Favorite books of 2020

Thanks to being a mom to two small children during a global pandemic, I didn’t get to read much last year. But quality over quantity, right?

My favorite book in 2020 was WHEN WE COLLIDED by Emery Lord. Even though I happen to know Emery in real life, I had never read any of her books until this one. What a fool I’ve been!

Given how warm and thoughtful she is, it comes as no surprise that Emery can write so brilliantly and tenderly here about grief, mental illness, and love of all kinds. Vivi, Jonah, and the whole town of Verona Cove were absolutely delightful. I felt charmed from the very start. I laughed with them, I cried with them, and best of all, I devoured their story, completely engrossed, at a time when concentrating on anything for more than ten minutes had become nearly impossible.

Fortunately I’ve been able to do a lot more reading in 2021. And you can click here for previous years’ favorites.


To be honest, I have no idea how Andy managed to read as many books as he did in 2020. He shifted into an extremely challenging new role at work just as the pandemic was starting up, and yet he also was never anything less than an A+ dad and partner.

These were his favorites of last year:


2 responses to “Favorite books of 2020”

  1. Anthony Lee Collins Avatar

    I didn’t read a lot of books last year, but I did write a long novella, so that’s something;

    After the pandemic started, I found that, with working from home and being at home, my greatest joy, on a day-by-day basis, was getting outside and walking around. I walked down streets in my neighborhood that I’d never seen before.

    And, when at home, I caught up on a lot of episodes of Game of Thrones, and now I’m reading the first book — though that’s not a long-term project (for one thing, the books are ridiculously long; and for another the book series ends in the middle). I’m just curious about how the book differs from the show — the tone, not the details.

    I recently wrote a blog post about two books I’m reading now:
    https://u-town.com/collins/?p=8352

    I’m glad that all is well with you and yours.

    1. Kristan Avatar

      You wrote a novella last year?! Way to go!

      Yeah, getting outside into the fresh air is such a boon.

      Game of Thrones, yes! Such a great show, even with the issues I had with the final season / overall story choices in the end. (And yeah, I wouldn’t recommend anyone hold their breath for the final books at this point.)

      Glad that all is well with you too! <3