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2020 Can Go F*ck Itself! - Reading Year in Review

2020 was a year of reading and not socializing. You would think since I was stuck between home and work I would have done a better job updating this site, but things just failed. THAT is part of the reason this post is titled how it is.


Honestly, 2020 was an AMAZING year for reading. I just failed at sharing about it. I finally reached my 100 books read goal for the Great Reading Challenge at the library. I am officially a Diamond Level reader. I even  managed to go above that mark and it was a total of 125 books read this year, including the extra credit points! I completed every challenge the library offered except two of them. I missed the November Reading Roulette Challenge and one challenge worth extra points, which was 'Read Two Classic Novels.' The other HUGE goal I hit was becoming my library's Reader of the Month. I was the Reader of the Month in November. They included almost my ENTIRE responses and a very large chunk of my suggested reading list. You can check out the article and see my suggestions list here. I am including my reading picture though because I absolutely love it!


2020 Reading Roulette in Review

I was doing a decent job earlier in the year keeping everyone up to date on my what books I read during the challenge, but the as I mentioned earlier I just failed with posting online. I'm going to list all of my Reading Roulette books as well as the category below. Now all of them are compiled into one location for your reading pleasure! If you haven't read my previous posts a new Reading Roulette category was picked each month and you needed to a read a book within that category or that completed that challenge and you would receive a bonus point for the month.

  • January: Read a book that is 200 pages or less
    • "Adulthood is a Myth" by Sarah Anderson
  • February: Read a survival story
    • "Know My Name: A Memoir" by Chanel Miller
  • March: Read a book written by an artist more famous for another medium
    • "Lean on Me" by Pat Simmons
  • April: Read a book by an author who has published more than 20 books
    • "Chimes at Midnight" by Seanan McGuire
  • May: Read a book with a weather-related word in the title
    • "Weather: A Novel" by Jenny Offhill
  • June: Read a book that inspires self-care
    • "The Woman Suffrage Cookbook" by Hattie A. Burr
  • July: Read a book with water on the cover
    • "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks
  • August: Read a book that recently won an award
    • "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
  • September: Read a book that has two or more co-authors
    • "The Promise of Love" by Foster, McCarthy, Denton, Day, Love
  • October: Trick or Treat edition - pick a mystery bag and read one book
    • "Wicked and the Wallflower" by Sarah MacLean
  • November: Read a How-To book
  • December: Read a book with snow on the cover
    • "The Winter Long" by Seanan McGuire
As I mentioned in an earlier section I missed the November challenge. I had a book picked out and then just lost track of the month, which seems like the theme of the year! I wanted to clarify for October's challenge as well. At the library's 'Recommendation Desk' there were genre cards. We had to pick a genre and then we were given a mystery bag of three books from that genre to choose from. I decided since these challenges are all about discovering new books I chose a genre way outside my norm: Historical Romance. My three book options were: "Wicked and the Wallflower," " Highland Promise," and "Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman." I chose "Wicked and the Wallflower because it seemed to be the less predictable of the three. I can say that one truly did make me branch out the most. 


2020 Additional Extra Credit Review

The library also had an additional extra credit list. Most of the bonus points were scattered throughout the reading log, with a short list of 'library-related' points at the end. Here were all the additional 2020 bonus point options:

  • 2 Books with Antonyms in their titles = 3 books read
    • "The Dragon Reborn" by Robert Jordan
    • "Strawberry Shortcake Murder" by Joanne Fluke
  • 2 Banned books = 3 books read
    • "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" - J.K. Rowling
    • "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold
  • 2 Classic novels = 3 books read
  • Long book over 600 pages = 2 books read
    • "The Eye of the World" by Robert Jordan
  • Long book over 600 pages = 2 books read (2nd time)
    • "Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
  • 2 Books on the same topic. One fiction and one nonfiction = 3 books read
    • "Celtic Tales"
    • "Hunted" by Kevin Hearne
  • Read a vegetarian cookbook and make something = 2 books read
    • "Eat Your Vegetables" by Joe Yonan
  • Attend a book club #1
    • “Rosemary & Rue” (Feb)
  • Attend a book club #2
    • “Funny You Don’t Look Autistic” (April, virtual gathering)
  • Attend a book club #3
    • “Hounded” (April, Zoom meeting)
  • Attend 2 adult events
    • Mini Cabin Fever Con (Jan)
    • Art gallery (Feb)
  • Tag on Social Media #GRCof2020 (Jan)
  • Read a book from all 26 categories = 3 books read
The Great Reading Challenge this year was an alphabet; for each letter in the alphabet there was a list of category options. I was able to fit a book into every category from A to Z. My extra credit from this section and the Reading Roulette section totaled 25 extra points. That brought me to a grand total of 125 books read!

Looking Forward


As we all know 2020 has been a banner year for everyone. Just making it through the year has been an achievement for many. I don't have any crazy reading goals for 2021. My goal was 100 books and for someone who works full time that is a feat. I achieved that goal this year, so next year I intend to keep reading, but possibly at a slower pace. The library has already announced another Great Reading Challenge and while they get that ready there is a month-long Winter Reading Challenge. I will be doing both. I'm hoping now that I am not pushing myself to read an excessive amount I can do a better job at updating this blog. I have series to finish and plenty of books to read. Plus, I just added another massive list to my "To Be Read" pile thanks to a bunch of articles listing the 'Top Books of 2020.' Who knows where 2021 will bring me? No one. For now, I just intend to keep reading. Stay safe, stay warm, and most of all KEEP READING!

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