I Read 100 Books in 2020

hello, welcome. Now that I caught your attention, I got you. I actually read 98 books…yeah, I lost motivation towards December 28th and I should’ve totally just read Curious George two times but oh well. I did read Cat in the Hat and another book for a child in December just to be transparent.

I’ll discuss what I learned from reading nearly 100 books this past year and why I did this. In my previous blog post which can be seen here, I mentioned that I would do 1 sentence book reviews for all the books that I read in 2020 that I didn’t mention in previous book reviews, so that’ll be below too.

Also, if you think this is a flex. It’s like literally the only flex I have. So please let me have it. On a more serious note, I think 2020 in its entirety, with the political issues abominations, racial injustices, environmental destruction, and most notably, the coronavirus has impacted us all in different ways and personally, I found reading to be a productive coping mechanism. Lastly, if you’re wondering how I read this much well it’s called working 12 hours to escape the void, cooking, and running away from my problems.

What I Learned From Reading 100 Books*

After reading 100* (okay I know it’s not 100 but I need to keep your attention somehow) books, I learned few things.

Vocabulary, Really Bad Writing, & Escapism

Firstly, my vocabulary has not expanded at all. You know how people are always saying you’ll learn new words and you’ll become more literate and yada ya, no. That’s a lie. I have learned absolutely no new words and I’ve even highlighted words I didn’t know previously, I’ve tried writing them down, using them in my every day conversations, nothing helped. In fact, I think somehow my understanding of the English language has depleted despite English being my native tongue.

Secondly, there are awful writers who have published horrendous books. After reading such a large volume of books of different genres, even books that were originally written in French or Korean and translated to English, old books, classics, YA teen literature, award-winning books, I can confirm that sometimes none of that matters. Truly poorly written books have been published and promoted online. Like…I am baffled that there are so many bad books out there. For every 1 really good book I read, following was typically 1 okay book and then 1 really bad book.

Also to all my friends who I ranted about these horrible books to over the year, I’m sorry. I get so upset when I read like 300 pages and then logic goes out the window. Plot development? We don’t know her all of a sudden. Substance? I think not. Now, I understand writing, editing, and the publishing journey is so exhausting and mentally and emotionally taxing. However, at some point, you have to think. Should this 450 page book really be published forever. For all the world to see and read? Even after I die? Just some questions to ask some writers.

That’s not to say that all I learned and read was horrible. I also learned and re-learned some great things.

I also remembered and realized how wonderful it was to read again and to fall into a complete different world. Escapism at its finest is when you’re reading a book that opens up a whole other portal and you just fall into it so easily. You realize how great some writers are and how elegant they can twist words and situations into pages and pages of pure magic. Especially during quarantine, I was bored and books became my solution. After watching countless movies and tv shows, I got so tired of being able to guess a plot really quickly whereas with books, you have to be patient, you can’t skip or fast forward necessarily (well you could but it also may not really make sense if you read the first page and then the last).

In conclusion, quality over quantity. Aiming towards 25 books for 2021 and I swear if I read one more bad book, I will be writing an angry but polite email to the author.

---

I realize that people don’t enjoy reading long things online and I don’t want to be obliterated on the internet by joining booktube so this is my compromise. 1 sentence book reviews, here we go.

Fiction (and all else I didn’t know how to categorize):

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (2014): I can really see Ng’s writing improvement with Little Fires Everywhere and the contrast, this is good but LFE is way betta

Writers & Lovers by Lily King (2020): I can see why this was on people’s top 2020 books; so lovely and dreamy! (could be classified as contemporary romance)

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel (2020): Like totally did not live up the hype but it was cool I guess, learned about Ponzi Schemes lol (could also be classified as science-fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy)

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell (2020): writing is fabulous but morally ???? basically Lolita but modern and still gross (don’t even want to classify this as romance)

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (2011): Uhhh amazing but we already knew this, 10/10, all the accolades yES (Greek mythological re-telling, not sure how to classify)

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus (2017): there was potential (YA Fiction)

Almond by Won-pyung, Joosun Lee (translator) (2017): this was so weird – could be a translation thing but don’t recommend

Thriller & Mystery:

The Guest List by Lucy Foley (2020): such a unique thriller that’s set on an Irish island during a wedding, hats off to Foley – easily my top 5 thrillers from 2020

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing (2019): crazy and creepy, not sure how i feel but it was interesting – remember don’t marry a crazy lady

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (2018): okay, the more I think about this book, the more I realize how messed up the characters are *vomiting emoji* – also side note but wow I was really on that women writers only for awhile o.o interesting

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (2006): absolutely intoxicating, idk how Flynn writes but it’s mad and I’m obsessed

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell (2019): fantastic – probably the most intense thriller mystery book I read in 2020

Romance & Rom-Com:

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle (2020): awful, like it takes the main character 1 prophetic dream to realize your life sucks?

The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary (2019): cute cute cute – now I realized I’m ~lonely~

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (2016): rom-com done perfectly, the movie is nothing compared to the book!

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella (2019): ehhhhh not worth reading

Beach Read by Emily Henry (2020): ugh so hard to choose whether this one is my favourite rom-com book last year or THG by Sally Thorne, either one is really good

Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan (2020): nobody asked for this

Fantasy & Dystopian:

The Lash Wish by Andrzej Sapkowsi (1993): amazing, hilarious, wonderful, going to read the whole series now! (this is the Witcher series by the way)

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Mass (2015): I don’t need a sentence to describe this one, just one word: bad

The Selection series #1-3: The Selection, The Elite, and The One by Kiera Class (2012,13,14): lowkey good but just ignore the writing

The Folk of Air series #1-3: The Cruel Prince, the Wicked King, and the Queen of Nothing by Holly Black (2018, 19): lol embarrassing to admit this was like really good

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (2020): she tried, that is all

Non-Fiction:

Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung (2009): interesting but intense on the marriage aspects

Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow (2020): fascinating how friendship works – learned a lot!!

They Said This Would Be Fun by Eternity Martis (2020): Scary because it’s about a Black student’s experience at Western University and just yikes…the reality of racism in institutions is frightening

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall (2020): I knew a lot of the things Kendall wrote so it wasn’t like eye-opening for me personally but it was still good – definitely aimed towards white feminists

Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell (2019): he really said THIS IS MY OPINION but said it was “science” yeah hard pass for me

Conclusion

I tried to diversify the genres I read in 2020 by reading more historical fiction which was mainly in the beginning of the year and summer and then I was kind of tired. I want to try and read more science fiction in the coming year because I find that genre difficult to understand at times. I personally don’t enjoy non-fiction that much because well, it’s boring. I also tried reading more books by women and BIPOC authors in general which was great, going to try and continue that for 2021. I shall probably write out 1 sentence reviews for all the TV shows I watched in 2020 as well.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my book reviews for 2020, I’m not sure if I’ll continue for 2021 but it was fun nonetheless and so many people have messaged me or reached out and I really appreciate it!

*every single time I write 100, I really mean 98 lol