I am on book 7. Just my two cents!
I hadn’t heard that – good to know!! I guess I’ll keep trying.
I read Long Bright River and it was really well done. It’s about the opioid crisis and tells the story of two sisters, one of whom is a cop and the other is a drug addict. I had such a book hangover afterwards. I highly recommend it.