Best and Worst of 2020

[Lisa L]

2020 is over and some of us may have completed our reading challenges, some of us probably quit half way or started on a different set of reading lists/challenges than originally intended.

However, I want to know about the Best Book you read in 2020 and the Worst Book you read in 2020.

What made it the best? Is it something you'll be recommending to others?
What about the worst? Was it so awful you didn't finish? Will the title be memorable in only that it was so horrible?

[Mark]

My best book is an old friend... First Man in Rome. Even 30 years old, and having read it five or more times, it is an excellent book... though, with today's climate, it felt like reading prophecy as it unfolded.

First Man in Rome is the first in Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series. It begins with the career of Gaius Marius, and covers the Jugurthine War in North Africa and his campaigns against the Germans... his first through sixth consulship, culminating with the unsuccessful coup by Saturninus.

[Lisa L]

The worst book I read in 2020 would have to be It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover.

Now it wasn't the worst, because of the writing style, pace or plot, but because of the content that I was not prepared for. It Ends with Us was one of those random recommendations that I came across and in truth I remember nothing as to why it was recommended. I just remember it being a title that was on some list. I didn't bother to read more on it before hand or read reviews, I just went in blind. I picked it up and all was going well... until it wasn't.

(view spoiler)[This book discusses abuse and I was caught off guard. (hide spoiler)]

I am a firm believer that some books affect us differently at different points in our life. You could read something this year and fall madly in love with it and think it amazing, but then read it 10 years later at a different point in your life and wonder why you bothered in the first place. With that being said, 2020 was not the year for me, personally, to read It Ends with Us, but I did. I pushed through it, but it was a very difficult read for me. Perhaps with some research ahead of time, I would have been able to better prepare myself, but alas, that didn't happen.

As far as the best book I read in 2020...Half-Marathon: You Can Do It by Jeff Galloway or any of his others really, I read a few of his in 2020. I won't say it was a "fun" read per say, but I found his books on running very informational. I started last year and soon found myself out of depth. How does one just start running, what kind of techniques are involved and how do you avoid injury?
I am still working at it and have since learned a good deal in part from the books and running groups I've immersed myself in.

But what I will say, in case if anyone is interested, after reading his books and many others on running (I had lots of questions):
-There is no one size fits all training plan.
-Endurance doesn't happen overnight.
-Slow down...Seriously, slow down more. Exhausting yourself in the first half or quarter of the run doesn't help you reach the end.

[Lisa L]

Mark wrote: "My best book is an old friend... First Man in Rome. Even 30 years old, and having read it five or more times, it is an excellent book... though, with today's climate, it felt like reading prophecy ..."

That looks like an epic series! I will say after reading a little about the book and the series I am intrigued. I do like to dabble in the historical fiction genre, but I don't think I've ever read anything set during the Roman Republic. I imagine there definitely would be some similarities to our current climate.

[Sharon]

The best book I read was The Thousand Autumns of Jacob deZoet
by David Mitchell. I love all his books, but this was my favorite, so far. It combines historical fiction, a love story, mystery, adventure, and I don't know if you would call it science fiction or fantasy. it's what he does in all his books. Also, it connects to all his othet story lines in other books, like there is a Mitchell universe.
My least favorite read was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. It's not a bad book, but I was disappointed that it wasn't better, because I had heard so much about it.

[Terry]

I enjoyed the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime but like you mentioned I was a bit disappointed after all the ratings. Still, I enjoyed it. Will give the Thousand Autumns a try!

[Sharon]

of David Mitchell's books, I would also reccomend Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks. He is an amazing writer.

[Rowan]

Best book of 2020 for me was Mexican Gothic, followed by Harrow the Ninth. Mexican Gothic is just such a fantastic addition to the Gothic genre while also subverting its tropes, and so wonderfully creepy on multiple levels. Harrow, I will admit, I don't have an unbiased opinion of because I've fallen in love with that series, but it was so unexpected and kept me on my toes in a way a narrative hasn't done in a while. It's not a book I can really recommend to a lot of people, though. Best graphic I read was Houseki no Kuni, a wonderfully sad and introspective manga series.

Worst? Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers. Terrible piece of nonfiction that had some good points, but would throw out these incredibly judgmental and mean statements in the middle of talking about how other things are misunderstood. It's strung together just enough that for some people it might even seem good. Worst graphic was my re-read of Runaways, which ruined that nostalgic overlay of it seeming like a pretty cool series. The writing is all over the place, almost as much as the art, and it relies on a lot of insulting language and tropes.

[Beverly]

I read so many good books this year, that I can't choose just one. But these three books really stood out for me:

Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis by Patti Callahan
I listened to the audiobook; the narration was superb; the story was wonderful and beautifully written; the author's note extremely informative. This was not your run-of-the-mill Harlequin romance. The plotting and pace were perfect; the Cold War era setting a brilliant backdrop to the story; the characters were fleshed out and believable. It certainly deserved to be a Christy Book of the Year.

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan
I laughed so hard throughout this hilarious book. Jake, who had been expelled from every school he had attended, is sent to stay with the Applewhites, who run a kind of teach yourself homeschooling place. Besides Jake, there are only the 4 Applewhite kids as students. I loved a scene near the beginning of the book, when Jake arrives at the Applewhite establishment. He is gothed-out in all black, with black spiked hair and numerous piercings. But Aunt Louise takes one look at him and exclaims, "You are a radiant light being!" I haven't laughed so hard at something in a long time.

The Best of James Herriot by James Herriot.
This was an chronological anthology of some of the best short stories Herriot wrote throughout his lifetime. Herriot had the ability to laugh at his own mistakes and follies, on his way to learning to become an established veterinarian in 1930s rural Yorkshire.

[Sharon]

i have read all the James Herriot books which are funny and warm. i am watching the new series on PBS. I saw the first series years ago. Surviving the Applewhites sounds like something I would enjoy. It's
going on my to read list. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Beverly]

Sharon wrote: "i have read all the James Herriot books which are funny and warm. i am watching the new series on PBS. I saw the first series years ago. Surviving the Applewhites sounds like something I would enjo..."

I haven't seen the new PBS series, but I did watch some of the older ones, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

[Cris]

The best book I read last year got a lot of positive press, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I listened to the audio version. I knew almost nothing starting the book, which probably gave me reasonable expectations. I was impressed by the narrator (Bahni Turpin) who differentiated the characters clearly, yet subtly. And the characters may have been idealized, but they were realistic and believable.

The worst books I read were the Aurora Teagarden books by Charlaine Harris. I'm a fan of some of her other novels. This series was poorly done with weak and unbelievable mysteries and thinly drawn characters. Looking back I have no idea why it seemed a good idea to keep reading them.

[Nancy]

The book I remember most (read December 2020) was Nelson DeMille's Wild Fire. The premise is wild in that a well-connected oil mogul gathers top people in an administration to help him carry out a crazy scheme to make it necessary to nuke hostile regimes in the Middle East. DeMille is so skilled a writer that you buy into the premise and agonize with Terrorist Force member John and his FBI wife as they try to thwart the plan. A good thriller by a master of the genre.

[Carly]

My favorite book of 2020 was A Promised Land. I did the audiobook and it was FANTASTIC.