A Special Report for Book Lovers
Lots of book reviewers take time in December to share a list of their favorite books of the year. Ron Charles, whose Book Club appears in the Washington Post, gave a COVID-18 twist to this concept. In spite of the fact that libraries were closed due to the pandemic, Ron Charles tells us that the popularity of digital borrowing via OverDrive was up 30% in 2020. He then lists the 10 most popular e-books at public libraries nationwide.
I am surprised to note that half the books he mentions are books I have reviewed on my book blog. Here is his list. If I reviewed that book, you will also find a link to my review and the brief synopsis I posted with it.
- Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens
Kya, the so-called Marsh Girl, is abandoned by her family at the age of ten (10!) and left alone to negotiate life in the marsh. The natural world around her becomes her solace, best friend, and teacher.
- Becoming, by Michelle Obama
- Educated, by Tara Westover
Most read this as the story of a young woman leaving an abusive home life to make something of herself. Not me. I read it as the story of an abused woman who kept coming back for more “love” as she knew it at the hands of her abusers.
- Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng
Elena Richardson has four teenagers, two boys and two girls. Mia Warren has one teenager, Pearl. As neighbors, imagine all the relationships that can occur!
- The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes
- White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo
- The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett
This is the story of Maeve and Danny Conroy, their wicked stepmother, and the mansion they all covet: The Dutch House.
- The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides
Alicia Berenson has a perfect life in London. She is a famous painter, and she is married to an equally famous photographer. One night, she kills him, shooting him five times in the face. Then, she goes silent, unable or unwilling to speak.
- The Guardians, by John Grisham
- Blue Moon, by Lee Child.
*****
For avid readers, it’s always interesting to compare reading lists. How many of these ten popular books have your read? I’d love to know. Please leave a message below! If you want to share your favorite book of 2020, feel free to do that too!
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Best regards,
Lorie
This is an interesting list! I’ve read 4 of them. My favorite books of 2020, though I’m not sure exactly when either was published, were American Dirt and How to be an Antiracist. Both were eye opening! What were your favorites of the year?
I read 33 books this year, which is a lot for me! My favorites were Chances Are by Richard Russo, Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey by Kathleen Rooney, and Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Not sure when any of those were published either…
Hello readers. I recognize that I called the pandemic COVID-18 in this post. Try as I might, I can’t edit it! I will forgive myself this mistake and hope you will too.
Hi, Lorie! Thanks for this list! I’m happy to find that I’ve read 4 of the books — the first 4 on the list — and enjoyed them all tremendously. A few of the others are on my “want to read” list on Goodreads, so I’m pleased to see that my taste in books is shared by other people (including you, as it has been for so many years now).
I’m sad to say that I didn’t quite reach my goal of 30 books in 2020 (I was 3 short), but considering I re-read all the Harry Potter books, 4 of which are over 600 pages long, I feel that my consumption of words was at least on target!
Here’s to happy reading, happy lives, and good health in 2021!!!
Wow, Rose! I only read one of the Harry Potter books, so your year-in-books seems amazing to me. Such joy from books! Let’s keep reading!
Hi Lorie,
I have read 6 of those books. They are all really good. But my new favorite book is “News of the World”. Also, this has just come out as a movie starring Tom Hanks.
I will post a review of News of the World on my website soon. I loved it too! Glad to see you are still a prolific reader!