2020 in Books

Well, I thought this year would see fewer books than last year over here. And it did, but only 2 fewer and about 700 pages more than last year (thanks Harry Potter). When COVID-19 kept us all inside, I used every ounce of free time I had to ride my bike and read. Here’s where it took me…

Well, I thought this year would see fewer books than last year over here. And it did, but only 2 fewer and about 700 pages more than last year (thanks Harry Potter). When COVID-19 kept us all inside, I used every ounce of free time I had to ride my bike and read. While much of it was for pleasure, I did have to bend a little and sneak some (7) books in for work/small group-related things so I could count my reading/riding time as work time as well (just another way to be scrappy in 2020).

This past year, my real reading goal was to read the Harry Potter series (and watch the movies) since I never read them when they were new and exciting (now they’re just old and exciting). It took me most of the year, as I bounced in and out of the story, accommodating for book club books, books I had to read for work, etc. While the series didn’t immediately grab me, I stuck with it and absolutely loved the process and the end.

As for my reading as a whole this past year…


Books read:

52


Pages read:

17,803


Average Page Length:

342


Longest Book:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rolwing


Shortest Book:

We Should All be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie


My Average Rating:

3.6 (But the Goodreads average rating of the books I read was 4.135 – I guess I’m a tough critic?)


My Highest Rated Books (5 stars):

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimananda Ngozi Adichie
We Will Rise: A True Story of Tragedy and Resurrection in the American Heartland by Steve Beaven
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0) by Suzanne Collins
Educated by Tara Westover


My Lowest Rated Books:

The Magical Language of Others by E.J. Koh
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor… And Yourself by Steve Corbett, Brian Fikkert
Circe by Madeline Miller
Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks
Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World by Bob Goff
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling


Goodreads Highest Rated Book of my 2020 Books:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (4.61 average rating)


Goodreads Lowest Rated Book of my 2020 Books:

Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah (3.57 average rating)


My Favorite Book of 2020:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
We Will Rise: A True Story of Tragedy and Resurrection in the American Heartland by Steve Beaven

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0) by Suzanne Collins


The Book(s) that Changed the Way I Think About Something:

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi CoatesA profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis.
We Should All be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie – A unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century—one rooted in inclusion and awareness.


The Book(s) I’m Most Likely to Recommend to Others:

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Educated by Tara Westover
Beartown by Fredrik Backman


The Book(s) I’m Least Likely to Recommend to Others:

Circe by Madeline Miller
Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks


The Scariest Book I Read:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling


The Happiest Book I Read:

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli


The Saddest Book I Read:

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood


The Funniest Book I Read:

Crimes Against a Book Club by Kathy Cooperman


Broken Down by Genre:

Contemporary: 12
Fantasy: 9
Young Adult: 8
Self Help/Work Training: 7
Historical Fiction: 4
Memoir: 3
Nonfiction: 3
Chick Lit: 2
Sci-Fi: 1
Short Stories: 1
Thriller: 1


If you’ve made it this far, you must be a reader as well. Please comment to let me know your book recommendations!

December’s Book and Bike Break Down

Catch up on what Mandi’s reading and how many miles she’s riding!

Booking and biking my way through 2020.


Books

48. In Five Years by Rebecca Serle (Chick Lit, Contemporary)
The moment I started this book, I thought, “Hmm… have I read this before?” knowing full well that I hadn’t, but it was definitely reminding me of something. I eventually placed it. This story, for the first half or so, is so closely paralleled to One Day in December that I felt like I was figuring out what was going to happen before it even happened. In the end, I liked this one better than One Day in December, it was maybe a little deeper, but that really threw me off in the beginning. 4 STARS

49. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (Middle Grade)
My neighbor told me about this book/movie, so I nabbed a copy at a garage sale and read it in two days so my husband and I could watch the movie. Based on a story of animals held captive, it naturally pulls at the heart strings. It had a similar feel to Charlotte’s Web, and this is definitely another story I will share with my kids to delicately teach them about the topic of animal respect/use. (This author also wrote Wishtree, another one I’ve saved for my kids to read one day.) (4 STARS)

50. Crimes Against a Book Club by Kathy Cooperman (Chick Lit, Contemporary)
This book had some serious laugh out loud moments and was overall cute, but I struggled to enjoy the high-society aspect of it. I generally prefer to read books about every-day, common people or the underprivileged — people I can empathize with or sympathize for. Reading about rich people doesn’t all that often interest me… unless they’re famous. (3 STARS)

51. Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah (Chick Lit, Christmas)
Every Christmas I like to read one Christmas/winter themed book. This year, I chose some early Kristin Hannah (author of The Great Alone, which I loved), hoping it would be decent. Christmas books always seem a little cheesey to me, and, well, this one fell right in line with that. At times I could not handle the level of cheese, and I was struggling to get excited to pick it up, it felt unrealistic and stupid for the first 80% and then bam, things changed. I was at a solid 1 star rating, but bumped it up when things changed because all of a sudden, elements were thrown in that could have kept me even more intrigued had they been introduced sooner. (2.5 STARS)

52. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (Historical Fiction)
I guess December was the month of repeat authors for me, as I’d previously read Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees. I found The Invention of Wings to be even better, which was perfect because I love ending the year on a good book. Perfect for the current cultural climate, this book dove into the story of early abolitionist, Sarah Grimke, her family and their relationship with slavery in the 19th century. The story is inspirational, if not for the anti-slavery aspect, then for the female empowerment aspect. I’m grateful to learn of people like Sarah Grimke, who stood out as movers and shakers even in a time when women were not encouraged to be movers and shakers. (5 STARS)

My goal for the year was 40 books. Having read 54 last year, I knew 52 was possible, but these days I just don’t know what my life will look like as my kids change so rapidly. I found that COVID-19 actually made it more possible for me to read (and bike) more once we got in a groove, cancelling more and more plans and spending the bulk of our time at home, alone. Apparently I picked rather COVID-friendly goals for the year.


Biking

Well, my year of biking is complete. After setting out to ride 2020 miles in 2020, I crushed my goal and added another 480 to it, ending the year on a high note, getting a brand new, fancy, big girl bike for Christmas. I got it out for a grand total of 2 miles for a test ride in the 32* weather, but I cannot wait to get riding on it in the spring! I am expecting this predominantly rode bike to ride much easier than my 13 year old, cross, technically men’s bike. In fact, I’ll bet this year would have been much easier on my knees had I got the new bike in the beginning and not the end…

Final total: 2500

700 of those miles having been outside (366 of them pulling a kid).

Hope you had a great December! Happy New Year! Stay safe everyone.