Books of 2020

I set out at the beginning of 2020 to read less. I felt like I was speeding through books, choosing smaller books on purpose and avoiding classic tomes that were 600, 700, 800 pages. I pretty much failed at that goal this year (insert laughing face emoji), partly due to more time at home thanks to the pandemic and partly just because I get caught up in the library hustle.* So next year my one and only reading goal is to read the large book "Middlemarch," because I've always wanted to and I seem to keep putting off.

Anyway, below is my list. Scan all the way to the bottom to get recommendations. And if you want to receive my monthly Book Nerd e-mail, sign up on Tiny Letter.

      1.       The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna by C.W. Gortner
2.       Educated by Tara Westover
3.       Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
4.       Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
5.       The Scent Keeper by Erica Brauermeister
6.       The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
7.       Recursion by Blake Crouch
8.       The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
9.       Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane
10.   Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson
11.   I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella
12.   The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder
13.   Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian (YA)
14.   About My Mother: True Stories of a Horse-Crazy Duaghter and Her Baseball Obsessed Mother by Peggy Rowe
15.   Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson (YA)
16.   The Humans by Matt Haig
17.   The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters
18.   The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
19.   Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
20.   The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History by Andy Greene
21.   Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
22.   An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
23.   The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin (YA)
24.   On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (YA)
25.   Good Behavior by Blake Crouch
26.   On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
27.   An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks
28.   The Wives by Tarryn Fisher
29.   Beach Read by Emily Henry
30.   The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
31.   Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
32.   Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
33.   The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward
34.   The Guest List by Lucy Foley
35.   Well Met by Jen DeLuca
36.   I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
37.   Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
38.   As Much As I Ever Could by Brandy Woods Snow
39.   Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
40.   The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
41.   The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda
42.   Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
43.   You are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks
44.   Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey
45.   Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory
46.   The Roxy Letters by Mary Pauline Lowry
47.   Becoming by Michelle Obama
48.   What You Wish For by Katherine Center
49.   The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story by Hyeonseo Lee
50.   The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker
51.   The Half Sister by Sandie Jones
52.   Lucky Caller by Emma Mills (YA)
53.   How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran (YA)
54.   Things Jolie Needs to Do Before She Bites It by Kerry Winfrey (YA)
55.   The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi
56.   The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee (YA)
57.   In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
58.   American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
59.   Untamed by Glennon Doyle
60.   You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins
61.   How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
62.   The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
63.   A Star is Bored by Byron Lane
64.   Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld
65.   American Royals by Katherine McGee (YA)
66.   All Adults Here by Emma Straub
67.   How to Walk Away by Katherine Center
68.   That Churchill Woman by Stephanie Barron
69.   The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
70.   Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh
71.   Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
72.   The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel
73.   The Lacy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi
74.   Bus Friends Forever: Better Together by Christina Burns
75.   Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
76.   Nothing Like I Imagined by Mindy Kaling
77.   Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
78.   The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
79.   The Thousandth Floor by Katherine McGee
80.   Majesty by Katherine McGee
81.   A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
82.   One by One by Ruth Ware
83.   The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
84.   A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
85.   The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
86.   Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
87.   The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg
88.   Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer
89.   Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
90.   In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
91.   One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
92.   The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
93.   Well Played by Jen DeLuca
94.   Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
95.   The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
96.   Faraway: Fairy Tales for the Here and Now by Rainbow Rowell, among others
97.   Older by Pamela Redmond Satran
98.   Girls of Summer by Nancy Thayer
99.   The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
100.  Normal People by Sally Rooney

Best Overall
The Humans by Matt Haig

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Best Non-Fiction

Educated by Tara Westover

Best Social Justice

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
 
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Recursion by Blake Crouch

Best Thrillers
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

One by One by Ruth Ware

Best YA

American Royals by Katherine McGee

Best Rom Coms/Chick Lit
Beach Read by Emily Henry
Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey
Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

What You Wish For by Katherine Center

 

*Library hustle is defined as requesting books, having to wait for them to come in, so requesting other books that you don't have to wait for, then all of your hold books coming in at the same time and then repeating that cycle always and forever.

The Top Ten Best Parts of my 40th Birthday

Let me say right off the bat that I've been thinking about my 40th birthday for years. Because of the pandemic of COVID-19, all of my plans went out the window, and I had to adjust my expectations.
But thanks to some lovely, caring, crafty, clever, amazing people in my life, it was one of my best birthdays ever!

Top Ten Best Things about My 40th Birthday

10. No work

Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed working from home during the pandemic. But working from home kind of leads to feeling like you're on the clock 24/7. Having a true break like this was a wonderful gift.  But also, I had no time in my day available to have done work. I was totally planning on checking email and touching base on a couple of projects, but I when I wasn't with my friends or family, I had a full-time job of keeping up with Facebook wall posts, Instagram stories and Marco Polos from friends and family. Oh and my cousin Sarah mailed me a card that included 40 memories she had of me. Some I remembered well, some not so well, but most of them made me laugh and made me love Sarah for sending them.

9. 40 balloons

I've always wanted my own set of these giant number balloons for years.  They make great photo props, and 40 has been such a big-deal number to me for a long time that I'm glad I got to take photos like this one.

8.  All my favorite foods

My day started with Chic-Fil-A breakfast delivered by my dad and finished with a family dinner with all of my favorites: hamburgers on the grill, my dad's pasta salad, company potatoes, fruit salad and salted caramel cake. For lunch, see #5

7. Rainbow week and custom shirts

It just so happened that my birthday fell during a theme week at the gym that I loved: Rainbow week! A different ROY G. BIV shirt each day led up to a collage of sweaty selfies at the end of the week. But also! I had been planning to have a custom shirt made that I could wear for my 40th, and my friend Michelle came through with not one, but three custom shirts! (the green, blue and purple shirts from the sweaty selfie collage below) I love them so much I've already worn the blue (Aloha Forty) and purple (I make forty look good) ones twice each, and it's only been a couple of days since my birthday.

6. A #Fitby40 Video 

A big part of this particular birthday is that I have been long been working under the mantra #fitby40 (and have lost 120-ish pounds in 18 months!). When I signed my contract at Burn, it was going to take me to my 40th birthday. It seemed like a sign, so I took it and it has transformed me both inside and out. Emily, a trainer at Burn, made a montage video of all the pictures and videos she's taken of me at the gym. It was really special to see the physical transition of me getting stronger and leaner, pic by pic.

5. A Taste of Millstone

The fact that this is rated number five is a testament to how awesome this birthday was, because a Taste of Millstone has been a dream of mine for awhile. Ordering all of my favorite pizzas and having a slice or two of each?? I never thought it would actually happen. But circumstances aligned, and my best friends and I each got a different personal pie (buffalo, sausage and goat, and the Zoe, respectively) and shared slices.

4. Fortune Feimster birthday wishes

My friend Judy texted me a personal video from comedian Fortune Feimster. It was so nice of Fortune to take the time to make it for me, and she specifically called out that we're both 1980 babies and that I have lost 100 pounds. Plus, this officially means I'm only one degree from Mindy Kaling now.

3. Video from Co-workers

I woke up to an email from a co-worker with a video they had compiled for me featuring classic Office birthday clips and wishes from each person that brilliantly showcased their personalities.  Knowing that they all filmed their videos not knowing what other people were doing, and still came together so perfectly added to it.  I was so touched. (I can't figure out how to embed it) so here's a couple of screen shots...)

2. Decorations and posters

Maybe you think this one is is so simple that it shouldn't be rated so highly.  But let me tell you, I had not one, but two, pairs of friends come to decorate the front of my house. I came outside as soon as I woke up just to see if anyone had and that's when I saw streamers, balloons, pinwheels and a beautiful Fabulous & 40 sign from Michelle and Becca.  I went back inside to workout and came out a second time to go for a walk and found memes and drawings from Jen and Glenda.

Plus, I got so many beautiful and thoughtful posters during the parade (#1 below!),  and they've been decorating my house ever since!

1. Personal birthday parade!
THE MAJOR HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY!

Unbeknownst to me, my friends conspired to throw me a surprise birthday parade. It consisted of 26 decorated cars (and more than 35 people!) cruising the block honking and yelling happy birthday to me and throwing me goodies and presents. I was so, so touched. I cried the whole time.

I thought that quarantine meant that my birthday would be a smaller, quiet affair, but to have so many people show up for me was just unbelievable.  And I really loved how it was a mix of people from so many of my different friend groups: Burn, book club, old friends, family and coworkers.  I guess it was maybe a simple thing to them, to come drive around the block (although there were several people who came from all the way from Charlotte) and maybe make a poster or two, but it meant so much to me.  And afterwards, my Burn sisters jumped out to do birthday burpees with me on the curb outside my house.

I feel like I keep saying "it was so special" or "I was so touched" over and over when describing my birthday or particular parts of it. I feel like words are failing me as I try to capture just how amazing my birthday was.  It was so much better than I could've imagined or planned myself.  It's just nice to be thought of, you know?

Here's to the next 40 years!