2020 has been a weird year for reading. Some books have taken me months to get through. And there’s a chunk of time missing from my tracking notebook – I’m sure I read something the first couple months of quarantine, but I didn’t bother writing anything down. Typical pandemic behavior.
- The Last Mrs. Parrish by Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine 🙂
- How Not to Die Alone by Richard Roper (funny and true / three hearts)
- The Homecoming by Andrew Pyper. Ooh he’s good. I’ve read all his books and am patiently waiting for The Demonologist movie to come out… this is not my favorite of his, though.
- The Institute by Stephen King (good kids bad adults)
- The Invisibility Cloak by Ge Fei (dark, funny, surprising, weird and great / one heart)
- The Diary of a Rapist by Evan S. Connell. Don’t judge this book by it’s title. A favorite author recommended it. Published in 1967, it’s darkly funny and more of a commentary on society and the roles we play. (Ha)
- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (so good!) This is a mix of sci-fi and romance, parallel universes and the power of love!
- Holes by Louis Sachar (Loved it 🙂 ) (p.s. the movie is pretty entertaining as well!) It’s YA but anyone would like it.
- The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John le Carré (three stars!) One of my brothers is a big fan of le Carré and this was my first try. I liked his writing style, it’s almost noir-ish. Spy noir!
- Jaws by Peter Benchley (one heart) Sadly the book is dated in a way that makes it kind of hard to read. And Brody’s wife has a one night stand, you won’t believe with who! UGH, stick with the movie for sure.
- Adèle by Leïla Slimani (Ha great ending)
- Dark Mirror by Barton Gellman (incredible) He is one of the journalists who Edward Snowden trusted to break the story of American surveillance on citizens. Gellman lays out how it all came together and also writes a biography of sorts of Snowden. It’s like a thriller at times.
- The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (Yes, see my first blog post!)
- Hatemonger by Jean Guerrero (chilling) This is a bio of Stephen Miller, President Trump’s chief advisor and architect of his immigration policy. He’s worse than you think. Read and vote!
- I just finished Good Talk by Mira Jacobs. Found it on the New Book shelf at the library on campus (finally allowed in to browse again!) It’s an adult graphic novel about the Trump era, a child’s questions and racial reckoning. I loved it for it’s humor, warmth and intelligence. Jacobs’ writing left me challenged and inspired to do some (more) thinking about America and how we all fit in (or not). Five stars!
- The Silent Wife by Karin Slaughter (5 stars! see review!)
- Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam (children’s book, fun for all)
- Keep it Moving by Twyla Tharp
- The Searcher by Tana French (5 stars! see review! I kind of want to read it again, right away. That good.
- If It Bleeds by Stephen King (Four novellas, I guarantee you’ll enjoy at least one of them…see review)
- The End of October by Lawrence Wright (excellent, timely, but perhaps not a good time for some right now, during the pandemic… see review)
- Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (love story with an ominous turn. See review!)
bookthrasher 