Reading in 2020

I realize it’s February, and that yes, I’m already either through or in the midst of several of the below reads, but here is what I’m reading in 2020. I’m usually a firm believer in not setting a reading list for myself since I love the spontaneity that comes with happening upon a new read, but given my spiraling out of control #tbr coupled with a desire for more focused reading this year led me to do some pruning of what’s been lingering on my list for years, and to finally tackle those that I’ve been wanting to read. I’m usually at the mercy of library holds so I can’t get down to the exact order but here you go! And lately some of my fiction has been pretty intense (lots of fiction narratives around some rather painful parts of world history) but I believe those stories are valuable and need to be told (although I’ve learned to stay away from those that glorify trauma or abuse and balance them out with lighter reads) so you’ll see that I’ve broken up my fiction reads into two sections. And I’m a pretty fast reader so I anticipate that this won’t carry me through the entire year of 2020 but I purposely buffered in the space for the ‘must-reads’ that friends inevitably put into my hands. And summer reading? That’s another list entirely. Wink. Let me know what’s on your 2020 list and hope you find some literary inspiration here too!

NONFICTION

An Indigenous People's History of the United States: I’ve wanted to read this one since it came out in 2015 and finally making 2020 the year to learn more about this tragic part of our country’s history.

As I Recall: Discovering the Place of Memories in Our Spiritual Life: The power of memory as it relates to spiritual transformation. As we embark on a new decade, it’s worth musing over how our past affects our future growth.

Atomic Habits: An exploration on habit formation that also provides a framework on how to form effective ones.

Dare to Inspire: Sustain the Fire of Inspiration in Work and Life: My friend Allison Holzer is one of the co-authors and she’s been on the forefront of the positive psychology movement and for years has focused on inspiration as it relates to the personal and corporate world. I’m halfway through and already using it personally as well as with the clients that I coach.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World: When the title says it all. Wink.

Disrupt Yourself: Master Relentless Change and Speed Up Your Learning Curve: I coach many individuals who are looking to change careers, industries, and often, themselves, so looking forward to learning more about effective ways to facilitate inner transformation.

How to Free Your Child from Negative Thinking: Powerful, Practical Strategies to Build a Lifetime of Resilience, Flexibility and Happiness: I picked this one up years back when I noticed the inner critics starting to emerge in my kids. Then it subsided so I put it away, now we’re back in that zone and I forgot how wonderful it is. Whether it’s a phase or your child’s actual emotional make-up, it’s worth reading to learn more how to harness their mental neuro-plasticity. Don’t we all wish we learned this earlier in life?

Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking and Health: I don’t love the subtitle but I am a big believer that we think about does effect us emotionally as well as physically. Looking forward to delving further into this topic.

The Entitlement Trap: How to Rescue Your Child with a New Family System of Choosing, Earning, and Ownership: My husband grew up with an allowance, as a first gen kid, I didn’t. Neither of us were passionate about either style, so this one about how to create a family economy that actually empowers children while stewarding financial resources is intriguing to us!

The Sacred Enneagram: Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth: I had this one out from the library a few years back but had to return it before I read it and then it fell down the black hole that is the #tbr. Now that I’ve read The Road Back to You, it’s time to dig deeper into the Enneagram with this one.

Wild Words: Rituals, Routines, and Rhythms for Braving the Writer's Path: It’s been a while since I’ve read a book on creativity specifically as it relates to writing so I’m particularly excited for this one.

FICTION

America for Beginners: A Novel: The US through the eyes of an Indian widow and her tour guide. I’ve heard it’s poignant and humorous at the same time which often makes for a stellar combination.

An Antidote for Everything: Medical care as it relates to transgender patients. Curious to know more? I am too.

The Book of Unknown Americans: This one about a family of Mexican immigrants came out in 2015 and has been on my list since. 2020 is the year!

Little Bee This is from my unread shelf which actually is rather sparse since most of my books come from the library! But a friend gave me this one in 2015 and it’s time to dust it off the shelf and just read it!

The Far Field: From Bangalore to Kashir, a novel about family, love and politics.

The Lost Letter: Inspired by actual resistance workers during WWII in Austria. I read it is a must-read if you loved Lilac Girls, which I did, so adding it the list.

The Lost Vintage: A Novel: What starts off as a weekend in a vineyard in Burgundy leads to a family’s ties with WW2. Every time I think I’ve read everything in the WWII canon, there is a new twist on this part of history and I’m looking forward to this one.

The Overstory: Winner of the 2019 Pulitzer, I’ve read rave reviews about this one on creation, trees and our human interconnectedness and am excited to read it this year.

The Water Dancer: About a 19th century slave with a mysterious power; I’ve heard it described as bold and ambitious with a touch of magical realism and now I’m eager to see for myself.

This is Chance! The Shaking of an All-American City and the Voice that Held It Together: About a town in Alaska in the 1960s that is met by tragedy and the radio reporter that keeps it together.

Middle Grade/YA

A Very Large Expanse of Sea: A YA read about first love and prejudice in a post 9/11 world.

Broken Lucky Girl: Cuban-Jewish immigrant story for the 10-12 age set. A close friend set both of her kids, one boy, one girl, read it and raved about it which knowing her bookworms, was enough for me to add it to the list!

Coral: A story about depression/mental health using the original Little Mermaid as inspiration. I finished it a few weeks ago and am still thinking about it. Review coming soon.

The Fountains of Silence: So far I love everything that Ruta Sepetys has written. This one takes us to 1950s Franco-run Spain.

The Wednesday Wars: Well the cat is out on this one. I read it last week and laughed and cried and loved it so much that I’m hunting down the rest of Gary Schmidt’s books.

On the Lighter Side

American Royals: Teasing out what it’d look like if Washington had been given a crown.

The Curious Heart of Alisa Rae: I’m intrigued about this one regarding a young woman with a fatal heart condition yet who still hasn’t given up on love.

Meg & Jo: Wasn’t sure about a modern retelling of Little Women since I love the original so much but I’ve heard rave reviews so now am curious to see how it is!

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler: Single mom departs rural PA and takes on NYC one summer, it sounds like a great one to read in between some intense ones.