1. Best book you've read so far in 2020
- It's got to be The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Count me in the group that believes this book should be required reading for all students in this country. One of the things that Thomas so does so brilliantly is she paces this book SO WELL. This is a book about systemic racism and police brutality and Black trauma, but it's not a drag of a book that is impossible to read. There is hope threaded throughout the book, not just at the end, and there is humor in all the right places. In this book I became so angry I got a headache, I died laughing and read funny passages out loud to my husband, and I felt my hope increase over the course of the book.
2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2020
- I think I'm going to go with Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. This was one of my most anticipated sequels, as I finished Aurora Rising last year and nearly died with the realization of having to wait. Aurora Burning did not disappoint me. I loved the new character, some new character and relationship developments, and the training sequence, which is often something I have to slog my way through as a reader but didn't need to this time. Once again, I am dying to wait for the next book.
3. New anticipated release that you haven't read yet
- Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty. This book literally came out this week so I defintely am not that far behind on getting to it, but I think it will still be a little bit until I start reading. It's definitely going to happen sometime this summer though, and I'm eager to revisit the lives of Nahri, Dara, and Ali!
4. Most anticipated release for the second half of 2020
I have 3 answers for this, in order of their publication date:
- The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton, a book I am SO excited for because I have missed this author very much, AND its setting is connected to the world of Rebel of the Sands.
- Fable by Adrienne Young, a book by an author who has become one of my favorites. Adrienne Young is an auto-buy for me at this point, and I'm really looking forward to a book by her that is in a different setting than her first two to see what else she can do.
- A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir, a book that I nearly died at not having last year when I finished A Reaper at the Gates. I finally get to see what happens to my babies, and hopefully I don't lose all of them in the process.
5. Biggest disappointment of 2020
- House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. I by no means gave this a low rating or hated this book the most of what I've read in the last six months. But I was really eager to get into another SJM book again, and I just did not become obsessed with this book or these characters the way I have with her other series. I'm not giving up hope though, because books one in both the ToG and ACOTAR series are not my favorites, and for now I'm assuming the same will be the case with CC.
6. Biggest Surprise of 2020
- No question, that would be Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare. I did not expect to care about the characters as much as I did, and I couldn't stop thinking about them for a few days after the book was done. Still don't know what a Shadowhunter is.
7. Favorite New Author (debut or new to me)
- Duh, Rick Riordan. He's also my most-read author this year so far, but also a favorite. Though I'm not quite loving the Trials of Apollo series, The Camp Half-Blood Universe is a treasure and I desperately wish I could have had this to read when I was younger. I'm already looking forward to when my kids are old enough and I can force them to read these books.
8. Newest Fictional Crush
- Augustus freakin Everett from Emily Henry's Beach Read. Gimme dat DDNB.
9. Newest Favorite Character
- Nico di Angelo from Rick Riordan's Camp Half-Blood Universe. Gimme dat DDNB.
10. Book that made you cry
- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. To my recollection, this is also the first book that has ever made me cry. Can't wait to read the second book to make me cry in another 30 years when I'm 60. JUST KIDDING, the 2nd book to make me cry I read LITERALLY less than a week after I read The Poet X. I think some unknown part of my emotional self has opened up.
- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. To my recollection, this is also the first book that has ever made me cry. Can't wait to read the second book to make me cry in another 30 years when I'm 60. JUST KIDDING, the 2nd book to make me cry I read LITERALLY less than a week after I read The Poet X. I think some unknown part of my emotional self has opened up.
11. Most beautiful book you bought this year.
I have three answers for this:
I have three answers for this:
- The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young. I LOVE this cover so much, it's so beautiful, so detailed, and the texture given to the ocean satisfies some part of my brain that I can quite name.
- An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon. I haven't read this one yet, but have my eye on it for multiple reasons, least of which is the stunning cover.
- And lastly, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Creating a Champion. Jon gave me this after I wouldn't stop dropping stupidly obvious hints about it, and I love it. Having a behind-the-scenes visual dictionary of my favorite video game ever is one of the nerdiest things I will ever be happy about, but HOW CAN I NOT, LOOK AT ITS BEAUTY.
12. Books I still need to read before the end of the year
I mean, all of them? But here's a list of 5 varied reads I have my eye on:
- The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
- Want by Cindy Pon
- One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
- The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
- How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
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