Here in the UK, 2020 can justly be described as the year we all stayed at home.  For me, however, that statement can definitely be expanded to the year I stayed at home and read a hell of a lot more than ever before.   I mean, what else was I going to do?

According to Goodreads (my 2020 best friend and reading tracker-hybrid), I managed to work my way through 108 splendid books in 365 days.  I am smug, to say the least.  Whether your New Year’s Resolution is to read more, pick up books more intuitively, or exit your comfort zone  – this Every Book I Read In 2020 Pt. I should serve you some inspiration.  This post features the first 54 books I read in 2020.

Follow me via GoodReads for daily up-to-date readings here.

You can find Every Book I Read In 2020 Pt. II here.

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1 – The Cows – Dawn O’Porter (2018)

(Three women’s lives are interwoven with and by trauma, friendship, and social media.)

2 – Eric – Terry Pratchett (2000)

(A demon-summoner accidentally conjures up a wizard.  All hell breaks loose.  Literally.) 

3 – The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd – Agatha Christie (1926)

(The wife-to-be dies over an overdose and the husband-to-be is murdered. A complex mystery of death.)

4 – Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone – J. K. Rowling (1997)

(An orphan finds out he’s a wizard, attends wizard school, and comes face-to-face with the darkest wizard of them all.)

5 – Nine Perfect Strangers – Lianne Moriarty (2019)

(Nine neurotic guests meet at a radical health resort where drug-taking and enforced silence is on the cards.)

6 – Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets and Advice For Living Your Best Life – Ali Wong (2019)

(Part-memoir, part-love letter to her offspring, and a whole lotta’ crudity.  Ali Wong is the comedy queen.)

7 – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J. K. Rowling (1998)

(Something or someone is attempting to murder students with non-magical parents at wizard school.  But why who, or what?)

8 – Moriarty – Anthony Horowitz (2014)

(Scotland Yard chases the elusive criminal Moriarty across Europe just to find out he’s right under their noses.)

9 – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J. K. Rowling (1999)

(An escaped mass murderer is on the loose and he has only one person in his sights: Harry Potter.)

10 – City Of Girls – Elizabeth Gilbert (2020)

(A small-town girl gets a taste of big-time New York theatre.  Showgirls, hotel three-sums, and finding yourself.)

11 – Heroes – Stephen Fry (2018)

(A factual and funny compilation of Greek Mythology’s greatest heroes documenting their triumphs and failures.)

12 – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J. K. Rowling (2000)

(Dragons, dances, danger, and dark wizards.  Harry’s time at school is about to change forever.)

13 – The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy – Douglas Adams (1979)

(Comedic travels through space, aided by the weird and wonderful quotes of the Hitchhikers Guide.)

14 – Where The Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens (2018)

(A lighthearted crime novel encompassing love, betrayal, acceptance, science, and nature.)

15 – The Sentence Is Death – Anthony Horowitz (2018)

(The author puts himself in his own whodunnit where a sober divorce-lawyer is bludgeoned to death by a wine bottle – but why? And by who?)

16 – The Seven Husband’s Of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017)

(Hollywood’s golden girl, Evelyn Hugo, retells her fascinating rags-to-riches story for the first and last time to an unknown journalist.)

17 – The Winter Ghosts – Kate Mosse (2009)

(A World War I survivor becomes the only hope for the dead to rest in peace.)

18 – I, Partridge: We Need To Talk About Alan – Alan Partridge (2011)

(Comedic memoir collating the very best of Alan Partridge’s rich, fierce, and highly-competitive broadcasting career.)

19 – The Magician’s Nephew – C. S. Lewis (1955)

(Magical rings take two children into the beginning and end of worlds where they meet witches, talking animals, and the creator, a gigantic lion.) 

20 – Graceland – Bethan Roberts (2019)

(The life and times of Elvis through his mother, Gladys’ eyes, and Elvis’ pre-pubescent emotions.)

21 – The Mars Room – Rachel Kushner (2018)

(A dancer is forced to take up residence in a women’s prison after murdering her stalker.)

22 – Supper Club – Lara Williams (2019)

(A group of women finds comfort, acceptance, friendship, and empowerment in food.) 

23 – Jog On: How Running Saved My Life – Bella Mackie (2018)

(Anxiety-riddled journalist Bella Mackie talks about her journey into running and how it fixed her heartbreak.) 

24 – The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe – C. S. Lewis (1950)

(The Pevensie children find a hidden world at the back of the wardrobe and are suddenly embroiled in war and destiny.)

25 – Private Means – Cree LeFavour (2020)

(A married couple loses their dog and act on adulterous thoughts as their relationship disintegrates before their eyes.) 

26 – The Tales of Beedle the Bard – J. K. Rowling (2008)

(Fables and stories-with-meaning from the Wizarding World.)

27 – East Of Croydon – Sue Perkins (2018)

(Travel diary-cum-heartbreaking memoir from comedian Sue Perkins.  Dipping into childhood memories and raw adult experiences with a flourish of funny.)

28 – Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths – Bernard Evslin (1966)

(A full and concise index of the most-famous Greek Myths.  Featuring gods and goddesses, heroes, and the monsters they have slain.)

29 – Killing Eve: Codename Villanelle – Luke Jennings (2017)

(Eve is fired from her corporate job while assassin Villanelle is just getting started with hers.  A plethora of lust, forbidden love, high-fashion, and murder is about to be dealt with.)

30 – The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Suzanne Collins (2020)

(The sequel to the Hunger Games trilogy following teenage President Snow as a mentor to a District 12 girl at the tenth games.)

31 – Exciting Times – Naoise Dolan (2020)

(An Irish teacher in Hong Kong falls in love with a man who won’t be her boyfriend and a woman who wants to be her everything.) 

32 – The Mystery of Henri Pick – David Foenkinos (2020)

(A supposedly lost-transcript causes a frenzy and a breakdown of relationships when it is published in a small French town.) 

33 – The Herd – Andrea Bartz (2020)

(The leader of an all-female co-working space is murdered on a rooftop.  Lies, deceit, and blackmail bubbles under the surface of a story that is hiding something dark.) 

34 – Queenie – Candice Carty-Williams (2019)

(A best friend in a book; Queenie follows the trials and tribulations of family, trauma, relationships, and the career of a 20-something London girl.) 

35 – My Sister, The Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite (2017)

(A story of two sisters; one murders her boyfriends while the other bleaches away the evidence.)

36 –  A Thousand Ships – Natalie Haynes (2019)

(A poignant retelling of the Trojan War from the female perspective.)

37 – The Killings At Kingfisher Hill – Sophie Hannah (2020)

(Hercule Poirot reprised and back on the case – a case where there has been a murder, a confession, and a death sentence.)

38 – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J. K. Rowling (2003)

(Visions of death, evil professors, and a daring rescue mission – Harry, his friends, and his carers risk it all for a prophecy.)

39 –  Sex and Vanity – Kevin Kwan (2020)

(A retelling of A Room With A View but with more WASP relatives, Capri beaches, and riches.  Crazy Rich Asians in America.)

40 – How To Build A Girl – Caitlin Moran (2014)

(A fictionalised version of Caitlin Moran’s childhood breakthrough into the music industry. A coming-of-age story about trying to be something you’re not.) 

41 – Hamnet – Maggie O’Farrell (2020)

(The beautiful untold story of Shakespeare’s extended family littered with tragedy, grief, and loss.)

42 – The Horse and His Boy – C. S. Lewis (1954)

(A slaved boy finds friendship with a slaved horse.  Lots of sword-fighting and adventure.)

43 – Women Don’t Owe You Pretty – Florence Welsh (2020)

(Feminism 101 – an entry-level conversation into reforming thoughts and views) 

44 – How Do We Know We’re Doing It Right? – Pandora Sykes (2020)

(Millennial harping about celebrities and witty myth-busting from journalist Pandora Sykes.)

45 – Prince Caspian – C. S. Lewis (1951)

(The Pevensie children return to Narnia but, in their absence, lots have changed.)

46 – Killing Eve: No Tomorrow – Luke Jennings (2018)

(The second installment of the Killing Eve novels with more murder and sees Villanelle and Eve finally meeting.)

47 – Northern Lights – Philip Pullman (1995)

(An alternative Oxford, a trip to the North, armoured bears, and a crack in the wall of the universe.)

48 – #GIRLBOSS – Sophia Amoruso (2014)

(The tell-all tale of the Nasty Gal rise from founder and former-CEO, Sophia Amoruso)

49 – The Subtle Knife – Philip Pullman (1997)

(The second in the His Dark Materials trilogy sees Lyra entering through the crack in the universe into a world that looks much like her own.)

50 – Varanasi – Jae Watson (2020)

(Two friends stumble into deathly trouble in India.)

51 – Devil’s Breath – G. M. Malliet (2017)

(Spy-turned-cleric Max Tudor is embroiled in another murder case – this time with a washed-up woman and fraudsters.)

52 – Killing Eve: Die For Me – Luke Jennings (2020)

(Eve and girlfriend Villanelle are on the run – but is what they run into worse than what they’re running from?)

53 – Sonic Youth Slept On My Floor: Music, Manchester, and More: A Memoir – Dave Haslam (2018)

(The infamous Manchester music scene told in retrospect by an ex-Haçienda DJ.)

54 – The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton – Anstey Harris (2019)

(Navigating hopes, friendship, relationships, and power through the lens of a once-child prodigy.)