My Favorite Books of 2020

Here I finally am with my list of 2020 favorites. For the past week, I have been contemplating how I would write up my favorites post. I couldn’t possibly narrow down my favorites to 10, nor could I pick a favorite per genre. So, I decided to put together my favorites out of all my 5 star reads.

Not all of my 5 stars are listed here, but a majority of them are. The covers shown + highlighted and starred titles are also my top 10 books of 2020, so keep a look out for those as well!

Literary Fiction

 Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi*: A sprawling, intricately woven story of family and survival. Looking forward to finally reading Transcendent Kingdom in 2021.

What it Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah: Short stories from a mix of genres. Some weird, some eerie, some more realistic. // Review here.

Contemporary Fiction

Us Against You (Beartown #2) by Fredrik Backman*: A sequel that I loved even more than the first book in the series. // Review here.

Classic Fiction

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux*: Slow start, but became an “edge of my seat” kind of book that kept me up into the early hours reading. // Review here.

Orlando by Virginia Woolf: It’s Virginia Woolf…is there much else that I have to say?

Horror

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones*: A beautifully crafted horror novel, even considering the miasma of gore. Truly scared me in the best way possible. It also encouraged me to do more research about the book’s themes and Blackfeet culture. // Review here.

Thriller

The One by John Marrs: I was so enthralled with this book that I read it in one day. I’m not sure any thriller can top it for me any time soon.

Science Fiction

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu*: An intensely science/physics heavy sci-fi that I couldn’t put down. It confused and amazed me with its scope. // Review here.

Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyanchenko*: Such a weird, disturbing book that straddles the line between sci-fi and fantasy (and maybe even a little bit of horror). I thoroughly enjoyed it. // Review here.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: A disturbing, yet fitting book to have read in 2020. Couldn’t put it down. // Review here.

Starsight (Skyward #2) by Brandon Sanderson: I rated this one a 4 initially, but many months later and I’m still thinking about it. Which rarely happens with YA. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Romance

Forbidden (Old West #1) by Beverly Jenkins*: Never did I think I would read a historical romance prior to 2020…and then I did. Then, never did I think I would read (or enjoy) a western historical romance. Beverly Jenkins changed everything for me. She’s now one of my absolute favorite historical romance authors. I would highly recommend reading this one if you are interested in jumping into the genre. // Review here.

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover: Definitely more than your typical fluffy contemporary romance.

Fantasy

The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) by Roshani Chokshi* : Obsessed. That is all. // Review here.

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore: So beautiful, so magical! // Review here.

Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1) by Cassandra Clare : Yes, this book is another regurgitated storyline with new characters from the Shadowhunter world. Yes, I absolutely loved every second of it and impatiently await the sequel.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger: Loved this story, loved this world. I will read anything Darcie Little Badger writes.

Middle Grade

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer*: Perfection in the form of a middle grade book. I would highly recommend the audiobook of this one. I would have loved this as a kid and I love it now. 

Graphic Novel

When They Called Us Enemy by George Takei: A novel I think everyone should read at some point about the internment camps of the Japanese by the US during WWII.

Non-fiction

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado*: Wow. This was a gripping memoir that examines abuse in queer relationships that hasn’t left my mind half a year later. // Review here.

When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele: A valuable book that I’m so glad I read. There are parts of it that are permanently marked onto my heart. // Review here.

Inside This Place, Not of It: Narratives from Women’s Prisons edited by Robin Levi and Ayelet Waldman : A hard-hitting, haunting read with every trigger warning possible, but one that I think people who can handle the content should read at some point.

Well, that looks like everything! 2020 is now finally packed up for me. It’s already the end of the first week of January and so much has already happened. Yesterday was a horror show in itself with what happened at the U.S. Capital.

I hope you are doing well, wherever you are in the world and I wish you a wonderful new year in spite of all that has already occured in the world on this first week of 2021. The books we read, whether it be fiction or non-fiction, help us to understand this world and other people in a way that cannot be replicated. Here’s to a new year of reading, learning, and evolving.