Every Single Book I Read in 2020 (All 226 of Them!)

What. A. Year.

I’m both really excited and also not at all surprised by how many books I read this year… a pandemic and a lot of quarantining and living alone and needing to escape the mess of a world means you choose books a LOT. (If you’re me, anyway.)

I didn’t start 2020 with a goal of 200 books, but quickly found that my 150 goal was not enough to keep me motivated as I flew through books, so 200 it was! Hear me when I say: I did not always read this much! (I hardly read for pleasure in high school or college, and it wasn’t until a few years post-grad that I started tracking my reading and really ramping things up!)

It’s fun to look back at how my reading life has evolved, so here’s how my reading challenges have played out since I started them:

• 2015: goal was 50, read 84

• 2016: goal was 150, read 153

• 2017: goal was 200, read 203

• 2018: goal was 150, read 152

• 2019: goal was 175, read 181

• 2020: goal was 200, read 226 (!!! new record !!!)

Also hear me when I say: your reading life does not (should not) need to look like mine! If your goal is to read 1 book or 50 or 500, I’m proud of you and cheering you on. Reading shouldn’t be a competition, but an enjoyment for all who engage with it, and that’s my hope for you as you read.

OKAY. End rant.

Here we go— here are all the books I read in 2020:

---

JANUARY:

• If You Only Knew: My Unlikely, Unavoidable Story of Becoming Free by Jamie Ivey (2 stars // review here)

• Choose Wonder Over Worry: Move Beyond Fear and Doubt to Unlock Your Full Potential by Amber Rae (3 stars // review here)

• If I Stay by Gayle Forman (4 stars // review here)

• Humble Roots: How Humility Grounds and Nourishes Your Soul by Hannah Anderson (2 stars // review here)

• Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (4 stars // review here)

• Where She Went by Gayle Forman (3 stars // review here)

• Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (4 stars // review here)

• Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano (4 stars // review here)

• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (5 stars // review here)

• The Book of Waking Up: Experiencing the Divine Love That Reorders a Life by Seth Haines (5 stars // review here)

• A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (5 stars // review here)

• White Picket Fences: Turning toward Love in a World Divided by Privilege by Amy Julia Becker (3 stars // review here)

• The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez (5 stars // review here)

• All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living by Morgan Harper Nichols (5 stars // review here)

---

FEBRUARY:

• The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai (2 stars // review here)

• Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra (2 stars // review here)

• The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson (4 stars // review here)

• My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem (2 stars // review here)

• Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey (3 stars // review here)

• The Better Liar by Tanen Jones (3 stars // review here)

• The Antidote for Everything by Kimberly Martin (3 stars // review here)

• We Are Never Meeting in Real Life: Essays by Samantha Irby (2 stars // review here)

• On Flowers: Lessons from an Accidental Florist by Amy Merrick (5 stars // review here)

• The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy by Jenny Han (3/2/3 stars // review here)

• Good Bones by Maggie Smith (4 stars // review here)

• Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig (4 stars // review here)

---

MARCH:

• A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (4 stars // review here)

• Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson (3 stars // review here)

• Gracefully You by Jenna Dewan (1 star // review here)

• You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (2 stars // review here)

• Followers by Megan Angelo (3 stars // review here)

• Now Accepting Roses by Amanda Stanton (1 star // review here)

• Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman (4 stars // review here)

• The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee (4 stars // review here)

• The Dazzling Heights by Katharine McGee (4 stars // review here)

• The Towering Sky by Katharine McGee (4 stars // review here)

• The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan (4 stars // review here)

• Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire by Jen Hatmaker (4 stars)

• Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan (2 stars)

• Try Softer by Aundi Kolber (5 stars // review here)

• Most Likely by Sarah Watson (4 stars // review here)

• Sourdough by Robin Sloan (3 stars // review here)

• The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty (2 stars // review here)

• Loving Well in a Broken World by Lauren Casper (3 stars // review here)

---

APRIL:

• The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward (1 star // review here)

• Untamed by Glennon Doyle (4 stars // review here)

• Writers and Lovers by Lily King (4 stars)

• The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister (5 stars // review here)

• Beach Read by Emily Henry (4 stars // review here)

• The Nobodies by Liza Palmer (3 stars // review here)

• Kill Reply All: A Modern Guide to Online Etiquette, from Social Media to Work to Love by Victoria Turk (1 star // review here)

• The Herd by Andrea Bartz (3 stars // review here)

• A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live by Emily P. Freeman (5 stars // review here)

• Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley (4 stars // review here)

• Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (4 stars // review here)

• Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein (4 stars // review here)

• How to Walk Away by Katherine Center (4 stars // review here)

• The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes (4 stars // review here)

• The Holdout by Graham Moore (3 stars // review here)

• Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (3 stars // review here)

• Single State of Mind by Andi Dorfman (2 stars // review here)

• The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams (4 stars // review here)

• The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez (5 stars // review here)

• Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams (3 stars // review here)

• Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane (3 stars // review here)

• If I Don’t Know by Wendy Cope (2 stars // review here)

• American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (2 stars // review here)

• Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America; Essays by R. Eric Thomas (4 stars // review here)

• The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver (3 stars // review here)

• Bread of Angels by Barbara Brown Taylor (4 stars // review here)

• Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed (3 stars // review here)

• In Five Years by Rebecca Serle (4 stars // review here)

• Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig (2 stars // review here)

• One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline (4 stars // review here)

---

MAY:

• The Distance from A-Z by Natalie Blitt (3 stars // review here)

• Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey (3 stars // review here)

• Defiant: What the Women of Exodus Teach Us about Freedom by Kelley Nikondeha (5 stars // review here)

• You’re a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass): Embracing the Emotions, Habits, and Mystery That Make You You by Mike McHargue (4 stars // review here)

• Happy and You Know It by Laura Hankin (3 stars // review here)

• Pretty Things by Janelle Brown (3 stars // review here)

• The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon (3 stars // review here)

• The Upside of Being Down: How Mental Health Struggles Led to My Greatest Successes in Work and Life by Jen Gotch (3 stars // review here)

• The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager (3 stars // review here)

• A Totally Awkward Love Story by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison (2 stars // review here)

• Pax by Sara Pennybacker (4 stars // review here)

• Leaving Egypt: Finding God in the Wilderness Places by Chuck DeGroat (5 stars // review here)

• Tools of Engagement by Tessa Bailey (2 stars // review here)

• Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies: And Other Rituals to Fix Your Life, from Someone Who's Been There by Tara Schuster (5 stars // review here)

• A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler (4 stars // review here)

• Meet You in the Middle by Devon Daniels (3 stars // review here)

• Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness (4 stars // review here)

• Tweet Cute by Emma Lord (4 stars // review here)

• Head over Heels by Hannah Orenstein (2 stars // review here)

• You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria (3 stars // review here)

• Open Book by Jessica Simpson (3 stars // review here)

• Remain Silent by Susie Steiner (1 star // review here)

• The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd (5 stars // review here)

• Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore (3 stars // review here)

• I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being a Woman by Nora Ephron (2 stars // review here)

• Act Like a Lady: Questionable Advice, Ridiculous Opinions, and Humiliating Tales from Three Undignified Women (1 star // review here)

• I’d Give Anything by Marisa de los Santos (3 stars // review here)

• Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart (1 star // review here)

---

JUNE:

• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson (5 stars // review here)

• Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Wen (2 stars // review here)

• A Sojourner's Truth: Choosing Freedom and Courage in a Divided World by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson (5 stars // review here)

• The Resolutions by Brady Hammes (1 star // review here)

• Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud (3 stars // review here)

• SLAY by Brittney Morris (4 stars // review here)

• This Side of Home by Renée Watson (4 stars // review here)

• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (5 stars // review here)

• If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson (4 stars // review here)

• If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha (3 stars // review here)

• With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo (4 stars // review here)

• Pride by Ibi Zoboi (3 stars // review here)

• Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender (5 stars // review here)

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (5 stars // review here)

• The Last Flight by Julie Clark (4 stars // review here)

• A Love Hate Thing by Whitney D. Grandson (4 stars // review here)

• The Love Square by Laura Jane Williams (2 stars)

• Dear Martin by Nic Stone (4 stars // review here)

• Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (3 stars // review here)

• Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (5 stars // review here)

• Feels Like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey (3 stars // review here)

• Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life by Cleo Wade (5 stars)

---

JULY:

• Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown (3 stars // review here)

• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (5 stars // review here)

• The Bethrothed by Kiera Cass (2 stars // review here)

• All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (4 stars // review here)

• Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory (4 stars // review here)

• Good Enough: Learning to Let Go of Perfect for the Sake of Holy by Wendi Nunnery (5 stars // review here) - comes out Oct. 20, 2020

• Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn (4 stars // review here)

• The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (1 star // review here)

• One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London (3 stars // review here)

• Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon (3 stars // review here)

• A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park (3 stars // review here)

• Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds (4 stars // review here)

• More than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are by Elaine Welteroth (4 stars // review here)

• American Street by Ibi Zoboi (3 stars // review here)

• Kristy’s Great Idea by Ann M. Martin (3 stars)

• Smash It! by Francina Simone (4 stars)

• Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz (3 stars // review here)

• Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls by Ann M. Martin (3 stars)

---

AUGUST:

• Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland (4 stars // review here)

• A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas (3 stars // review here)

• Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson and Ellen Hagan (3 stars // review here)

• The Margot Affair by Sanaë Lemoine (3 stars // review here)

• Some Places More than Others by Renee Watson (3 stars // review here)

• The Guest List by Lucy Foley (5 stars // review here)

• Chasing Vines: Finding Your Way to an Immensely Fruitful Life by Beth Moore (4 stars // review here)

• The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir by Michele Harper (4 stars // review here)

• The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (5 stars // review here)

• Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah (5 stars // review here)

• The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are by Kevin Leman (4 stars // review here)

• The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré (5 stars // review here)

• Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage in Search of God in America by Jeff Chu (4 stars // review here)

• A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (4 stars)

• Can’t Breathe: A Memoir by Laesa Faith Kim (5 stars // review here)

---

SEPTEMBER:

• The Roxy Letters by Mary Pauline Lowry (2 stars // review here)

• No Happy Endings by Nora McInerny (3 stars // review here)

• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (3 stars // review here)

• Handle with Care: How Jesus Redeems the Power of Touch in Life and Ministry by Lore Ferguson Wilbert (4 stars // review here)

• The Nesting Place: It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful by Myquillyn Smith (3 stars // review here)

• Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff by Myquillyn Smith (4 stars // review here)

• Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (4 stars // review here)

• You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson (3 stars // review here)

• The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks (1 star // review here)

• Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (5 stars // review here)

• The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert (3 stars // review here)

• Mother Mother by Jessica O’Dwyer (1 star // review here)

• The Switch by Beth O’Leary (3 stars // review here)

• Well Played by Jen DeLuca (3 stars // review here)

• Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family by Omid Scobie (3 stars // review here)

• Finna: Poems by Nate Marshall (5 stars // review here)

---

OCTOBER:

• Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change by Maggie Smith (4 stars // review here)

• What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About: Fifteen Writers Break the Silence by Michele Filgate (3 stars // review here)

• Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld (2 stars // review here)

• Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams (3 stars // review here)

• A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (4 stars // review here)

• Lie to Me by J.T. Ellison (3 stars // review here)

• Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi (2 stars)

• Dear Justyce by Nic Stone (5 stars // review here)

• I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest (3 stars // review here)

• A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson (4 stars // review here)

• Save the Date by Morgan Matson (3 stars // review here)

• Words Are Like Magic by Emily Alexander Moore (5 stars)

• You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins (3 stars // review here)

• The Pelican Brief by John Grisham (4 stars // review here)

---

NOVEMBER:

• Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey (2 stars // review here)

• Memorial by Bryan Washington (2 stars // review here)

• The Honey-Don’t List by Lauren Christina (2 stars // review here)

• Where to Begin: A Small Book About Your Power to Create Big Change in Our Crazy World by Cleo Wade (5 stars // review here)

• The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris (4 stars // review here)

• Craving London: Confessions of an Incurable Romantic with an Insatiable Appetite by Jessica Stone (3 stars // review here)

• 10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon (3 stars // review here)

• Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas (4 stars // review here)

• One by One by Ruth Ware (4 stars // review here)

• Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God by Kaitlin B. Curtice (3 stars // review here)

• Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life by Jenna Hager Bush and Barbara Pierce Bush (3 stars // review here)

• What Kind of Woman: Poems by Kate Baer (5 stars // review here)

• Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl (2 stars // review here)

• Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (3 stars // review here)

• Come and Eat: A Celebration of Love and Grace Around the Everyday Table by Bri McKoy (3 stars // review here)

• This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens (4 stars // review here)

• In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren (3 stars // review here)

• HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style by Elizabeth Holmes (4 stars // review here)

• Majesty by Katharine McGee (3 stars // review here)

---

DECEMBER:

• 25 Days ‘Til Christmas by Poppy Alexander (3 stars // review here)

• Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella (3 stars // review here)

• The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister (3 stars // review here)

• Admission by Julie Buxbaum (2 stars // review here)

• Ex-Mas by Kate Brian (2 stars // review here)

• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (3 stars // review here)

• Christmas on the Island by Jenny Colgan (1 star // review here)

• Christmas at the Island Hotel by Jenny Colgan (1 star)

• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (3 stars)

• It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (3 stars // review here)

• Little Men by Louisa May Alcott (2 stars // review here)

• Bridgerton: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (4 stars // review here)

• I Am Definitely, Probably Enough (I Think): Revelations on the Journey to Self-Love by Tori Press (5 stars // review here)

• The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz (5 stars // review here)

• Light for the World to See by Kwame Alexander (4 stars // review here)

---