I wasn’t very big on New Year’s resolutions last year, which in hindsight seems just fine, but I did set one goal for myself. To read 30 books. I tracked it using my GoodReads app, since they have a convenient feature for this. And I am shocked to find myself, just a few days before NYE about to finish book number 46! Over 150 percent of my goal. Honestly, this feels really good.
The only questions I’m left with are 1) do I set next year’s reading goal higher than last year’s goal or higher than last’s years’ actual books read, and 2) what were my favorites and least favorites from the past year??? I have been thinking about my faves, and I believe I’ve come to some conclusions. But if you have an opinion on my reading goal, let me know. Last year’s goal was 30 books and I actually read 46. So, should my goal be somewhere in between? I’m thinking 42? (I would say 40 but I just don’t like that number… can’t tell you why).
You can check out the full list of books I read over the past year here on my GoodReads’ Year In Books 2020 but my favorite and least fave books, broken down by categories appear below. There is no rhyme nor reason. These are just the books that really stuck with me, whittled down into a group small enough to be a manageable list.
Fiction
- Absolutely Favorite Fiction
- The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
- Favorite Fiction That Took Me Back to High School Feels
- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Non-Fiction
- Non-fiction that Taught Me the Most History I Should Have Already Known
- The Warmth of Other Suns: the Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
- Non-fiction that Demonstrates the Way I Think
- Non-fiction that Hurt to Read, and Probably Triggered Me
- No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us by Rachel Louise Synder
Favorite Series
- The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemison
Poetry
- Poetry I Read This Year
- Please Bury Me in This by Allison Benis White
- Poetry I Read & Was Also Published This Year
- Abeyance, North America by JoAnna Novak
Least Favorite / Failed Attempt:
- Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter A. Levine, Ann Frederick
A note on my failure: I attempted to listen to the Audible version of this book. The voice was distracting at best, and absolutely soul-killing at worst. I tried to restart multiple times, maybe 3 or 4, but just couldn’t do it. There was going to be NO healing with that version, unfortunately.
Up next in my end-of-year musings, a list of other people’s end of year lists, including some of the topics I’ve covered like music or poetry but also branching out to cartoons and live music. Keep an eye over the next few days!
Also up in the new year: site redesign to get the blog posts to the top of the page! Less Scrolling! Yay!