2020 Reading Roundup

December 13, 2020

2020 Reading Roundup

I love the tradition of giving an annual list of recommendations from the books I read in the past year, and always look forward to similar lists from other writers and readers. I'm doing mine a little early this year because, frankly, the rest of my month is going to be insanely busy with work and holiday stuff. So, without further ado, my list of 2020 recommendations.

Okay, a little ado. I read 66 books in 2020, which is a smidge below my annual goal of 80, but I got a lot of writing done and it really ate into my casual reading time. I also read a lot for reviews and interviews that I wrote for Book and Film Globe.

The following books are not from any specific year, although most of them were published in 2020. It's also worth noting I am only listing books I FINISHED, meaning the stack of 20+ partially-read books on my table don't count (at least this year).

Okay, no more messing around. Here are books I read in 2020 that I think you should all read, too:

Last Words - Michael Koryta

Bag of Bones / If It Bleeds / Blockade Billy - Stephen King

The Immeasurable Corpse of Nature - Christopher Slatsky

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon

Malorie / Carpenter's Farm - Josh Malerman (Read my interview w/ Josh HERE)

The Living Dead - George Romero, Daniel Kraus (Read my interview w/ Daniel HERE)

Unsub - Meg Gardiner

The Chrysalis - Brendan Deneen

As Summer's Mask Slips - Gordon B. White

Worse Angels - Laird Barron (Read my interview w/ Laird HERE)

Basketful of Heads - Joe Hill

The Blackening - Seán O'Connor

Survivor Song - Paul Tremblay (Read my interview w/ Paul HERE)

The Return - Rachel Harrison

Lost River - J. Todd Scott

Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones

More Better Deals - Joe Lansdale

We Need to do Something - Max Booth III

Blacktop Wasteland - S.A. Cosby

Mr. Cables - Ronald Malfi

Red Hands - Christopher Golden (Read my interview w/ Christopher HERE)

The Raven - Jonathan Janz (Read my interview w/ Jonathan HERE)

Coraline - Neil Gaiman

The Night Will Find Us - Matthew Lyons

Relic - Preston & Child

Open Season - C.J. Box

Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Trilogy - Tad Williams

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars - Christopher Paolini

This is cheating, but books I've started but not finished that are really great (so far) include:

Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Loop - Jeremy Robert Johnson

Denis Johnson - Train Dreams

Wanderers - Chuck Wendig

Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires - Grady Hendrix

Desert Notebooks - Ben Ehrenreich

The River - Peter Heller

Until the End of Time - Brian Greene

Lovecraft Country - Matt Ruff

The Witch Elm - Tana French

Perdido Street Station - China Mielville

Look Homeward, Angel - Thomas Wolfe

Devil's Creek - Todd Kiesling

Fathoms - Rebecca Giggs

Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann

...and so many others. But they'll have to wait until next year! In the meantime, enjoy the list and get reading.

(Some books waiting patiently for 2021…)