2020 in the Books

The year isn’t over yet, but I think it’s close enough to the end that I can post a list of what I read in 2020.

This was a weird year for reading. My brain was complete mush from all the 2020 things, so looking back at the books I read this year, I have to confess, I don't even remember what most of them are about! 

Here is a list of the books I read in 2020, but first, a few bits of business:

1. I give most of the books star ratings, but there are some books I don't rate. This is either because I feel undecided about how to rate them or because I just see them as something I shouldn't rate (particularly people's personal experiences, I can like or dislike what they wrote, but I don't always feel like I should assign stars to someone's life story). 

2. No one should base their interest in a book on my ratings. I'm all over the place with my book ratings, and I rarely represent the greater population in my opinions. Something as simple as having a bad hair day when I read a book can make me hate it, and eating a really good sandwich the day I read it can make me love it.  

3. There are over 40 books that I started and didn't finish (they aren’t included on this list).

4. My entire year of reading was very "meh." I don't have a favorite book this year.

Books Read in 2020

175 Temple Symbols and Their Meanings by Donald W. Parry***

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Phillip Sendker***

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane****

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins***

Ban This Book by Alan Gratz****

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris***

The BFG by Roald Dahl

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain***

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty****

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd****

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel***

The Book of Mormon

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Can I get an Amen? Celebrating the Lord in Everyday Life by Zandra Vranes and Tamu Smith

The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling****

Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon (in progress)

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel***

The Dilemma by B.A. Paris**

The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell****

The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony****

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer****

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Neilsen****

Fatal Throne by Candace Fleming****

Find Me by Anne Fraser***

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys****

Framed by James Ponti****

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown***

The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes****

Golden Answers: Why We Need the Book of Mormon by John Bytheway***

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler****

Grace is Gone by Emily Elgar***

Grace Where You Are by Emily Belle Freeman***

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell***

Hate List by Jennifer Brown****

The Haunting of Maddie Clare by Simone St. James**

High Achiever: The Incredible Story of One Addict's Double Life by Tiffany Jenkins

How to Train Your Dragon by Cresside Cowell***

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty****

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager****

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig***

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling****

I Saw the Lord: Joseph's First Vision Combined from Nine Accounts by Kerry Muhlestein

Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage (in progress)

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger***

Leaning on Jesus: Strength for a Woman's Heart by Michelle Wilson

The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick***

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly***

Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life by Tish Harrison Warren****

Malorie by Josh Malerman***

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid***

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb****

A Mind Unraveled by Kurt Eichenwald****

Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling****

The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth***

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor***

Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel****

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff

The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry***

Pipi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

The Power of Stillness by Jacob Z. Hess****

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay****

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid***

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides***

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Nuevel****

Spirit by David Butler****

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach***

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor****

The Test by Sylvain Neuvel***

The Toll by Neal Shusterman***

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty***

Unshattered by Carol J. Decker

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett ***

Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel****

When Life Gives You Pears by Jeannie Gaffigan****

The Whisper Man by Alex North****

This is Where You Belong by Melody Warnick***

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

Without the Mask: Coming Out and Coming Into God's Light by Charlie Bird

You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters by Kate Murphy****