{"id":26,"date":"2020-12-28T06:09:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-28T06:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/\/?p=26"},"modified":"2024-12-26T04:15:55","modified_gmt":"2024-12-26T04:15:55","slug":"books-i-read-in-2020-year-in-review-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=26","title":{"rendered":"Books I Read in 2020 – Year in Review (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hello Readers! As much as I love blogging about literally anything, I also love blogging about these year-end review posts! Have you checked out the first one<\/a>? So, this is the second post reviewing the books I read this year! It\u2019s going to be a little different, because why not? I have become quite obsessive about analytics, which is why you are going to see some FUN stats<\/span><\/b> <\/span>on this blog! It\u2019s quite basic, but I promise I will improve on this by next year!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

So, this is going to be a long post, because BOOKS obviously<\/span><\/b>! Most of you know that my 2020 Reading Challenge<\/a> was to read 52 Books in 52 Weeks from 52 specific categories<\/span><\/b>! While it was quite intimidating at the beginning, it actually was a slippery slope of fun, which made me increase my target to 75 BOOKS<\/span><\/b>! So, I kept the 52 original categories & rest of the books were all random which gave me the freedom to pick up & read anything! According to Goodreads<\/a>, I read <\/span>25106 pages <\/span><\/b>this year! And, the <\/span>average book length was 334 pages<\/span><\/b>, which I feel is pretty good. Now, I know a lot of you loved my 2020 Reading Challenge, so I thought of editing that main image to tell you which books I read against each of those 52 categories! Check it out below!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Given the pandemic & subsequent lockdowns, I got a lot of time to read. You can clearly see that from this graph! <\/span>I read the maximum number of books in May & June<\/span><\/b>. The lowest has been in December because there is a lot of workload now & just about one hour\u2019s time to read, if at all. I am truly blessed to have all these amazing people in my life because of whom I was able to dedicate so much time to reading in those early months of the lockdown! Thanks y\u2019all! You know who you are!<\/span><\/p>\n

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~~BEST BOOKS OF 2020~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Typically, I don\u2019t fixate on reading ONLY the books published in the same year. I just go about reading whatever I want, new or old. Because of those 52 categories, I read a lot of books which I otherwise might not have.<\/span><\/b> <\/span>I also started to be more active on Goodreads<\/span><\/b>, and this has heavily impacted my reading choices. You see one book on your timeline over & over with so many people rating it highly & naturally it makes you want to read it. And, in 99% of the cases, it is always a book published in the current year. I believe this was the primary factor how I ended up reading a lot of books published in 2020 & why I have a lot of those still on my TBR! These are the few books which I read this year which were also published this year!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Untamed by Glennon Doyle<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Home Body by Rupi Kaur<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Some books which were published in 2020 which are on my TBR are Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, Luster by Raven Leilani, The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, A Burning by Megha Majumdar, My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi<\/span><\/b> & just SO SO SO MANY MORE!!<\/span><\/b> <\/span>Which were your favourites?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

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Before moving on to tell you about my ratings, check out this interesting statistic! 33 of those 75 books that I read were on e-book!<\/span><\/b> I knew I read a lot of e-books, but I sure was shocked that the number was this HIGH<\/span><\/b>! Well, one small action toward the climate crises! I still imagine the aesthetic of what could have been a 75-book pile photograph of all these books.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

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~~BOOKS I RATED AT 4.5 OR 5 IN 2020~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

I think ALL of you know that I am a picky reader & reviewer<\/span><\/b>. My 5 star ratings are rare & almost endangered, while my 1 star rating are always on the rise. Well, not to sound more like a news reporter, I was SO GLAD that I rated TWELVE BOOKS at either 4.5\/5 or 5\/5 this year!<\/span><\/b> Check out this sacred list!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Color Purple by Alice Walker<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Untamed by Glennon Doyle<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Alboom<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Light Filters In by Caroline Kaufman<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Super proud of this list & I am hoping to read more 5-star worthy books in the next year. My absolute favourite from this list is of course A Little Life<\/span><\/b>. I still cannot stop thinking about it or talk about it to every person I meet, over & over! I also read some books by authors I haven\u2019t read before & really liked their writing, such as Kristin Hannah, Jhumpa Lahiri, Jodi Picoult & Hanya Yanagihara!<\/span><\/b><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

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~~BOOKS I RATED 1 OR 2 IN 2020~~<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

As much as I hate reading bad books, I giddily ENJOY writing critical book reviews of them!<\/span><\/b> <\/span>I hold back nothing & it\u2019s the only way I can imagine myself as a straight up assassin. Come to think of it, it is kind of my guilty pleasure<\/span><\/b>! So even if the book is good or bad, I technically win! If any of the below books are your favourites, please feel free to reach out to me to have a full-on debate on it! Written debate though, because let\u2019s face it, we are all introverts.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Atlas of Reds and Blues by Devi S. Laskar<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Rhythm Section by Mark Burnell<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Miguel Street by V.S. Naipaul<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

House of the Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories by Yasunari Kawabata<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

If You’re Not Yet Like Me by Edan Lepucki<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott<\/o:p><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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I said what I said! Isn\u2019t it weirdly funny that this list is longer than the one above it? <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

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Well, according to Goodreads, my average rating is 3.5\/5<\/span><\/b>, which seems perfectly plausible. Check out a detailed version of how I rated all these 75 books!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

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Another change in reading this year was that I read a lot of award-winning books<\/span><\/b>. Be it the Pulitzer Prize or Booker Prize or JCB Literature Award or Goodreads Choice Award<\/span><\/b>! I liked a majority of those, but also didn\u2019t like a few, which is to be expected. I have about 25 unread books in my bookshelf<\/span><\/b> <\/span>which are going to be my priority to read in the new year! <\/span><\/p>\n

And finally, as if the post wasn’t long enough in itself, here is a small book photoshoot with my 42 copies of books I read this year!<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Until next time,<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hello Readers! As much as I love blogging about literally anything, I also love blogging about these year-end review posts! Have you checked out the first one? So, this is the second post reviewing the books I read this year! It\u2019s going to be a little different, because why not? I have become quite obsessive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,23,3,5],"tags":[38,44],"class_list":["post-26","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","category-books","category-book-reviews","category-mindscape-reviews","category-personal","tag-favorite-books","tag-year-in-review"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Post2B22BHeader2Bedit-2.png?fit=410%2C640&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":304,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=304","url_meta":{"origin":26,"position":0},"title":"Top 10 Posts of 2015!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"December 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 31st December 2015. It's the last day of the year, already. It's been quite a roller coaster of a year. This year, my blog has remained my constant. No matter what happened I could always write it out on my blog. It was a venting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "lifestyle"","block_context":{"text":"lifestyle","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=11"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-4aDYnnlv5U0\/VoTLWhyOVJI\/AAAAAAAANME\/5xbshC7JG-g\/s400\/9780143420361.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2858,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2858","url_meta":{"origin":26,"position":1},"title":"2023 Mid-Year Reading Recap + Favourite Books!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"July 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! Half a year has passed us by. As usual, it feels like time has moved slowly but passed quickly. I have had a hell of a year so far, with way too many ups and downs than are expected in a mere six months. Life has changed for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PSX_20230626_122357-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PSX_20230626_122357-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PSX_20230626_122357-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PSX_20230626_122357-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PSX_20230626_122357-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1431,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=1431","url_meta":{"origin":26,"position":2},"title":"Celebrating Mindscape in Words’ 7th Blogoversary!!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"September 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello Readers!! Every time I write a post, I somehow always wonder how quickly the month has gone by, and today here we are where an entire year has gone by! Another successful year of Mindscape in Words! I am forever grateful to you readers who come back to read\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life!"","block_context":{"text":"Life!","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7thBlogoversaryFI.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7thBlogoversaryFI.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7thBlogoversaryFI.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7thBlogoversaryFI.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7thBlogoversaryFI.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":367,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=367","url_meta":{"origin":26,"position":3},"title":"Some Disliked Books. (Book Review #11)","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"July 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 You might have observed how the list of 'Books Read in 2015' at the bottom of the page has increased. Right now, I have a lot of free time to read which has allowed me to read about 8 books in July alone. Amongst them,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-8LaW6l_RMUo\/Va4YXCTtliI\/AAAAAAAAJCc\/r4h852HOiPI\/s640\/Untitled.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-8LaW6l_RMUo\/Va4YXCTtliI\/AAAAAAAAJCc\/r4h852HOiPI\/s640\/Untitled.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-8LaW6l_RMUo\/Va4YXCTtliI\/AAAAAAAAJCc\/r4h852HOiPI\/s640\/Untitled.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3485,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=3485","url_meta":{"origin":26,"position":4},"title":"More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop: An Unnecessary Sequel","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"July 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! I am back with a review after almost a month! I haven\u2019t been reading much because work is super hectic and so all I want to do over weekends is binge-watch something rather than read. Such a sad state of things! But, I am clawing my way out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Picsart_24-07-14_11-52-05-554-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Picsart_24-07-14_11-52-05-554-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Picsart_24-07-14_11-52-05-554-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Picsart_24-07-14_11-52-05-554-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Picsart_24-07-14_11-52-05-554-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3151,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=3151","url_meta":{"origin":26,"position":5},"title":"Top 12 Books of 2023 \u2013 Year in Review (Part 1)","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"December 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! 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