My Best Reads of 2020 (Part 2)

In mid-2020 I made a blog post of the best books I read in the year up until then, and now it is time for part 2 of my best 2020 reads. My final book count was 201, and you can find the full list of titles here and here as well as any statistics you want here. The titles in this post will appear in alphabetical order.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

This was a re-read for me. I read this series for the first time in middle school when I was 12/13 and was absolutely enamored of the real and fantasy settings in Victorian London. It was the first young adult thing I read, with the possible exception of Twilight (deep regret) and Meg Cabot’s The Boy Next Door (time for a re-read). I was worried that the story and characters would not hold up, reading it as an adult (like Twilight!) but I regret my doubts. It was just as perfect as I remembered.

Gemma Doyle is a sarcastic sixteen-year-old eager to grow up in a harsh world for women but has not thought much about what “growing up” will mean (both in the real world and in the fantasy world she discovers) until her mother dies suddenly and mysteriously and she is spirited from India where she has spent most of her life, to England to attend a stuffy girls’ boarding school, where she makes unlikely friends with the most popular girls and a poor outcast.

Even though she lives in the Victorian era and also a magical universe, many of her teenage experiences are very relatable. Friends, boys, romance, her relationship with her parents, and dealing with addiction, abuse, and The Patriarchy™. I am excited to re-read the rest of the series this year.

I will also take this opportunity to shout-out Bray’s other series, The Diviners! The fourth book came out this year and I loved it, just like I have loved every single other book Libba Bray has ever written. Maybe when I am done with my Gemma Doyle Trilogy series re-read I will re-read all of the Diviners books (especially because they have Gemma Doyle Easter eggs). I will make sure to rave about them to you all over again.

Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi

My first graphic novel! I saw the movie when it came out in 2011 in an arthouse theater in NorCal and I have not been able to find it online anywhere since then. Please let me know if you find it somewhere.

This 84-page book is a sad and beautiful tale of Nasser Ali Khan who has decided to take to his bed and wait for death since his beloved violin has been destroyed. There is a main timeline and flashbacks throughout Nasser’s history showing how his violin became his reason to live, and how it got destroyed.

Where the movie has many hilariously funny moments, the book does not. It is purely devastating. The artwork is gorgeous and evocative and even though the story is sad, in my mind it does not bog the reader down in sadness.

Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Reading this memoir was extremely tough, but of course important and worth it. Miller’s recollection of her assault and the physical and emotional toll it took on her is devastating to read, especially as it parallels many scenarios other women have found themselves in. Despite the dark subject matter, it was encouraging to see Miller’s resilience and healing process.

I immediately followed this book with She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, also an important book on rape and sexual assault and therefore also dark. I would absolutely recommend this book as well, but learn from my mistake and read at least one light fun thing in between them.

Scenes of a Graphic Nature by Caroline O’Donoghue

I have already reviewed this year (which you can find here) so I will only say that I loved it when I read it, but more importantly, it has stuck with me. I have thought about this book at least once a week since I have read it. I have thought about Satan, the dog a lot, but most of all I have thought of Charlie and Laura’s evolving friendship.

I am so excited for Caroline O’Donoghue’s newest book, All Our Hidden Gifts, out this year and I was bitterly disappointed to hear that the release date has been pushed back until July (though understandably). For more on my love of my fellow Caroline, you can read my original review of Scenes of a Graphic Nature.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

I find myself comparing every other book about a young woman finding her way in the world to this book. It made me uncomfortable and self-reflective, and it was highly entertaining at the same time. You can read my original review here.

Reid’s writing style is exceptionally readable and funny in places. This was an amazing debut and I hope Reid publishes a new book soon for my greedy bookworm soul.

The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker

I have very recently extolled the virtues of The Golem and the Djinni, but here I am again, recommending this delightful tale. The central friendship is relatable, yet unlikely and unprecedented (at least in all the literature I have read) and the prose is atmospheric and transportive. I am a huge fan of magical realism, and this story satisfied my cravings.

Something I did not mention in my previous review is the deftly written descriptive prose. My favorites were the scenes of Chava working in the bakery, focusing on kneading bread dough and shaping pastries. Chava’s inner monologue while dealing with customers and their private thoughts and desires was also a touch I appreciated. Maybe I have not read enough books with a mind-reader protagonist, but Chava’s type of clairvoyance felt fresh to me.

The Witches are Coming by Lindy West

Lindy West is a gift. I listened to the audiobook, which she reads herself, and was absolutely crying with laughter. Her writing style is accessible and her analogies are perfect. I wish I had her talent to distill the world’s cruel injustices so deftly and accurately.

My favorite essay was “Ted Bundy is not Hot, Are You High?” As much as I love the true crime genre, I do have a gripe with the thirst people seem to have for Bundy. Why? First of all, he looks like an average man from the ’70s who is off-duty from his day-job making balloon animals at the county fair. Second, anyone who perpetrates vicious and brazen gendered violence is immediately not attractive. West expresses this much better than I ever could, and with the added bonus of humor.

For more media on the [American] fascination with white men serial killers, I would recommend the podcast You’re Wrong About, specifically the episodes on “alpha males,” Kitty Genovese, and Jeffrey Dahmer.