I am so happy to finally be posting this! I started this draft at the beginning of 2020 to see if I could complete a challenge to read 100 books this year and I am so happy to say that I very much surpassed my goal.
I watched less TV in 2020 and read more books than I ever have in my life and man, it feels good. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good TV series (LOVE – currently watching Schitt’s Creek), but there is something much more peaceful and enjoyable when it comes to reading at the end of the night. Aside from cutting TV, I also shared a few other tips on how I read so much a bit back – you can check that out here if you are interested.
But anyways, I thought I would share my list with you in case you are curious to see what I read and/or need some inspiration for your next read. I will mark books that I really really loved with a (*) because some of these really stuck with me. I still think about them every now and then.
To give you an ideas of what I like, I will usually alternate between fiction and non-fiction, but my favorites are usually fiction. My most-read genres are normally thriller/mystery, romance, foodie lit, fantasy, self-help, health, homemaking, motherhood, and nature/science. I think my favorite authors this year were Colleen Hoover and Christina Lauren (romance for life).
What I Read
- Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff
- Dark Matter *
- The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs *
- Get a Life, Chloe Brown
- Slow: Simple Living for a Frantic World *
- Field Notes on Love
- How to Not Hate Your Husband After Kids
- Insatiable
- Swear on This Life *
- The Truth About Forever
- Sharp Objects
- Outlander
- Happier At Home
- Girl, Stop Apologizing
- Modern Love
- Euphoria *
- Water for Elephants *
- An American Marriage *
- The Last Neanderthal *
- Turtles All the Way Down
- Why Am I Scared? Face Your Fears and Learn to Let Them Go
- What You Did
- The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
- Toddlers Are A**holes: It’s Not Your Fault
- The Da Vinci Code *
- Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies
- The Printed Letter Bookshop *
- I Heart My Little A-Holes
- The Sun and Her Flowers
- Jo Frost’s Toddler Rules
- The Wish List of Albie Young
- Spying on Whales
- Sexual Intelligence
- The Words Between Us *
- The Girl Before
- Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe
- The Extremely Busy Woman’s Guide to Self Care
- One Day in December *
- Yes Please
- Raising Good Humans *
- Twice in a Blue Moon *
- Book of Delights
- Simply Living Well
- Goodnight Stranger
- The Kiss Quotient
- Me Before You *
- Happy And You Know It
- Of Literature & Lattes
- Evvie Drake Starts Over
- Mommy Burnout
- Recursion
- Hygge: Discovering the Danish Art of Happiness
- The No-Spend Challenge Guide
- Introverted Moms
- Breaking the Fear Cycle
- A Thousand Splendid Suns *
- The Five People You Meet in Heaven
- The Princess Bride
- Coraline
- Bridge to Terabithia
- Cosy: The British Art of Comfort *
- A Totally Awkward Love Story
- Love the Home You Have *
- The Fifth Avenue Story Society
- Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave
- Grace, Not Perfection
- Writers & Lovers
- I Owe You One
- Don’t Overthink It
- The Joy of Family Traditions
- The Book of New Family Traditions *
- Find the Good
- The Night Circus *
- The Home Edit
- Believe Me
- Make Your Bed
- The Hygge Life
- The Saturday Night Supper Club
- How to Raise a Reader *
- Saint X
- De-Extinction: The Science of Bringing Lost Species Back to Life
- We Were Liars
- Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living
- We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast
- The Sun Is Also a Star
- Hygge: The Danish Art of Happiness
- The Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Living Well *
- The Danish Way of Parenting *
- How Not To Die *
- Little Fires Everywhere *
- In Five Years
- Normal People *
- Cozy White Cottage: 100 Ways to Love the Feeling of Being Home
- The Unhoneymooners
- A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of A Misspent Life
- Pines
- The Two Lives of Lydia Bird *
- Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (And Parents Sane)
- Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating *
- Of Orcas and Men
- The Joy of Hygge
- The Flatshare *
- Barefoot Contessa: At Home
- Ina Garten: Cook Like a Pro
- Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?
- Ina Garten: Make It Ahead
- Cooking for Jeffrey
- Such a Fun Age
- Barefoot Contessa: Fool Proof
- Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics
- Barefoot Contessa: Family Style
- Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
- The Honey-Don’t List
- The Nesting Place: It Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect To Be Beautiful *
- Down to Earth
- Simple Matters *
- The Inspired Room: Simple Ideas to Love the Home You Have *
- The Creative Family Manifesto *
- Open Book
- An Everlasting Meal *
- The Way of the Happy Woman *
- Simplicity Parenting *
- Beach Read *
- Abode: Thoughtful Living With Less
- How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen *
- The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living *
- One in a Million
- Attachments
- Love and Other Words *
- Modern Comfort Food
- The Happy Ever After Playlist
- The Coincidence of Coconut Cake *
- The Midnight Library
- Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe
- My Favorite Half-Night Stand
- The Roommate
- The Good Luck Charm
- Roomies
- There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather *
- In a Holidaze *
- Just Mercy *
- Big Summer
- The Guest List *
- Beautiful Bastard
- The Tightwad Gazette
- A Good Marriage
- We Met in December
- The Montessori Toddler *
- The More of Less
- And Now We Have Everything
- Would Like to Meet
- 25 Days ‘Til Christmas
- By the Book
- The Ingredients of You and Me
- Well Met *
- The Hunting Party
- The Friend Zone
- The Woman in the Window *
- Midnight Sun
- The Four Agreements
- The Simple Wild *
- The Switch
- The F*ck It Diet
- Wild at Heart
- The Self-Care Solution
- You Deserve Eachother
- Body Talk *
- Well Played
- Love the One You’re With *
- The Girl He Used to Know
- Body Positive Power
- This Time Next Year
- Something Borrowed *
- Body Respect *
- The Twelve Dates of Christmas
- Body Kindness
- Eat Pray Love
- Anti-Diet *
- Winter Street
- Something Blue
- The Cozy Life
- Health at Every Size *
- All Your Perfects *
- It Ends With Us *
- November 9 *
- The Tourist Attraction
- The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany *
- Confess *
- Making Winter
- Ugly Love
- Say You Still Love Me
- The Body Is Not an Apology
- Regretting You
If I gave the book an (*), that means I highly recommend and the book stuck with me. If I had to pick my top 5 fiction books from the whole year (as hard as it is), I would say: One Day in December (MY FAVORITE), Love and Other Words, Well Met, All Your Perfects, and Dark Matter. For non-fiction, I loved An Everlasting Meal, There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather, Body Respect, Love the Home You Have, and How Not to Die.
So there you have it – my year of reading! I am excited to do it all over again in 2021. If you want to follow along on GoodReads, you can find me here. You’ll see specific ratings but I don’t usually write an actual review… I know I should! Maybe I will eventually.
Now go on and share your favorite reads from this year in the comments, please!! I’m always grateful to have some recs! Happy reading in 2021! x
