2020 Reading Roundup

How many books read in 2020?

I read a sad 54 books in 2020. Waaaay down from last year's 71. I attribute this to Covid; no commuting after March meant no subway books, and no audiobooks. 

How many fiction and non fiction? 35 fiction versus 19 nonfiction. No audiobooks after March meant a steep decline in that category and the nonfiction I read at home tended to be longer books than the fiction.

Male/Female author ratio? 29 female authors versus 23 male and 1 nonbinary (that I am aware of).

Diversity? Of 54 authors 19 were people of color and 8 books covered LGBTQ themes.

Favorite book of 2019? 

I loved Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker and Funeral Diva by Pamela Sneed.

Any that you simply couldn’t finish and why? Always.

Oldest book read? 

August Folly, by Angela Thirkell, originally published in 1936.

Newest? 

Sure, I'll Be Your Black Friend, by Ben Philippe, due out later this year.

Longest and shortest book titles?

Shortest title: Meaty, by Samantha Irby
Longest title: My Autobiography of Carson McCullers, by Jenn Shapland

Longest and shortest books?

Longest: The Lying Life of Adults, by Elena Ferrante
Shortest:  The Famous Magician, by Cesar Aira

How many books from the library? 

None! For the fifth year in a row I did not read a library book.

Any translated books?

I read books or stories translated from Spanish, French, Italian, Korean and Swedish. This year I read the fewest translated books in probably the last 15 years. Weird.

Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?

I went to Colombia, France, Italy, North Korea, England. Nigeria, Ireland, Sweden, Scotland, South Africa, Russia, Kenya, China, New Zealand, all over Polynesia, Argentina, Thailand and several fantasy worlds as well.

Most read author of the year, and how many books by that author? I did not repeat a single author all year.

Any re-reads? 

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers. I last read it in high school; it definitely held up. One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 

Favorite character of the year? 

Giorgio Pellegrini from Gang of Lovers.

Which book wouldn’t you have read without someone’s specific recommendation? 

The Tombs of Atuan, by Ursula LeGuin. My husband recommended it.

Which author was new to you in 2020 that you now want to read the entire works of? 

Kristen Arnett

Which books are you annoyed you didn't read? 

Lampedusa by Steven Price.

Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read? 

No. I was sort of picking from the shelves at random.

Bookish Events in Marie's Life: 

There were no bookish events in my life except for my job. I continued my job which changed and changed again over the course of the year. I pivoted from a part time paperwork job to a fulltime ecommerce position, rode the waves we experienced as a business and washed up on the post-holiday shores exhausted but happy and grateful.

Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2021:

• Outlawed by Anna North
• Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino
• Lampedusa by Richard Price
• Luster by Raven Leilani