I’ve actually been reading this year (not enough for my Goodreads challenge, but that’s beside the point), so I wanted to look at my favorite books from the first 6 months of 2020.

Non-Fiction

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• If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood by Gregg Olsen
  • This book is a nightmare in written form. The fact that it’s non-fiction is a nightmare unto itself. It’s a horrible tale of child abuse, murder, and the awful compiles on top of awful. I listened to the audiobook which lessened the emotional distance between me and what was happening. It feels weird to say this was one of my ‘favorites’ but it basically blew my mind like no other so I think it deserves a space on the list.
• Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
  • I loved this book. I bought the ebook, and I definitely plan on reading it again. I recognized myself, or people I know, in a lot of the stories she tells throughout the book. I don’t know why this was so easy to connect with when I have struggled to connect with similar books. Highly recommend.

From My Favorite Authors

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• Alone in the Wild by Kelley Armstrong
  • I’ve read all of the Rockton novels, and knew I was going to read this one as soon as I found out it was being published this year. I haven’t read any of her other books/series, but they’re on the list for sure. I really enjoy the concept behind the Rockton novels – basically a hidden town in the Northern bits of Canada for people who have something to hide from. It’s a bit of a romance series, but the mystery (read: insanity) is the big draw.
• Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James
  • I’m a huge Simone St. James fan, and this was my second read through of this novel. I like the time period – post WWI – and the creepy atmosphere she gives most of her books. She does have 2 modern day novels, and the one I’ve read was also great and I definitely have the other one on the to be read list.

Other Fiction

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• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
  • This is a rough read, but it was also really satisfying to finish. It didn’t make me cry, but I definitely had some serious feelings about it. The setting is Alaska and I found it really interesting to read about life (even fictional) in rural Alaska. Definitely check it out.
• Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
  • Shane has been bugging me to read this for literally years, and I finally did. It is a crazy roller coaster ride. It’s super depressing in parts, but it also left me with a really interesting sense of hope. I only guessed about half of the major twisty twist, which doesn’t happen often these days, so that’s a cool plus. I don’t really want to talk too much about it, so I don’t give away any spoilers. Needless to say, I’ll be reading more books that Shane recommends.

I’ve been saying “oh, I only want to read things that aren’t challenging – I don’t want to think” for a couple of years now, and this list is showing me that I really do like to challenge myself sometimes. I might need to push myself to expand my reading circle and try out some more mentally challenging reads.

In case you’re wondering, I’m 4 books behind on my 2020 reading challenge. I’m just not worried about it. 🙂

Sarah

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