Time to Vote for the Top 10 Books of 2020

[Amy]

Do you not read the 10,000 doors of January. Let me tell you what a grand disappointment that was. At least I was able to use it for poll ballot. Other than that it had zero redeeming value, except for possibly the negative.

[Nikki]

anarresa wrote: "The Synapse Sequence - Godfrey
Lovecraft Country - Ruff
The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind - Ford
The Nightjar - Hewitt
Lone Traveller: One Woman, Two Wheels and the World - Mustoe


2020 w..."

Oh wow! Seeing one of Anne Mustoe's books on your list made me smile - she was the previous headmistress of my secondary school - she left to start her travels just before I arrived, but was a bit of a legend - so I'm happy to hear that people are still reading her!

[SouthWestZippy]

anarresa wrote: "The Synapse Sequence - Godfrey
Lovecraft Country - Ruff
The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind - Ford
The Nightjar - Hewitt
Lone Traveller: One Woman, Two Wheels and the World - Mustoe


2020 w..."
anarresa wrote: "The Synapse Sequence - Godfrey
Lovecraft Country - Ruff
The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind - Ford
The Nightjar - Hewitt
Lone Traveller: One Woman, Two Wheels and the World - Mustoe


2020 w..."
anarresa
Worst:

"Battle Ground by Jim Butcher
It's the final nail in the coffin for the slowly dying Dresden Files series. It was a good run, RIP."

I have been putting off reading Battle Ground, I hate to leave a bad taste in my mouth after I have enjoyed this series so much but I must face my fear,read it and move on. I keep reading bad review after bad review.

[Kelly]

This Tender Land - Krueger
The Marriage of Opposites - Hoffman
The Dutch House - Patchett
One by One - Ware
The Alchemist - Coelho
Five Days - Moore
Evicted - Desmond
Nightbird - Hoffman
When You Reach Me - Stand
The Only Plane in the Sky - Graff

[Amy]

Love your top three Kelly, and two of them were in my top ten. The one in between is in my top ten for life.

[Jeremiah]

If I Stay - Forman
Such a Fun Age - Reid
Palo Duro - Brandt
I'm Still Here - Brown
Me - John
How Starbucks Saved My Life - Gill
The Henna Artist - Joshi
Child of God - McCarthy
Killing Floor - Child
In the Fog - Brandt

My favorite title this year was easily If I Stay but it was a really good reading year for me overall.

[annapi]

Hamilton: The Revolution - Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
Daisy Jones & The Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid
Notorious RBG - Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You - Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
How to Be an Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows - Balli Kaur Jaswal
Moneyball - Michael Lewis
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE - Phil Knight
Head On - John Scalzi
How to Be a Good Creature - Sy Montgomery

My worst read of the year: Thunder Snow - Mimi Foster
But just as bad was: The Nik of Time - Sandrine Gasq-Dion

[Joy D]

Hamnet - O'Farrell
The Blind Assassin - Atwood
The Mirror & the Light - Mantel
The Remains of the Day - Ishiguro
The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur - Cornwell
The Memory of Love - Forna
Montana 1948 - Watson
Snow Falling on Cedars - Guterson
In the Distance - Díaz
The Translator - Schuyler

Worst by far:
Everything Is Illuminated - Foer

[Ellen]

Descent - Johnston
The Stranger in the Woods - Finkel
Only Child - Navin
Keeping Lucy - Greenwood
The Hearts of Men - Butler
Sworn to Silence - Castillo
If It Bleeds - King
Leave Only Footprints - Knighton
Matilda - Dahl
Anxious People - Backman

Worst book:
Passenger to Frankfurt - Christie

[Jen]

Ask Anna- Koontz
A Thousand Splendid Suns- Hosseini
Mezze to Milk Tart-Yazbek
I am Legend- Matheson
Recursion-Crouch
The Last One- Oliva
Thin Air- Paver
The Hot Zone- Preston
The Octopus and I- Hortle
Ready Player One- Cline

The worst so far is:
How'd I Get Here? And Why Am I Stealing M&M's From Air Force One?
by Dan Beckmann

I've only finished 70 this year and haven't finished any of my challenges yet so it hasn't been a good reading year. I didn't give any 1 star ratings but that is because I am still trying to get through Baba Yaga Laid an Egg after 6 months. I will finish it by new year but can only do a few pages before I fall asleep or drift off with the fairies. It will get 1 star for being good for my insomnia.

[Charlotte]

Finally providing my list...
Recursion by Black Couch
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
So Close to Being the Sh*t Y'all Don't Even Know by Retta
The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon
The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger

Worst book... for me: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

I picked the books that invoked the strongest emotional reaction from me this year. No Retta's book isn't the best book ever but I laughed and cried. She made me excited about Hamilton coming out and endeared herself in my heart.

I know a lot of people like this book but it infuriates me. My husband has volunteered for our local Search and Rescue and I have a former co-worker who volunteers for the more specialized Seattle Mountain Rescue team and another friend with one of the local K9 teams. I follow several in my area on social media and about once a month there will be a situation that hits the local news. 90% of the rescue situations are entirely avoidable. Usually the person was either ill prepared or put themselves in a dangerous situation. There are times that people lose their lives even if they did everything right. I cannot enjoy a book when the author did not. He was not prepared and he made bad decisions. I don't feel like he just how dangerous what he did was, enough.
I went back and read my review... I had found several errors in his book. It says I enjoyed his writing but I also remember him being a bit condescending at times. This book was a huge frustration for me and just pisses me off looking back. lol

[Anita]

Charlotte wrote: "Finally providing my list...
Recursion by Black Couch
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
So Cl..."

I think I need to pay closer attention to your reading because I absolutely loved both Into Thin Air and Bad Blood.

But. I did also like A Walk in the Woods, so we might not be 100% simpatico!

[NancyJ]

Charlotte wrote: "Finally providing my list...
Recursion by Black Couch
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
So Cl..."

Great variety. I think I overlooked Recursion because I read it so early in the year. What the Wind Knows was on my list last year, along with two other Ireland books.

[Joanne]

What the Wind Knows has been on my shelf since it came out-I need to make sure I read it in 2021

[Amy]

I might read that with you Joanne! Its on my list too.....

[Charlotte]

Anita wrote: "Charlotte wrote: "Finally providing my list...
Recursion by Black Couch
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Ever..."

I think I would have liked A Walk in the Woods if it was a different subject. I should give him another chance and try a more recent book that isn't about thru hiking or hiking in general. :)

[Charlotte]

Joanne wrote: "What the Wind Knows has been on my shelf since it came out-I need to make sure I read it in 2021"

It was amazing! I read and listened to it. It was helpful to listen to it as now I know the proper pronunciation of Eoin (more like Owen). I basically sobbed at the end.

I have since loaded up on a bunch more Amy Harmon books!! I plan to read a few in 2021.

[Michael]

Shuggie Bain - Stuart
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Vuong
A Burning - Majumdar
Apeirogon - McCann
Memory Called Empire - Martine
Run Me to Earth - Yoon
The Mirror & the Light - Mantel
Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory - Saunt
The Splendid and the Vile - Larson
Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace - Safina

These were all published in 2020.

[Karin]

Joy D wrote: "Hamnet - O'Farrell
The Blind Assassin - Atwood
The Mirror & the Light - Mantel
The Remains of the Day - Ishiguro
The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur - Cornwell
The Memory of Love - Forna
Montana 194..."

Snow Fallling on Cedars is one of my favourite novels--I am so glad this made your top ten of the year! I think I appreciated it even more the second time I read it, and plan to read it again someday.

[KateNZ]

I love your list, Michael. I’m putting a few of them on my TBR - I’d had my eye on Becoming Wild for instance and it’s great to know it’s so good.

Shuggie Bain is going to make my list as well (I think Ocean Vuong’s little masterpiece is already there) - I don’t always agree with the Booker winner but that one is well worthy.

[Nicole D.]

@anaresa - I love Matt Ruff. I've read all his books (except Lovecraft) I think you will enjoy Fool on the Hill

[Nicole R]

Jen wrote: "Ask Anna- Koontz
A Thousand Splendid Suns- Hosseini
Mezze to Milk Tart-Yazbek
I am Legend- Matheson
Recursion-Crouch
The Last One- Oliva
Thin Air- Paver
The Hot Zone- Preston
The Octopus and I- Hor..."

I love The Hot Zone! I have read it several times, but kudos to you for being brave enough to read it during the pandemic year!

[Nicole R]

Charlotte wrote: "Finally providing my list...
Recursion by Black Couch
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
So Cl..."

1) I LOVED Bad Blood. I just got it for my high school science teacher SIL and she is pumped to finally get to it.

2) I also HATED A Walk in the Woods. So many people loved it and I found it infuriating. lol

[Nicole R]

Michael wrote: "Shuggie Bain - Stuart
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Vuong
A Burning - Majumdar
Apeirogon - McCann
Memory Called Empire - Martine
Run Me to Earth - Yoon
The Mirror & the Light - Mantel
Unworthy ..."

I really need to look closer at A Burning....

[Karin]

Nicole R wrote: "Charlotte wrote: "Finally providing my list...
Recursion by Black Couch
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Ever..."

I can relate to not liking a popular book. I didn't like the characters in Such a Fun Age or a few other things, and discarded it.

[Linda C]

Joy D wrote: "Hamnet - O'Farrell
The Blind Assassin - Atwood
The Mirror & the Light - Mantel
The Remains of the Day - Ishiguro

Worst by far:
Everything Is Illuminated - Foer"

I also did not like Foer's book at all!

[Anita]

Linda C wrote: Worst by far:
Everything Is Illuminated - Foer"

I also did not like Foer's book at all!.."

Right there with you on this title . . . not a fan.

[Joy D]

Anita wrote: "Linda C wrote: Worst by far:
Everything Is Illuminated - Foer"

I also did not like Foer's book at all!.."

Right there with you on this title . . . not a fan."

I typically don't give 1 star ratings, since I try to screen my books pretty carefully, but I kind of hated it.

[Joy D]

Karin wrote: "Snow Fallling on Cedars is one of my favourite novels--I am so glad this made your top ten of the year! I think I appreciated it even more the second time I read it, and plan to read it again someday..."

It really was a wonderful read. Glad you loved it too, Karin!

[Rachel N.]

I've had a rough reading year, only completing 58 books, with possibly one more, but I did complete a top ten list.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon – King
Bad Blood – Carreyrou
A Rising Man - Muhkerjee
Ill Wind – Caine
Blood Rites – Butcher
Bet me – Crusie
Educated – Westover
The Feather Thief – Johnson
The Women of the Copper Country – Russell
The Heist – Evanovich

On an upbeat note I didn't rate any book lower than three stars so I don't have a worst book of the year.

[Theresa]

The Feather Thief and Educated have been in my top 10 in previous years.

[LibraryCin]

I have one more book to finish, possibly two, hopefully three.

I've taken a look and I might only have 7 books to add (even with a possibly record breaking year for number of books read. 176 and counting). No 5 stars this year (though I have felt like I've been rating tougher again this year; last year, too, I think). I have four 4.5 star books and three 4.25 stars. I'm still going to hold off on posting the list until Jan. 1, though.

[Karin]

Rachel N. wrote: "I've had a rough reading year, only completing 58 books, with possibly one more, but I did complete a top ten list.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon – King
Bad Blood – Carreyrou
A Rising Man - Muhker..."

I enjoyed The Heist, too.

[Kimber]

Top 10 for 2020, in the order read:

Wild - Strayed
Beautiful Ruins - Walter
Dragon Teeth - Crichton
Lab Girl - Jahren
Prodigal Summer - Kingsolver
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - Chambers
Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea - Pinsker
Where the Crawdads Sing - Owens
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Vuong
The Lathe of Heaven - LeGuin

My least favorite this year was a book called Strange Harvests: The Hidden Histories of Seven Natural Objects by Posnett. I had high expectations that were quickly dashed. I thought "sustainable harvests, what an uplifting topic" but nothing is free, and the dark sides of these harvests were depressing. I admit that I only made it through the sections for two of the harvests (eiderdown and edible birds' nests). It's the first book in a really long time that I did not finish, with no plans to go back to it. It might be riveting for some, but it was not for me.

[Tessa (FutureAuthor23)]

I'm glad to see Lab Girl and Hamnet on several people's lists cuz I've been really excited to read them both and hope to get to them soon.
For me, what I thought would be a year where I got lots of extra reading time in, actually turned out that I read very little. I did way more puzzles instead. So I've only got 3 books to contribute to this thread that were my top reads this year.

Know My Name - Miller
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End - Gawande
My Dark Vanessa - Russell

My worst read of the year was Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

[Nicole R]

Tessa (FutureAuthor23) wrote: "I'm glad to see Lab Girl and Hamnet on several people's lists cuz I've been really excited to read them both and hope to get to them soon.
For me, what I thought would be a year where I got lots o..."

I really want to get to Know My Name...

[Tessa (FutureAuthor23)]

Nicole R wrote: "I really want to get to Know My Name..."

It was the first book I read in 2020 and I immediately said it was gonna be hard to top it. I knew it would end up on my top 10 list for sure. After 22 years of watching Law & Order SVU I thought I already knew a lot about what victims have to go through to come forward. Nope. This book was eye-opening for me.

[Nicole R]

Tessa (FutureAuthor23) wrote: "Nicole R wrote: "I really want to get to Know My Name..."

It was the first book I read in 2020 and I immediately said it was gonna be hard to top it. I knew it would end up on my top 10 list for s..."

Okay, first chance I get to align it with a PBT monthly tag, it is up!

[Robin P]

I assume it would fit under Mental Health.

[Nicole R]

I already have books lined up for this month 😉

[Booknblues]

Anita or Nicole, I added one book to my list, because I only had 9. Whoops!

Book added:
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows - Balli Kaur Jaswal

First time I have had to struggle to have 10, usually I have to whittle my list down.

[Joi]

Yay! Finally finished my last reviews, and curated my top 10.
In no order...

Unbelievable: A False Report - Christian Miller, Ken Armstrong
Shoe Dog - Phil Knight
Educated - Tara Westover
Know My Name - Chanel Miller

One to Watch - Kate Stayman-London
We Were the Lucky Ones - Georgia Hunter
Recursion - Blake Crouch
My Dark Vanessa - Kate Elizabeth Russell
Luster - Raven Leilani
In A Holidaze - Christina Lauren

I ended up with 4 non fiction, and 6 fiction. I think REALLY GOOD memoirs have a high probability of making my top 10.

Worst read:
Toss up between My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress and my last read of the year, Bridget Jones's Diary

[Book Concierge]

Here are my top 10, in alphabetical order by author last name

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee - Brown
Notorious RBG - Cramon & Knizhnik
The Boston Girl - Diamant
The Only Road - Diaz
The Gift of Rain - Eng
Thirteen Moons - Frazier
Lab Girl - Jahren
Fair and Tender Ladies - Smith
Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in US Naval History - Vincent & Vladic
The Nickel Boys - Whitehead


===============================

Well, I gave ZERO stars to two books that I finished ...and the dubious "honor" of being the worst goes to
Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

[Book Concierge]

NOTE - above post edited to include that 10th book, which I somehow overlooked.

[forsanolim]

I read far, far more than I expected this year (110 books!), mainly due to Covid and to Poll Ballot. My top 10, in order that I read them (and interestingly also in a perfect split between fiction and non-fiction):

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Turton
Lovely War - Berry
The Tsar of Love and Techno - Marra
The Shadow of the Wind - Ruiz Zafón
The Humans - Haig
The Color of Law - Rothstein
Miracle Country - Atleework
Leaving Church - Brown Taylor
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone - Gottlieb
Black Death at the Golden Gate - Randall

My favorite non-fiction was Miracle Country (which I can't recommend highly enough), and my favorite non-reread fiction was probably The Shadow of the Wind. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle was a reread for me this year, since I read it for the first time last year, but I didn't make a top 10 list last year so I'm including it on this year's.

By far the worst book that I finished was The Matchmaker's List, which was ABSOLUTELY awful--it wasn't a romcom and had a really unlikeable main character, and the main plot point was said main character pretending to be gay.

I've been wanting to read Hamnet for a long time, so it's good to see that on several lists here.

[Anita]

Book Concierge wrote: "NOTE - above post edited to include that 10th book, which I somehow overlooked."

Thanks! I got that 10th one yesterday.

[Anita]

**Last chance to give us your top 10**

Deadline: January 3

[Jgrace]

Beloved - Morrison
A Long Petal of the Sea - Allende
Long Way Down - Reynolds
Monument: Poems New and Selected - Trethewey
Ordinary Grace - Kruger
Piranesi - Clarke
A Promised Land - Obama
This is How You Lose the Time War - El-Mohtar/Gladstone
Troubled Blood - Galbraith
Winter - Smith

[Diana]

The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
To All the Boys I Loved Before - Jenny Han
The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith
P.S. I Love You - Cecilia Ahern
Recursion - Blake Crouch
11/22/63 - Stephen King
It Ends With Us - Colleen Hoover
Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty
Stay With Me - Ayobami Adebayo
Public Secrets - Nora Roberts

There were a few books that got a 2-star rating from me, but the worst among them was probably Before I Die, especially after comparing it with Fault in Our Stars that describes the same illness.

[LibraryCin]

My top 10 (4.25+ stars):
Endangered - Scharfer
Big Little Lies - Moriarty
7 Generations: A Plains Cree Saga - Robertson
Deep Freeze - Jackson
Elephant Speak: A Devoted Keeper’s Life Among the Herd - Crandall
Shelter: Lost & Found - Conroy
Go Down Together: The True Untold Story of Bonnie & Clyde - Guinn
Outlaw - Donald
Educated - Westover
The Turn of the Key - Ware

Dishonourable mentions (1.5-2 stars):
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 / Simon Winchester (audio)
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats / Jan-Philipp Sendker (audio)
The House of Doctor Dee / Peter Ackroyd
Enchantments / Kathryn Harrison (audio)

Only "Endangered" was a 5 star read for me. I had no 5-stars last year at all.

Of my four dishonourable mentions (2 stars or less), three were audios, so I'm not sure where they might have rated had I read them in print or ebook instead.