100 Books Read in 2020

Each year I set a "To-Read" book goal on Goodreads. I started doing this in 2011. Each year I set a goal of 100 or more books to read. I have reached that goal each year except 2016 when I only read 99 or the 100 I wanted to read. This started because my mother retired and made a comment one day that she read a book a day. Mind you, she reads nothing but romance novels which I consider "no thought required" reading but she said she reads to be entertained and not because she wants to think. She's also retired, doesn't drive and my step-dad is dead so she really does have a lot of time on her hands. Anyway . . . back to my goal. It was 100 this year. There are a couple books that we re-reads so they are not included in the photos but I did read them so I count them on my 100 books. I have a couple month to go so hopefully I can knock some more off my to-read list before the year is over.



"The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" got my attention while I was on vacation. My grandparents are from that area and my grandfather was actually a Fugate, a relative of the Blue Fugates. So, of course, when I saw this book I just HAD to buy it. I loved it.

"Before I Fall" was also very good. It's a YA book but I still enjoyed it.


"Love, Loss, and What We Ate" was a great memoir. I don't even recall why it was on my to-read list. Someone must have recognized it. I didn't know the author and it isn't my typical type of book to read but I enjoyed the book. The author was a model and has written a cookbook or two plus she was a host of Top Chef.

"Angela's Ashes" is great. My husband read it first and wanted me to read it but he said he knew the punctuation (or lack thereof) would drive me crazy so I decided to go with the audio book which is read by the author. He's Irish and I could listen to him talk all day long. This is the first of three books, his memoir. I am currently listening to the second book now. I loved this one and am enjoying the second one as well. I have already picked up the third one from the library so I will listen to it next.


I thoroughly enjoyed "The Dead Don't Dance".

"Look Me in the Eye" is also great. It's about an autistic boy. Sad but very good.

"Prince: The Beautiful Ones" was good but sad. Prince started writing his memoir with the author but died before the book was written. Part of it is in his handwriting and part of it is by the author.


I was not at all impressed with "Dare to Lead." Boring.

I love the number series by James Patterson. "19th Christmas" was good.

Dean Karnazes is an amazing running machine. I thoroughly enjoyed his book "Ultra Marathon Man."


The Goodreads photo was a book that wasn't on Goodreads. It was a Happy Herbivore cookbook. Those are my favorite. "Happy Herbivore Goes Bowling" which is a bowl cookbook. I love it. Easy to make recipes.

"Trail Runner's Companion" I have read twice this year. Hubby laughs at me because I read it and then immediately re-read it with a highlighter and am not reading it again. As a new ultra and trail runner I am trying to learn all I can.

I wasn't impressed with Russell Brand's book but I know a lot of people that loved it.

I enjoyed "The Happiness Project". I loved "Maggie". "When You See Me" was great. "Running with Scissors" goes with a previously mentioned book "Look Me in the Eye."

The Rosa Parks book I picked as a read in February for Black History Month. Good book.

My favorite book in this list was "Reborn on the Run" written by an ultra runner. It tells her journey from addiction to ultra running. She's a wonderful storyteller and it was one of those books that was just hard to put down once you started reading it.


"Just Watch Me" was written by the author of the "Dexter" series. Good book but not one of the best ever.

"The Incomplete Book of Running" was entertaining. The author is funny.

"Freedom Run" was great. I loved this book. It's one of my favorite reads of the year.



If you are a fan of "Hunger Games" you need to read "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes". It was very good. It is a prequel to "Hunger Games" and tells about the life of President Snow.

"Roar" is a great read. If you are a female athlete I highly recommend reading it.

"Hid From Our Eyes" is another of those books from one of my favorite series. I felt like I waited years for this book to be written but it was well worth the wait.

You can never go wrong with a Michael Connelly book! This was no exception.

"The Life We Bury" was also great. A new-to-me author that a friend recommended I read. "The Shadows We Hide" (in the photo below) goes with this one and it's very good as well.



The two books here by Cory Reese, "Into the Furnace" and "Nowhere Near First" are both great. "Let Your Mind Run" and "Running Your First Ultra" were also great. Can you tell the theme this year was a lot of running books?

"Those Who Saved Us" was a great read as well. So was "All is Not Forgotten" and "The Silent Wife."

I'm sure the pandemic was a big assist to my finishing my 100 books so early in the year. It seems this year has passed quickly but I haven't really done much except read and run.

Happy Reading!