10 Books I Read in 2020

I made a conscious effort to start reading more a few years back, but I definitely slipped in 2020. Time was obviously not the issue - it just takes a lot of mental energy to read (and, more importantly, digest what I'm reading) so I found reading a little difficult to do. I did manage 10 books (maybe 9?) but I purposely chose "easy" reads (for the most part). Here is what I read and a quick thought on each: 

1. Turtles All the Way Down, John Green - I have a soft spot for the movie The Fault in Our Stars (have a lump in my throat just thinking about it...), so I thought I would like this book. I was wrong. It's so childish and immature. One of the main characters writes Star Wars fan-fiction (is that a thing people do? I mean, who am I to judge, but my God, I wish I had that kind of time when I was 16. It instantly makes this whole group completely unrelatable to me). I think it's important to tell stories about growing up with mental illness - and how to overcome it, but this book was just hard to read. 

2. Dirty John and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders, Christopher Goffard - I enjoyed some of these stories way more than others. I appreciate the way that it is written - very fact based with little emotion. Some of the stories, though, seem very pointless. And the only reason that I even bought the book was for the "Dirty John" story because I thought there would be more insight than the tv series, but surprisingly, I feel like there is even less information given. I can see a few of these stories turned into other mini-series, though. 

3. Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff - Man, did I loathe this book and how these characters are written. It's the most misogynistic thing I've read in a while (and it was written by a woman...). Just the description of the female character is so awful - she's basically a manipulative shrew of a woman. I think that the author was going more for a "great woman behind a great man" kind of thing, but it turned out terribly wrong on every level. I almost stopped reading it, but then I got to the "Furies" part and I thought "oh good, her point of view", but then it got even fucking worse. I can't think of one nice thing to say about it. 

4. I'll be Gone in the Dark, Michelle McNamara - I actually think I might have read this in 2019, but I didn't list it in my year end book list, so I guess maybe I read it in the beginning of 2020? I was watching the series, and I went to look up my thoughts on the book and I couldn't find anything. I know that I liked the book a lot, but it was very hard to read (emotionally), especially because I typically read right before I go to sleep. I had never heard of the Golden State Killer/East Area Rapist until I heard of Michelle's death. There were just so many serial killers in the 70s to keep track of! Anyway, this book is so well written, and so respectful of the victims. It has great insight into the minds of serial killers, victims, and people working on these extremely emotionally disturbing cases. It's heartbreaking that Michelle didn't live to see the impact this book had on the case. 

5. The Double, Jose Saramago - Blindness is one of my favorite books ever (the movie is, sadly, garbage). I tried to read the sequel, but I couldn't get into it. However, once I saw the movie that is based on The Double, Villeneuve's Enemy, I added this book to my reading list (not to be confused with the movie The Double that is based on the Dostoevski book). I liked this book a lot, but it's difficult to read (it's a translation, and there is practically no grammar - It almost feels like one really long run-on sentence. Blindness is the same way, but for some reason it worked better with the story). I love how it starts off rather an innocent curiosity, but then turns menacing - and you don't really know how it's going to end (I already read that the book does not have the ending that the movie has - which is one of the greatest movie what-the-fuck endings of all time). 

6. The Hazards of Time Travel, Joyce Carol Oats - It's been pretty rare for me to get really, really into a book (especially this year). But I read the first 100 pages of this in one sitting (I usually do 60-70 pages max before my eyes start to hurt and my brain shuts off). It's YA sci-fi in the same vein as The Hunger Games (which I've never read, but I enjoyed the film series). There's some great stuff - especially about long-term effects of 9/11. It's exciting and a really interesting new idea. And it would make an EXCELLENT mini-series or film series. It's an easy read, but there is still a lot of stuff happening that you have to really pay attention to. 

7. The Hate you Give, Angie Thomas - Obviously a timely read for 2020, not really done on purpose. I saw this book mentioned a few years ago, when I was reading about the police killing of Oscar Grant - before it was turned into a movie. I happened to walk past it the very next day at Barnes & Noble, and usually when stuff like that happens I try to listen to what the universe tells me so I bought it. However, it then sat on my bookshelf for a few years before I actually picked it up again. It's a heartbreaking story of a young black girl who witnesses the police murder of her black friend. Inspired by Oscar Grant's story, it delicately and intelligently reflects on telling someone's "whole" story - directly commenting on the media's tendency to focus on certain parts of a narrative. It's written for a YA audience, in that it explores systemic racism in a way that is easy to digest, but it's compelling and complicated enough for an older audience to reflect on as well. 

8. Testament of Youth, Vera Brittain - Absolutely stunning novel. Probably one of my favorite books of all-time. I fully admit that the only reason I added this book to my "To Read" list is because I watched the movie (and the only reason I watched the movie is because of Taron Egerton, who plays Edward). I didn't like the movie (it's very boring, but Taron is adorable as per usual), but I really liked the story so I did a little research and became absolutely fascinated with Vera. What an iconic and inspiring woman! I love that it's a very female story told during WW1, which isn't typical. I love that she feels a duty to "suffer" as much as she can in order to honor her fiancé, her brother, and her two male friends. It's so poetic, thoughtful, intelligent and utterly heartbreaking. I think it loses a little steam once the war is over and Brittain focuses on her accomplishments in literature and speaking engagements (not because it's not interesting, but it's just not as interesting). I can't wait to read more from her. 

9. Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie - I watched the new movie version of this very famous story in 2019 and added the original film to my list, but thought it might be better to read the story first (I'm trying more and more to do that, but am often unsuccessful). Obviously, I already know how it ends, but it's interesting to see how Christie brilliantly builds the suspense. I've read some of Christie's short stories before (my grandmother had a collection of them) but I was very young (maybe 13 or 14) and I don't really remember them. Planning on reading a few more over the next few years.

10. When We Were Orphans, Kazuo Ishiguro - I think this is my third Ishiguro novel (?), and probably my least favorite. It's still great, but it's really hard to focus on - and the time jumps kept me confused. It's a little bit of a detective story, but also a story about a detective (does that even make sense?). I liked the build up of suspense about his missing parents, but then it jumps to a completely different part of his life - as soon as I get comfortable and immersed, it jumps back to this detective story. It just didn't work for me as a whole. But, Ishiguro is definitely becoming one of my favorite writers - I love how he writes his characters with so much introspection. I really feel like I know exactly who they are.