The Books I Read in 2020

I just finished my last book of 2020 - I REALLY NEEDED THIS TODAY: Words to Live By by Hoda Kotb, and I want to share the books I read this year. After my husband died at the beginning of the year, I honestly didn't know if I would be able to find joy in reading again. Sometimes it just felt like I was reading the words on a page, and rereading those same words because I didn't absorb anything. I turned to audiobooks to help keep my mind occupied when I wasn't able to focus. When everything felt wrong and I felt lost, I still turned to books to help me find myself, to make me feel like me, and to find some comfort and even some strength. 

I don't have a top 10 favorite list or a best of list, but I will remember the first book that I read that I was able to lose myself in: The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kaye Adams. I know one of the books that helped me understand my grief: Paradise Cove by Jenny Holiday. And I'll remember the book that made me smile through my tears: Snug by Catana Chetwynd.

Below are the books that helped get me through 2020 - the toughest year of my life.

(The date listed is when I finished the book.)

January
4: Super Late Bloomer by Julia Kaye
6: Unfollowing You by Komal Kapoor
31: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater (audiobook)

February
8: Guts by Raina Telgemeier
11: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (audiobook)
11: Snug by Catana Chetwynd
28: Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
29: Parental Guidance by Avery Flynn (audiobook)

March
4: Echoes Between Us by Katie McGarry
7: Dirty by Kylie Scott (audiobook)
8: The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer by Jennifer Lynch (audiobook)
15: The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kaye Adams
16: shotglass confessional by Cyrus Parker
20: Little Fires Everywhere by Celest Ng (audiobook)
23: The Liar's Daughter by Megan Cooley Peterson
26: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (audiobook)
29: The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp
29: I'm Not OK with This by Charles Forman
31: Our Year in Love and Parties by Karen Hattrup 

April
1: The Opposite of Innocent by Sonya Sones

10: Drive Me Crazy by Samantha Chase (audiobook)

11: Break Your Glass Slippers by Amanda Lovelace

14: Walking Dead, Vol.2 by Robert Kirkman

21: Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey

23: Kent State by Deborah Wiles (audiobook)

25: Uncaged Wallflower by Jennae Cecilia

25: Walking Dead, Vol. 3 by Robert Kirkman

26: Happily Ever After by Debbie Tung

27: Drive Me Crazy by Samantha Chase (audiobook)

May

3: Maybe Not by Colleen Hoover (audiobook)

4: The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

6: Dancing at My Pity Party by Tyler Feder

10: About Last Night by Ruthie Knox (audiobook)

18: Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

22: Be Straight With Me by Emily Dalton

27: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (audiobook)

30: The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park

June

8: I Left the House Today by Cassandra Calin

13: Camp Spirit by Axelle Lenoir

14: Beach Read by Emily Henry

19: The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler (audiobook)

20: Check, Please: Sticks and Scones by Ngozi Ukazu

21: Aphrodite Made Me Do It by Trista Mateer

24: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

26: Test Drive by Samantha Chase

28: You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

28: Where to Begin by Cleo Wade

July
3: Dirty Hands, Broken Ribs & Other Places My Heart Has Lived by Cynthia Rodriguez 

4: The Bright Side of Going Dark by Kelly Harms

15: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

15: Everything Is Beautiful & I'm Not Afraid by Yao Xiao

22: Mermaid Inn by Jenny Holiday

27: Paradise Cove by Jenny Holiday

29: Saint by Colleen Hoover

August
2: Sadie by Courtney Summers (audiobook)

2: BSC: Boy Crazy Stacey by Ann M. Martin

17: A Pizza My Heart by Teagan Hunter (audiobook)

22: A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (audiobook)

23: I Knead You Tonight by Teagan Hunter (audiobook)

28: Leo by Jay McLean

September
5: The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

7: Love, Creekwood by Becky Albertalli

10: Unpregnant by Jenni Hendricks and Ted Caplan (audiobook)

17: I Fall Apart by Kenzie Hart

19: Crave by Tracy Wolff (audiobook)
20: Grace: Based on the Jeff Buckley Story by Tiffanie DeBartolo

21: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour (audiobook)

27: Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez

29: Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover

October 

5: Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

7: Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed (audiobook)

10: Burned by Ellen Hopkins (audiobook)

12: Sorrow by Tiffanie DeBartolo

16: Smoke by Ellen Hopkins (audiobook)

November 
7: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (audiobook)

12: The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon

12: Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

13: The Neurotic Notebook by Lena Friedrich

19: This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen (audiobook)

22: My Last Summer with Cass by Mark Crilley

24: Between the World and Me by TaNehisi Coates (audiobook)

26: I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider

28: Again Again by E. Lockhart

December

8: Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn (audiobook)

10: Santa's Secret by Heidi McLaughlin

12: A Very Perry Christmas by Marie Landry

19: Season of Joy by Annie Rains
25: A Beaumont Family Christmas by Heidi McLaughlin

30: The Wrong Family by Tarryn Fisher

31: I Really Needed This Today by Hoda Kotb