A Look Back at 2020

2020. It felt more like a decade at times. I know people would love to forget about 2020, leave the past in the past and just move on but it was an extraordinary year in terms of reading. On January 1st 2020, I set my personal reading goal for the year: 100 books. I thought to myself, “I read 130 books last year but I am going to be much busier this year so 100 books is a totally reasonable and achievable goal.” As it turned out, I went into quarantine in March which led to me reading all the time. I hit my 100 books goal sometime around the end of July. Due to quarantine, I read a total of 153 books in 2020, a little more that 150% of my initial goal.

Reading Statistics

Books Read: 153 books

Pages Read: 51,070 pages

Average Pages Per Book: 333 pages

Average Pages Read Per Day: 139.54 pages

Average Rating: 3.2 out of 5 stars.

Out of all the books that I read and reviewed this year (My 2020 Reviews), I wanted to share my top ten books of 2020. In order to narrow down the list to only 10 books, I made the decision to have only one book from a series. Otherwise I would have three or four books that are all a part of the same series taking up spots on this list when there were so many books that deserved those spots.

Number 10: The Dangerous World of Butterflies

The Dangerous World of Butterflies is a look at the scientists, smugglers, and law enforcement officials that are obsessed with one of the world’s most beautiful and delicate creatures. This book made the list because of how unique and thought provoking it is as I would have never expected to read the words international criminal and butterflies in the same sentence.

Number 9: Save the Date

A wholesome and chaotic comedy! Save the Date is on this list because it is one of the many books that I read this year which made me happy. My favorite thing about this book was the portrayal of the main character’s family. Save the Date is the perfect book to read after a long and tiring day. 

Number 8: Strange Angels

Strange Angels is probably the darkest book on this list. After all it features all kinds of supernatural creatures like vampires and werewolves and ghosts. Strange Angels makes this list at #8 because of how fast paced the action in the book is. In fact the whole series is filled with fast action as well as many twists and turns. A wonderful book for fantasy/horror fans. 

Number 7: Rapture

When I sat down to make this list, I was honestly surprised to see the Rapture was this high on my list. But then after thinking about it I realized that it deserves this spot because it is a nearly flawless ending to a series that could have ended in so many different ways. A satisfying ending is precious and Rapture delivers a wonderful ending to the Fallen series.

Number 6: An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason

A story of star-crossed love, betrayals, spies, and mistaken identity. What’s not to love? An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason is at #6 on this list because it is a unique and well-written piece of historical fiction. I do not usually read historical fiction because I don’t like it as much but I really enjoyed this book.

Number 5: The Language of Butterflies

A humorous and thorough overview of butterflies and their importance in our lives. The Language of Butterflies is most aptly described as a butterfly biography and it's on this list because I learned so much from it. A must read for anyone who is interested in learning more about butterflies. 

Number 4: The Supervillain and Me

The perfect read for lovers of rom-coms and superheroes! The Supervillain and Me is a simple and mostly lighthearted story filled with secret identity shenanigans and I had to include it on this list because it is a dream come true for me since I love superheroes and rom-coms.

Number 3: Breaking Sky

Breaking Sky is a high flying thriller with even higher stakes. It is an amazing book that not only has fast paced action and a unique story but also great character development. I couldn’t bear to have this book any lower than #3.

Number 2: Front Lines

Picking a book for this position was the hardest for me. Not because I was having a hard time picking between which book is better between this one and the next but because every single book in the Front Lines series is amazing. So the tough part was picking between Front Lines, Silver Stars, and Purple Hearts. I was able to eliminate Silver Stars but then I was at a loss because Purple Hearts is a teeny tiny bit better than Front Lines but it is also the last book in the series while Front Lines is the first. As you can see I ultimately chose to go with Front Lines because it is the first book in the series and you would have to read the first book in order to appreciate the other two. Front Lines is an amazing story of an alternate universe where the US drafted men and women for World War II. The characters are strong and well developed, the pacing of the story is perfect, the action seems so realistic, honestly I could go on forever. I recommend it to everyone. 

And now for the best book of 2020: drumroll please...
....
....
....
....

Number 1: The Stories of Ibis

The Stories of Ibis is a hidden gem that I discovered and I have not been able to stop gushing about it ever since. It is a story that follows a human storyteller who has been abducted by Ibis, an android. Ibis tells the human, seven stories about the development of artificial intelligence from the 20th century to the 21st century. The stories told by Ibis are wonderful, the overall arc of the book is perfect, and the way that Hiroshi Yamamoto has fit everything together is amazing. If I was only allowed to recommend one book, it is whole-heartedly this one. It is the best book that I have read in the past 5 years, if not in my whole life. 

Putting this list together was harder than I thought it would be but I also had a lot of fun looking back at all the books that I read this year. Here’s to another year of extraordinary reading and discovering hidden gems!