The best books you read in 2020?

[southeastdweller]

They don't necessarily need to have been published this year.

I really loved these books:

1. Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo
2. Clothes and Other Things That Matter - Alexandra Shulman
3. 84 Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff
4. Talking Heads - Alan Bennett
5. Eating for England - Nigel Slater

What have been your favourite books this year?

Hamnet
Invisible Women
The Silence of the Girls
Girl Woman Other
Where the Crawdads Sing
A long Petal of the Sea
American Dirt
Cutting for Stone
Troubled Blood

I loved all of these.

Just finished Everything I never Told You by Celeste Ng, which I think is way better than Little Fires Everywhere, and also Away with the Penguins, which is such an easy but happy anti Covid/Brexit/2020 read!

My favourite books this year:
American Dirt
Little fires everywhere
Life, death and vanilla slices.

Funnily enough I was thinking about this this morning in bed. Mine would be:

1. Jude the Obscure
2. East of Eden
3. Remains of the Day
4. The Testaments

I’m getting some good recommendations on this thread, thank you!

My favourites of the year -

I’m thinking of ending things - Iain Reid. This was the most impressive thing I’ve read this year I think, really fantastic.

The Magician by Somerset Maugham. Never read Maugham before thought this was great.

Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. A bit twee but I found this a great comfort read.

House of Glass by Hadley Freeman - it’s about her relatives during WWII. Immaculately researched and very moving.

Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman. Long and very short on punctuation but totally engrossing. I’m going back for round 2 next year.

The Man who knew everything - Deborah Levy
Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng
Home - Toni Morrison

I enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing but it definitely wasn't brilliant. Just loved the atmosphere. The plot was ridiculous.

The Most Fun We Ever Had - Claire Lombardo
Living Better: How I Learned to Survive Depression - Alastair Campbell
Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
Motherland - Tetyana Denford
Expectation - Anna Hope

I have read loads (for me) this year. I am currently reading my 62nd book. I seem to be reading 1/3 fiction, the rest non.

But actually there haven't been many standouts.

I liked the book about walking by Kate Humble, One foot in front of the other.
I Love the Bones of You, Christopher Ecclestone - very raw
Son of a Silverback, Russell Kane x think this guy is a bit of a pillock, but I warmed to him because of this.
The Age of Decadence, Britain 1880-1914 x Simon Heffer - a tour de force
London Made Us - Robert Elms - a bit self indulgent but it brought back memories for me
Me, Elton John

Enchanted April, Elizabeth Avon Arnim
Blood Orange, Harriet Tyce
City of Girls, Elizabeth Gilbert

I keep forgetting to mention Apeirogon by Colum McCann. Sad, anger-making, harrowing in parts, but beautiful and compelling.

My favourites this year have been
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Lady Chatterly's Lover by DH Lawrence
And
Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

Oo I like this thread!

Troubled blood- Robert Galbraith

The colour of Bee Larkham's murder- Sarah J Harris

Becoming- Michelle Obama

The Second Sleep- Robert Harris

The keeper of lost things- Ruth Hogan

Actress Anne Enright

Crooked Hallelujah Kelli Jo Ford

Girl.Woman.Other Bernardine Evaristo

Hidden Valley Road Robert Kolker

The Blinds Adam Sternbergh

Shuggie Bain Douglas Stewart

Such a Fun Age Kiley Reid

Strange Flowers Donal Ryan

The Girl with the Louding Voice Abi Daré

I have to say I had a visceral reaction to American Dirt nasty cliches and one dimensional characterisation

Please will someone explain to me why Girl Woman Other is on so many lists? I have tried and tried to read it. I find it painfully boring, like being forced to listen to someone droning on in meetings or a pub, full of self importance but not half as great as they think they are. What have I missed?

Girl,woman,other. The interrelated relationship of the 12 women,not an overarching traditional story as such more an exploration of the women. The free style punctuation is obviously unusual but you get used to it.

Labobo, I haven't tried Girl Woman Other but a good friend who read it basically said the same thing. Maybe I should read it just so I know for myself!

So far...

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith
Swan Song by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje

Just googled The Last Painting of Sara de Vos. Sounds great!

Not many standouts for me this year:

The Binding
Tidelands

I read some of the others mentioned on here but didn’t like them.

Where the crawdads sing is amazing!
The Alchemists secret and I am pilgrim. I'm part of a book club and love getting to read things I normally wouldn't

I have loved:
Non-fiction
Unfollow by Megan Phelps Roper
A Cheesemongers History of the British Isles
Lowborn
Manual for Survival (about Chernobyl)

Fiction:
I Who Have Never Known Men
A Boy and his Dog at the End of the World
Meat by Joseph de Lacey

The Poetry Pharmacy and its sequel.

I struggled to read all year until Troubled Blood's character familiarity and page-turniness rekindled something.

Since then I have enjoyed Lionel Shriver The Mandibles, Cory Doctorow Walkaway and Girl, Woman, Other.

But thanks to you guys I now have A List. Cheers.

Girl, woman, other

I’ve had a great year reading-wise. Standouts for me we’re:

Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng
Miss Benson’s Beetle - Rachel Joyce
Shadow on the Lens - Sam Hurcom
Sisters - Daisy Johnson

I read a list of books recommended by my friends this year, as well as my usual Kindle Unlimited fare.

My standouts have been:

• Dowager Empress Cixi by Jung Chang
• Educated by Tara Westover
• The Choice by Edith Eger (this is so powerful and uplifting)
• The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller
• Codename Verity by Elisabeth Wein
• Perfect Strangers by JT Geissinger

and The Firebrand series by Helen Harper (not a complete series and I've only read two so far, but they're just lovely).