Books in Review: 2020
I average reading one book per week.
I’ve always been like this. As a kid my mom wondered if something was wrong with me on summer days when I sat inside devouring a novel in two days while my friends were outside playing.
She later got used to it — never objecting when I would join her on shopping trips and add more books to the cart (Costco was where I first found a Harry Potter book as a 12 year old). She got used to me saying I was going to a book store on a Saturday afternoon the second I could drive.
In 2019 though, after a friend’s challenge to read more with him, I began tracking and rating the books I read. Being an analyst not only in career, but at heart, I created a spreadsheet and ranking system for every book I read.
As a reminder, I do not share any books below a 2-rating. I don’t want to discourage anyone from picking up a book and seeing if it’s right and enjoyable for them or their journey.
At the start of 2020, I wondered if circulating 5–6 books like we switch Netflix shows made sense — picking up a different book depending on how we felt. I spent the first half of the year reading approximately five books at a time before abandoning the idea. The circulation didn’t allow my mind to form a connection with the characters or enter a flow-state within the world that specific book created because my mind was in five books. It just didn’t work for me.
I returned to reading one book at a time, but committed to switching genres between each book I completed (for example, historical fiction would never follow another historical fiction book). My brain craved the change. It craved a new world created by words strung together by a writer.
Below you’ll find my top reads or listens (blue denotes an audio book) of 2020. I have a strict rule that for a book to earn a 5-rating, it has to be a book I will one day return to and read again. Some books that I absolutely loved, like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, were books that enchanted like Harry Potter did when I was 12 — but I cannot see myself rereading simply because I already know how the story unfolds and ends.
My top reads (or listens) of 2020 were:
From my reading list:
Best book for business?
Discipline Equals Freedom
Best book for bettering yourself?
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari (image at left)
The Buddhist on Death Row (images below)
The Body Keeps the Score
Best and most entertaining story?
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
The Kite Runner
The Buddhist on Death Row
There was a theme in 2020. I began practicing yoga and found a teacher in New Jersey that blends the spiritual and historical aspects of yoga with the physical practice. My teacher lent me her copy of “Mantra: Hearing the divine in India” and on the first page, I felt like I was transported back to New Delhi. I could hear the sound of rickshaws and smell the spices in the local market on that first page. That is the mark of excellent writing. It transports you to a time and place and engages all of your senses.
I’m continuing the reading and ranking of books in 2021, please feel free to send me any recommendations.
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What’s next? I started 2021 by ordering a “Grab Bag of Books” from the Capitol Hill Bookstore. They select books for you based on a price limit you set & a questionnaire you answer. I will report back on how they did. To order your own Grab Bag and support a small and local bookstore, fill out this form (they ship anywhere in the country). Please note this isn’t sponsored, a friend sent me their form and I paid for all of my books. They aren’t aware I’m reviewing their choices.
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This is a personal entry written and edited by Katerina Dimitratos. For questions about this post, please email katerinadimitratos@gmail.com. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the author’s own.
