Top Books of 2020: Elizabeth
It’s always hard to look back at a year and try to sum up a year of reading – and even harder in 2020, when reading felt weirder than ever. It was a needed respite from everything that happened, but it was also harder to lose myself in a book than ever.
In no particular order, here were the books that made me think and laugh and cry this year – I was able to narrow it down to 12, but I do have a few that were really close…so of course, I’m sharing those, too.
“Good Talk” by Mira Jacob (Bookshop | Kindle | My Review) - This is a book I probably would never have picked up but-for bookstagram because, on the surface, it’s not something that appeals: a graphic novel that talks about politics? My only experience with comics is Archie of Riverdale, so this was a departure — and it’s a journey I’m so glad I took. Mira Jacob tells her story as a first-generation American (her parents were born in India) who is in an interracial marriage through the lens of the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Don’t let the medium turn you off - this is an essential read, I promise.
“You Never Forget Your First” by Alexis Coe (Bookshop | Kindle | My Review) - Needless trivia is one of my favorite things — truly — and I love to be able to share a weird or irreverent fun fact in the middle of a conversation. This book was full of those, but also painted a true picture of the first President of the United States. Rather than writing another “great man” history of George Washington, Coe focuses on the real man — the rebel, the taciturn gentleman, the slave owner, the petty dude who held a grudge. I wish she would do this for all the Presidents, tbh; I think it would be a great addition to the American historical canon.
“The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig (Bookshop | Kindle | My Review) - I know I’m not the only one who frequently has sliding door moments — what if I had said no to that, or yes to this? what if I lived in a different place? what if that woman in Wuhan never ate a bat? — and to see this captured so perfectly and messily in literature was not something I thought I’d ever get to read. To get to go through Nora’s personal library of “what-could-have-beens” and see how her life may have changed was a treat, and though it ends happily, it isn’t an easy journey for either her or the reader.
“The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett (Bookshop | Kindle) - I am actually a little embarrassed that we haven’t gotten our acts together enough to fully review this book — we all three read it and intend to do it as a Book Club post — but then…I don’t know? How long can we blame 2020? However, this book is one that lives rent free in my head. Brit Bennett is an amazing story teller, and I’m well aware this book is on every “Best Book of the Year” list that exists - but that’s with good reason. The story of the Vignes sisters is heartbreaking, thought-provoking, and an ideal archetype for some of the issues we’re currently facing as a nation.
“Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi (Bookshop | Kindle | My Review) - I almost included “Transcendent Kingdom” here (Shannon’s review) as I read both of Yaa Gyasi’s incredible works this year, but after maybe too much thought on it, I had to include “Homegoing.” Years ago, I had attempted to read “Homegoing,” but I didn’t make it past 33 — I only know because I had that page earmarked — and I want to shake past Elizabeth. This truly epic novel of two half-sisters separated by the slave trade and the next 200 years of their descendants’ lives is one that I will never forget, and one I have already reread once. Yaa Gyasi is a true literary star, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.
“My Sister, the Serial Killer” by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Bookshop | Kindle | My Review) - I’m trying not to quote myself or my past reviews here, but this line really sums up everything I loved about this book: “It takes a true talent to take such a premise and make it not only compulsively readable but also laugh out loud funny.” Braithwaite’s novel of a big sister cleaning up after her younger sister, who has a proclivity to kill her suitors, is sinister, satirical, clever, and really way more than I expected.
“This is Big” by Marisa Meltzer (Bookshop | Kindle | My Review | Moira’s Review) - I’m not going to totally rehash my full experience with diet culture here — that is in the linked review — but needless to say, I saw a lot of myself in Marisa Meltzer. Like her, I have lifelong body image issues, and much have that has been shaped by the pervasive diet culture that is ingrained in modern American culture. For her to combine her story with the founding and expansion of Weight Watchers was nothing short of brilliant, and it shows just how commercial — and frankly, insane — this type of industry is. If you’ve ever suffered from body image issues or worried about losing those last five pounds (for who? why?), this is a book that will likely resonate with you, too.
“Oona Out of Order” by Margarita Montifore (Bookshop | Kindle | My Review) - You can tell how much I love a book by how often I mention it, and I have cited “Oona” as a “If you like this” book many, many times since I read it earlier this year (fun fact: that review was posted the day my office closed for COVID). Oona’s story was unlike anything I really remember reading, and it totally resonated. I loved everything about the messy but beautiful world that Montifore created, and if you can suspend disbelief just a little bit to accept the premise, I think this is a book everyone would enjoy.
“Escaping Dreamland” by Charlie Lovett (Bookshop | Kindle | IYORO) - I have a full review coming on this soon (I want to say next week but coup knows?), but this one that I finished the last week of the year sneaked onto my top book list in a way that I didn’t expect. Literary quests! Turn of the century Manhattan! A love triangle gone awry! To sound like Stefan from SNL, this book did have a little bit of everything, and while I enjoyed the story that Lovett told, I really loved how central the role of a good story was to the plot of this book.
“All the Ways We Said Goodbye” by Beatriz Wiliams, Lauren WIlig, and Susan White (Bookshop | Kindle | My Review) - I am an unabashed fan of romance novels set in and around wartime, especially World War II; you’d think that my time studying history in undergrad would have inured me to seeing the romance of war, but I guess I read too much historical fiction at a formative age. This book - a multigenerational tale of love and loss set around the Ritz Paris - is one of the best in the genre that I can remember reading. There was romance, intrigue, there was sneaking around, there were (fictional) enemies, and there was PARIS. Enough said.
“Party of Two” by Jasmine Guillory (Bookshop | Kindle | My Review) - More than ever, I turned to romance novels in 2020 to escape the world for a little bit and have a guaranteed happy ending — you know this if you’ve seen my reviews. Jasmine Guillory has long been an author that I have enjoyed reading, and I do have to say that I think “Party of Two” is her best yet. Combining a strong female lead with a forbidden romance set around a political campaign is literally an intersection of a ton of my interest, and this book was infused with the charm, sass, and heat that are Guillory’s signature.
“With the Fire on High” by Elizabeth Acevedo (Bookshop | Kindle | My Review) - You know when you fall in love with a book unexpectedly and it knocks you a little sideways? That’s “With the Fire on High” for me - I had seen posts of the (gorgeous) cover on the internet, but written it off because I didn’t think the subject matter would be something that resonated. After the events this summer/the beginning of my intentional diversification of my reading habits, I decided it was time to finally read this book that I had impulsively purchased a year before. I am so glad I did. Emoni’s story has stuck with me since then, and I am so glad I was able to live in this lyrical and slightly magical story for just a little while.
…and here are my runners up (you all know I’m bad at editing down)
“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab (Bookshop | Kindle) "| “Open Book” by Jessica Simpson (Bookshop | Kindle) | “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi (Bookshop | Kindle) | “Rodham” by Curtis Sittenfeld (Bookshop | Kindle) | The Denver Mustangs Series by Alexa Martin (Bookshop | Kindle)
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