Check out 10 of the books I’m reading in 2020!
I’ve always been a huge reader, 2019 made me fall in love with reading so much more. I started listening to audio books a lot last year, and it allowed me to experience so many more books than I normally would have. Now I’m able to listen to books while I’m driving, doing chores, getting ready, etc. Now, I do love reading traditional books as well, but I’m finding that doing a combination of the two allows me to, not only read more books, but also read more than one book simultaneously.
This year, I decided to take on the 2020 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge, and I’m so excited! I feel like there are so many fun prompts this year, and I already have most of the prompts figured out. Some of the books I’m reading or plan to read are a little out of my comfort zone and out of my usual genre, but that just makes the challenge that much more exciting. I can’t wait to see what books I end up falling in love with that may lead me to enjoying a genre that I probably would have skipped over otherwise.
There are 40 prompts on the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge for 2020, and the ten books I’m sharing in this post are all ones that I plan to use to check off prompts on the list. There are also 10 additional prompts for an extra challenge that I only plan to tackle if I successfully complete the challenge this year.
RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE by CASEY MCQUISTON
POPSUGAR Prompt: a book with a pink cover
Red, White & Royal Blue has been on my TBR list pretty much since it was released. Every BookTuber, Goodreader, book blogger, and their mamas was talking about it, and I knew I had to get my hands on it. I will admit that I actually finished listening to this audio book before hitting publish on this blog post, and I seriously L-O-V-E-D it. I plan on doing a book review about it soon.
For those that don’t know, this book is about an American named Alex whose mother is the US President and Henry, the Prince of Wales. After years of loathing each other, they get caught up in a public scandal at the royal wedding that forces them together to play nice. Soon, they start texting and a budding friendship turns into a little something more.
This was such a cute book, and I can’t wait to share even more of my thoughts about it.
CARRY ON by RAINBOW ROWELL
POPSUGAR Prompt: a bildungsroman
I recently bought Carry On at a bookstore in Denver, and I’m seriously so excited to have it on my shelf. I’m a few chapters in, and even though the storyline is kind of Harry Potter-adjacent, I’m curious to see how the storyline holds up on its own.
If you’ve heard of or read Fangirl, the main character in that book writes fan fiction about a character named Simon Snow. Carry On is the fan fiction that lived inside of that book. Admittedly, I wasn’t super in love with the Simon Snow facets of the book, but Carry On has received so many incredible reviews that I can’t help but want to dive into the full story.
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by DELIA OWNS
POPSUGAR Prompt: a book with a map
Okay, y’all, everyone has been talking about Where the Crawdads Sing, and I completely understand why. My boyfriend, Kyle, and I like to read aloud to each other before we go to bed, and this is the book we’re currently reading together. We’re about halfway through, and I am about ready to finish it by myself because I’m dying to know what happens. Of course, I’m not going to do that, but the storyline has me hooked.
There are actually two storylines in the book. The main storyline follows a young girl named Kya who has been abandoned by every person in her family. It shows how she grows up and manages to live on her own in the marsh. The second storyline follows a mysterious death that happens over a decade later. I’m really curious to see how these storylines intertwine.
THE 7 1/2 DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE by STUART TURTON
POPSUGAR Prompt: a book you picked because the title caught your attention
Admittedly, I’ve known about this book long before I decided to use it for this prompt, but The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle has such an interesting title. Even if people hadn’t been talking about it all over YouTube and Goodreads, I probably still would have picked it up. I actually have this audio book downloaded onto my phone right now, and I’m excited to dive into it.
The book is about a woman named Evelyn Hardcastle who, obviously, dies while at a party. A man named Aiden finds himself reliving the night of Evelyn’s death over and over again, and the cycle will continue until he is able to identify the killer. The problem is that each time he wakes up, he finds himself in the body of a different guest.
The concept of this book is so fascinating, and I’m so excited to start listening to the audio book.
THE SILENT PATIENT by ALEX MICHAELIDES
POPSUGAR Prompt: a medical thriller
I love a good thriller, and since this book won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Thriller and Mystery last year, I knew this would be a must read for me in 2020. Even though I would have likely read this book anyway, I’m so glad that it was able to fit into a prompt for the POPSUGAR reading challenge.
The Silent Patient is about a woman named Alicia who lives a seemingly perfect life, but one day when her husband comes home from work, she shoots him five times in the face, after which, she refuses to speak. The world becomes fascinated with the silent patient, and most curious is a psychotherapist named Theo who works to unravel the truth and reasoning behind Alicia and her actions.
LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by CELESTE NG
POPSUGAR Prompt: a book with a great first line
Everyone has been talking about this book lately because it’s being made into a TV show on Hulu starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. Naturally, I want to watch it, but I try my best to read the book before watching any kind of TV or movie adaptation. I’m not actually sure what the first line of the book is, but when this prompt came up, so many people recommended this one, so I’m excited to see what the first line is and how the rest of the book lives up to the hype.
Little Fires Everywhere is basically about two families who live in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and they’re brought together under strange circumstances that involve their children. Apparently there’s a lot of drama between the families and tons of trauma in their pasts. I’m not really sure what to expect, but I can’t wait to find out.
THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB by LYSSA KAY ADAMS
POPSUGAR Prompt: a book about a book club
There are a lot of options out there for this particular prompt, but The Bromance Book Club has been hyped up a lot in a couple of the Facebook book groups I’m in, so I decided to give it a shot. The book is about a man named Gavin whose life is on a downward spiral. When his wife asks for a divorce, he allows his pride to get in the way. In the midst of all that, he finds help in a secret romance book club. The bros, along with their current read, try to help Gavin piece together his marriage, and, naturally, he finds it to be harder than he thought it would be.
I naturally gravitate toward books with female protagonists because I find them to be much more relatable to the issues I face, so I’m excited for this prompt and this book to get me a little out of my comfort zone.
FIVE FEET APART by RACHAEL LIPPINCOTT
POPSUGAR Prompt: a book with a three-word title
I absolutely fell in love with this movie, so naturally, I couldn’t resist reading the book. Normally, I like to read the book before watching the movie, but apparently, the Five Feet Apart book was written in tandem with the movie, but the film came out before the book was published. I’m really interested to see how the book builds on the characters in the movie. The book is about two teens who suffer from cystic fibrosis, and the film was actually based off of a real life couple, which I thought was really interesting and makes me love the story even more (although it also makes it that much more heartbreaking).
FINDING ME: A DECADE OF DARKNESS, A LIFE RECLAIMED RECLAIMED by MICHELLE KNIGHT
POPSUGAR Prompt: a book recommended by your favorite blog, vlog, podcast, or online book club
If you know me, you know that I’m a true crime fanatic. One case that has absolutely stuck with me are the Cleveland kidnappings. It sends a shiver up my spine just thinking about it, but hearing the stories of survival and triumph of the three girls who were kidnapped just makes me want to hug them and wish for them to have the best lives.
Back in 2016, I read Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland, written by Amanda Berry and Gine DeJesus. I never got around to reading Michelle Knight’s memoir, but Wine and Crime recently reminded me of these murders in their “Scared Sh*tless” episode. Kenyon mentioned that she was reading Finding Me, and I thought it would be the perfect book for this prompt. It’s definitely a different vibe than all of the books I’ve mentioned, but it’s a story that needed to be told, and I’m glad I’m finally intentionally reading it. Hearing Kenyon recall this case on the Wine and Crime podcast was so heartbreaking, and Michelle Knight got the worst of it. I’m interested in seeing how she tells her story and how she’s started to rebuild her life.
FRESH INK: AN ANTHOLOGY by SCHUYLER BAILAR, MELISSA DE LA CRUZ, SARA FARIZAN, SHARON B. FLAKE, ERIC GANSWORTH, MALINDA LO, WALTER DEAN MYERS, DANIEL JOSE OLDER, THIEN PHAM, JASON REYNOLDS, AMINAH MAE SAFI, GENE LUEN YANG, and NICOLA YOON
POPSUGAR Prompt: an anthology
Even though I have no idea what to expect from this anthology, I’m so excited to dive into it. Fresh Ink represents a diversity in literature, and that is so, so important. Thirteen diverse authors came together to create this anthology that’s filled with short stories, a graphic short story, and a one-act play. I can’t wait to dive into it.
What books will you be reading in 2020?
