My Books of 2020

As many others did, I read more books this year than ever before, due mainly to the pandemic and staying home. My total was 141, with 13 of those being audio books. I listen to audio books when I am driving on out-of-town trips and occasionally at home (usually to finish one that I started on a trip). I have a Kindle and read exclusively on that when I am away. This year I connected with my hometown library and was able to download quite a few books while we were in Thailand in the winter.

Last year I read Louise Penny’s Still Life, the first Armand Gamache mystery. Over the course of the year, I read the next 14 books in the series. I only have one left before the next one comes out in the summer. If you haven’t tried this series, I can’t recommend it strongly enough. Gamache is one of the great detectives in literature, even with his flaws (or perhaps because of them). The supporting cast of characters is wonderful, too.

Back in the 1980s, I thoroughly enjoyed the BBC series The Jewel in the Crown on PBS, and I've rewatched it on DVD. (I’m a sucker for almost anything set in India.)  For many years, I have owned the four-book set by Paul Scott on which the series was based, but hadn’t gotten around to reading all of it. So in April I tackled it and thoroughly enjoyed all 1300+ pages. Each book tells parts of the same story from different perspectives. A real tour de force.

The War That Saved My Life and The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley were two of my most memorable books of the year. The heroine, Ada, is born with a club foot and hidden in the apartment by her mother, who is ashamed of her. With the help of her brother, the two children manage to get sent to the country to escape the WWII bombing in London. Ada is an incredible character.

I like anything by Alexander McCall Smith, and he had four books published, each in one of his series. I usually get on my library hold list as soon as the title is announced. Reading his books is like visiting with old friends.

I caught up with a few classics that I somehow had missed or read so long ago I’d forgotten the details: David Copperfield, Little Women, and The Scarlet Pimpernel.

I reread several Nevil Shute books, as I usually do each year. I also reread an old favorite, The Ivy Tree, by Mary Stewart. I’m a sucker for books involving mistaken identities.

The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes is about the Chinese who were expelled from Seattle in the 19th century. A remarkable woman managed to live after nearly drowning. Years later, a modern woman finds her embroidery and tries to trace the story. Set on Orcas Island.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett appeared on many of the best books of 2020 lists last month. The story of light-skinned Black twins was riveting; one escapes and lives as White, the other stays in their Black community.

I actually read several books about plagues; weird to do in the midst of a pandemic, but they were excellent:  Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue, and Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell.

Of course, there are more, but this gives you a bit of an overview. I hope you will read and enjoy some of them!