Everything I Read in...The Second Half of 2020

Wowzers.

So, I didn’t post anything I’ve read for the second half of 2020. I WAS DOING SO GOOD.

Dang. Anyway, lots of things had been happening…some good, some bad. And I took a little unplanned hiatus from reading.

First, during the pandemic I’ve gotten into reselling clothes on Mercari and Poshmark. It’s a nice little side hustle that allows me to thrift shop frequently and make a little extra money. However, it does take up a lot of my down time that might previously have been filled with reading.

The other thing that happened is my cat was diagnosed with feline lymphoma in early September and was with us for just a month and a half until we had to put him down. It was an absolutely crushing experience…losing a pet is just the worst and there is no way around it. So we have been dealing with that over the past several months as well. Plus the pandemic. Plus the holidays.

I did not end up hitting my goal of 50 books last year. Had I kept my momentum through the year I could have done it but as you’ll see, I was really only reading a couple books a month, and sometimes even just one a month, for the last months of the year. I rounded out 2020 with 38 books read, which I’m still super proud of! It’s really never about the quantity for me so much as setting a goal that encourages me to prioritize reading consistently.

So here I am, February 4, 2021, trying to reflect back on my reads for the second half of last year. Some of them come back to me quickly as things I want to review and others, not so much. So overall, these reviews will probably be a little shorter than normal. I did set a goal to get back into writing reviews in real time this year!

Without further adieu…here’s what I read in the second half of 2020!

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August

Libra: The Art of Living Well and Finding Happiness According to Your Star Sign by Sally Kirkman

Fun, light, and quick to read. I am always eager to try to learn more about myself, especially as it relates to my star signs and I found a lot of it relatable.

• Overall Score: B

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

I enjoyed this one! Though I’m not always quick to pick up a romance, this one was easy to get into a great escape novel and beach read.

• Overall Score: B

The Art of Showing Up by Rachel Wilkerson Miller

Reading Rachel Wilkerson Miller was like talking with a good friend. The book offers the kind of actionable self help that we actually need right now and was full of lots of practical advice. What I liked most was that it was full of small, concrete ideas that probably on the surface seem pretty obvious, but I think are perhaps just good reminders that allowed me to reflect on some of the ways I go about my life and how to better align my actions with my values. I wouldn’t say there was anything earth-shattering about this read, but I did enjoy it!

• Overall Score: B+

September

Luster by Raven Leilani

Luster received many rave reviews, so I was eager to jump into this one and see what I thought. Unfortunately, for me, the book fell a bit flat.

First off, I found the writing to be overall exceptional. Otherwise, though, I didn’t really connect with any of the characters, who I felt were all very stereotypical and just not good people. I liked how Edie was portrayed in all her messiness and imperfection, but can’t say much else positive about this one.

• Overall Score: C

October

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

Whew, this one was heartbreaking and engaging and is another example of a book that I think has a little something for everyone: mystery, (forbidden) romance, family drama, friendship, and more. This story alternates between the compelling first-person POVs of Vivek and his cousin Osita with third-person omniscient narrator chapters weaving between them and ultimately ends with a twist. Highly recommend this one!

• Overall Score: A+

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

Another really fun and enjoyable read! Picked this up because, as fan of the (semi-problematic) Bachelor franchise myself, I was eager to see how much the book mirrored the show. The answer is quite a bit! A reviewer of this book on Goodreads aptly said “All in all, a very solid and feel-good story that would be perfect for dating reality show fans,” and that pretty much sums up why I liked it!

• Overall Score: B+

November

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo

I feel like I am (still) synthesizing all of my thoughts on this one, and it has been several months so I don’t want to get it wrong but I’ll offer a few thoughts. This book is not very long, and I still found it somewhat repetitive in its main points. I would recommend it as a starting point for white folks to begin (or hopefully continue) grappling with how we approach conversations about racism and the systemic and psychological barriers that exist to us being able to have meaningful conversations around these subject. The concept of breaking away from the “good/bad” binary in regards to racism resonated with me in terms of the best way to approach people who act in a racist way without them shutting down. I also don’t know exactly how I feel about the author.Glad I read this and got her message, but looking forward to reading some other books on the topic as well.

• Overall Score: B+

Circe by Madeline Miler

Once again, this one was very highly reviewed and (I think?) Goodreads book of the year. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about a fantasy read, as those usually aren’t my jam. But I have always been interested in Greek mythology and wanted to explore it more, so I thought this might be a fun avenue to indulge that. The story was engaging, and I enjoyed that this story centered on a lesser Greek Goddess, but it was pretty confusing at times with all of the different characters it threw in.

• Overall Score: B

December

Home Body by Rupi Kaur

Have to start by saying, I absolutely adore Rupi Kaur. I was so obsessed with her first two books, Milk & Honey and The Sun & Her Flowers, but I just didn’t love this one as much as those two. That said, the poems are just a lot different than those in the first two and the thing with poetry (particularly Rupi’s) is that it wasn’t written for me, so it honestly doesn’t matter so much that it didn’t resonate with me. I still have a profound appreciation of her as an author and a deep respect for what this book represented for her and I will undoubtedly continue reading everything she publishes.

• Overall Score: B

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

This one was recommended to me by a close friend whose taste in both literature and music is very similar to mine, so I was excited to check it out, despite not hearing about the book or the author prior. This book is a coming of age, romance novel that also has its fair share of tragedy. It was moving and I felt connected with the characters.

• Overall Score: A

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Absolutely could not have ended the year on a stronger note, book-wise. I LOVED this book. Perhaps my top book of the year. This is a generational, historical fiction novel which is pretty much a recipe for an A+ in my book. It takes place in Vietnam and chronicles the lives of three generations of one family, as they navigate so many tragedies and challenges, but the strength of the family pulls them through. The characters were superb and the prose was excellent. This was the type of book that I was honestly wanted to go on forever because of how immersed I was in it. Absolutely love and recommend!

• Overall Score: A+

Everything I Read in July 2020

I’m late, I’m late…for posting what I read last month! I got a smidge behind my goal of 50 books for the year and had a slow month, but I’m getting caught up! Here’s (a very short list of) what I read in July:

Three Women is a compelling and titillating chronicle of the real (sex) lives of three women in America. The rawness and nuance of this book are what made it so special to read. My heart broke for each of the women in different ways at different points while reading their stories. Ultimately, this book is an awesome exploration of women’s sexuality and the ways in which it is affected, constrained, or taken advantage of by men.

• Overall Score: B+

As a big fan of his first novel, The Underground Railroad, I was super excited to give into Colson Whitehead’s newest novel, The Nickel Boys. I was not disappointed! This novel is heart wrenching. You feel so much for Elwood who, despite circumstances that could have dictated otherwise, walked a straight and narrow and seemed to be making a way for himself until a simple mistake lands him in a juvenile "school" riddled by racism, abuse, and cover ups. The reader watches Elwood attempt to maintain his virtues and beliefs despite his surroundings and the things that happen to him there. There is an unexpected twist near the end of the book that I really enjoyed. I also found it horrifying that Nickel Academy was based on a real place Florida. Overall, my only critique would be that I wish it had been a little longer!

• Overall Score: A

Everything I Read in June 2020

Late to post this one - pandemic is still going on but at least things are slowing starting to open up! Let’s get down to it…Here’s everything I read this month:

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

The Dutch House is a gorgeously written novel. It is easy to see why it was a 2020 finalist for the Pulitzer Award for Fiction. I loved how much of the book was centered around this unique and unchanging house, which I felt like I could see perfectly in my mind’s eye through all of Patchett’s detailed descriptions. I also loved the sibling relationship between Maeve and Danny and how they remained each other’s rock through several losses and hardships. I don’t think I loved this one quite as much as most did, but it was still a great read!

• Overall Score: B

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

This one has been in my To Read stack for a while and I’m so glad I finally picked it up! The Color Purple is an exceptionally written novel written entirely in letter form. The book, full of some strong and diverse female characters, examines the many abuses women face all over the world by bringing readers up close to life as a Black woman in both the deep American South and in Western Africa. Stylistically, I loved Walker’s choice to refer to men in her story as “Mr._____,” as eliminating the name is a method of removing them from their position of power by effectively erasing the idea of a real human identity. The book is such a complex narrative about love: especially between two sisters who are separated by continents. It is vivid, heartbreaking, and sometimes disturbing, but it is also full of hope.

• Overall Score: A

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, while not a typical book I might choose, was an easy and relatively light read that kept me engaged from beginning to end. The book is quick to action, developing the plot before giving you a good idea who the main characters are (but they are thoroughly fleshed out by the end). I liked that this book was not what I expected based on the title and found it refreshing to read about a female character who just does not give an eff about other’s thoughts or expectations of her. Again, not my favorite type of book, but I did enjoy it as a change up!

• Overall Score: B+

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

This book got a lot of hype before I read it and I just want to say, it is DEFINITELY deserved! I love, love, loved The Vanishing Half! This was my first time Brit Bennett and I was so impressed. She does an amazing job weaving a tale of identical, lightskinned Black twin sisters who go on to lead very different lives, predominantly based on the race they choose to identify as. The book examines this concept of “passing” and the effect it can have on generations of families. The twins, who live wildly different lives in adulthood, can never escape each other fully as they are always connected by their sisterhood, their shared experiences, and their home. This dynamic family story takes place over the course of 40 or so years and the characters all make very different choices that have very different consequences with which they have to live. All in all, I highly recommend this book and I can’t wait to read The Mothers.

• Overall Score: A+

Everything I Read in May 2020

What a quaren-time to be alive. DC is finally starting to “open up” from our quarantine state but things are still pretty weird and distanced.

But let’s get down to it. Here’s everything I read this month:

The Upside of Being Down by Jen Gotch

I have a bit of a hard time identifying exactly how I felt about this book upon finishing it. I was very excited about this book before I got my hands on it: I found Jen Gotch's story very relatable as a creative with my own mental health struggles. But honestly, for marketing itself as a mental health-focused memoir, I think it lost that focus for a good amount of the book.

The Upside of Being Down started off very focused on mental health and very vulnerable and expository, but it quickly transitioned to chronicling her starting and scaling her business, ban.do. While I understand that is all a large part of her story, it felt to me like there was a bit too much focus on things like the logistics of building and growing the business that it lost a lot of that real feeling it had in the beginning. There are definitely some valuable pieces of wisdom related to mental health that can be gained from reading this book, but I think overall it fell a little short for me.

• Overall Score: C+

All Adults Here by Emma Straub

This was my first time reading Emma Straub and WOW - what a phenomenal writer! This one was a Book Club pick, and I also had the opportunity to view a live streamed book talk with Emma in conversation with Jen Gotch (whose book I also read this month). The chat was great and only further reinforced my love for Straub (plus - she started an awesome indie bookstore in New York called Books Are Magic!!) But back to All Adults Here. The writing was beautiful - exposing us as readers to some very real human emotions and predicaments within a fairly dysfunctional family. I loved the LGBTQ themes in the book and the commentary on parenting in all of its different forms. This book was so easy to read, but not for lack of depth or emotion - quite the opposite! I'm excited to read more of Straub's work.

• Overall Score: A

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

Something you should know about me (if you haven't already noticed) is that I love WWII historical fiction. My boyfriend makes fun of me because from the outside it seems like I read the same book in different words over and over again, but I just love it.

Anyway, as far as my WWII historical fiction reading goes, this one is definitely near the top of the list in terms of quality of writing and storytelling as well as also serving an educational purpose in bringing light to actual events and people of that time period. For example, Caroline Ferriday was a real person and tireless advocate for the disadvantaged and mistreated. The book was based, in large parts, on the various records and letters she donated to various historical societies. In addition, I learned a lot about specific atrocities that took place at the Ravensbrück concentration camp for women, including the sulfonamide experiments that Kasia and her sister Zuzanna are subjected to.

I really liked the style in which Lilac Girls was written, rotating between the stories of three girls who come from very different backgrounds, but you know that their story lines will eventually merge. I loved that this particular story focused almost solely on the experiences of women in different facets during that time period. While I'm interested to learn about lives of all people in history, I am especially glad to have the stories of women, particularly those of the brave victims and survivors, being told and honored as well.

• Overall Score: A

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

Steal Like An Artist was just a quick little artsy fartsy read that I've been meaning to get to for a while. I love the concept that Kleon posits of embracing that ALL artists steal and that no idea if ever truly unique or original. None! All ideas for art or anything else are always built on other ideas or things you’ve saw or experienced in your life up until that point and what makes your work unique is not that it's your idea, but that it’s someone else’s idea with your spin on it. Mind. Blown.

• Overall Score: B+

Everything I Read in April 2020

Coronavirus quarantine month #2 in the books!…Literally and figuratively as I spent a lot of it in a book. :)

Only got through three books this month - mainly because I decided to (finally) purchase myself an iPad and Apple pencil to work on my

Here’s everything I read this month:

A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

A Woman Is No Man is a heavy, but excellent read that spans decades and chronicles the gender roles and norms of Palestinian men and women both in their homeland and as immigrants in New York City. Though at times it seems like time and distance would make those two worlds very different and far apart, this story shows how they are not. This book had me reflecting on structures of oppression are how complicated it becomes when abusive behaviors become ingrained as a core part of a culture. The book focuses a lot of region, specifically Islam, and the role women, and shows how rigid cultural gender roles can push people to the edge and can perpetuate generational violence. This is certainly not a comprehensive analysis of this extremely complex and nuanced issue, but the book gives you a lot of great things to think about.

• Overall Score: A

Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

Just like Samantha's previous novel, We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, that I also read recently, Wow, No Thank You, is painstakingly honest, fairly graphic, and above all, laugh out loud funny. This book club book pick is exactly what I needed during this time of quarantine and social distance woes.

Sam Irby is quite possibly the most authentic person I have ever felt like I have met. "Sure sex is fun, but have you..." had me laughing so had and probably annoying my boyfriend in the same room as I interrupted his own reading time to read yet another snippet out loud for him to enjoy too.

• Overall Score: B+

Normal People by Sally Rooney

I picked this one next because I had heard a lot about it and then saw it was coming out as a Hulu series and, as an avid binge watcher, I wanted to make sure I read it first.

The characters are what make this novel so interesting. Connell and Marianne's relationship, while always tumultuous and probably unhealthy, was full of passion. The characters were flawed and messy, which made them feel very authentic. I also enjoyed the characters' contemplation around the concept or idea of being a "good person."

The writing style is interesting, hopping back and forth between focusing on Connell's and Marianne's perspectives as well as between the past and present. However, I did find that the style made it feel a bit disjointed. It would just skip a bunch of months out of nowhere.

Normal People is pretty different from the books I typically enjoy, but there was something about it that kept me reading.

• Overall Score: B-