2020: A Bumper Year of Books
When I searched for an image to use for this ‘2020 retrospective’ post I was amazed (and amused) by the number of pictures of vaccination syringes, masks, and other Covid-19 references. I did not want this post to be about Covid-19 – or at least, not the devastating effects of the pandemic, with which we are all too familiar.
What I wanted to write about was the silver lining in the Covid cloud, for me anyway (and I suspect, many others around the world.) 2020 turned out to be a bumper year of reading!
I have read at least 74 books this year. This includes hard copy, e-book and audiobook formats, adults and children’s books, fiction and non-fiction. I had signed up to three reading challenges, all of which I completed with ease: Aussie Author Challenge, Non-Fiction Challenge, and Australian Women Writers Challenge.
I read books from my local library (in e-book format while lockdown restrictions were in place); books gifted to me; books I reviewed for publishers; and books chosen for the book group I belong to.
My standout reads for the year?
There are quite a few. Here are some:
A Room of Leaves by Kate Grenville
Benevolence by Julie Janson
Your Own Kind of Girl by Clare Bowditch
Tell Me Why by Archie Roach
SongSpirals by the Gay’wu Group of Women
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
The Yield by Tara June Winch
The Love that Remains by Susan Francis
The People of the River by Grace Karskens
Searching for Charlotte by Kate Forsyth & Belinda Murrell
and for a picture book…Aunty’s Wedding by Miranda Tapsell
My congratulations and thanks to the wonderful, talented authors, editors, publishers, illustrators, book designers, and booksellers who managed to keep the writing and reading show on the road during a tumultuous year. All of which brought great joy and solace to readers such as myself.
Let’s all look forward to more fabulous literary treats (and I hope, I better year in every respect) in 2021.
One Comment
Susan Francis
Thank you Denise. x