What I Read (2020)

I read 83 books in 2020, which may be a personal best.  I think a big part of it was competing in a reading challenge, which was really fun and also led me to read a lot of books I otherwise wouldn't have (there were dozens of categories, ranging from "Orange Cover" to "2020 tv adaptation" to "Author with a hyphenated name" and more).

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January 1, 2020: Mindhunter by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. “Memoirs of a criminal profile.”

January 2, 2020: The Lost Chronicles by Mark Cotta Vaz. “Published after season 1. Ok for a companion.”

January 14, 2020: Batman: A Visual History by Matthew K. Manning. “Month by month survey of Batman from 1939 to 2015! Epic.”

January 18, 2020: The Eye of the Dragon by Stephen King. “Fantasy novel—YA in tone, but not bad.”

January 20, 2020: Lords of Chaos by James Jacobs. “Pathfinder sourcebook about demons. Really well-written.”

January 28, 2020: The Summoned by Cameron Dokey. “Angel book about cult using coins to mark sacrifices. Starts good but then gets lame.”

January 28, 2020: The Dagger of Trust by Chris Willrich. “An all-bard Pathfinder novel focused on threats to peace between Andoran and Taldor. A bit slack in places, but really good overall.”

February 3, 2020: Blood Engines by T.A. Pratt. “Reread first Marla Mason book. So good!”

February 19, 2020: The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King. “Page-turner, as Roland finds (reluctant) allies.”

February 25, 2020: Inner Sea Intrigue by David N. Ross. “High-quality options for intrigue PCs.”

February 29, 2020: The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. “Relationship self-help book that is actually pretty good despite the preachiness at the end.”

March 2, 2020: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. “Beautiful full-colour illustrated edition, a joy to read to my kid.”

March 8, 2020: Don’t Call Me Ishmael by Michael Gerard Bauer. “Hilarious and with surprising heart. Fantastic.”

March 9, 2020: La Bibliotheque des Ames by Ransom Riggs. “Third book in the Peculiar Children series. Not bad, but overlong.”

March 23, 2020: Ultimate Intrigue by Various. “Excellent Pathfinder sourcebook for running urban and intrigue adventures.”

March 28, 2020: Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. “Fantastic SF novel full of twists and turns! Have to get the sequel.”

March 28, 2020: Skinwalkers by Wendy W. Wagner. “Pathfinder novel set in the Ironbound Archipelago. Really tense, dark, and exciting.”

March 28, 2020: Kojiki by Keith Yatsuhashi. “Japanese-themed modern fantasy with kami spirits battling over Tokyo. Not great.”

March 29, 2020: Ishmael and the Return of the Dugongs by Michael Gerard Bauer. “Such a funny, sweet book.”

March 31, 2020: The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trial by Maggie Nelson. “Eloquent and moving.”

April 5, 2020: The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. “Second Culture novel. Really good, though Culture is too perfect.”

April 6, 2020: The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson. “Excellent small-town coming of age story that avoids cliche.”

April 7, 2020: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. “Repetitive aphorisms of Stoic philosophy.”

April 9, 2020: The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett. “First Discworld novel. Not as consistently funny as later ones, but still good.”

April 10, 2020: Poison Sleep by T.A. Pratt. “Second Marla Mason book. Fantastic urban fantasy.”

April 14, 2020: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. “Second Mistborn book. Fantastic page-turner.”

April 19, 2020: Misery by Stephen King. “Instant classic.”

April 24, 2020: Ishmael and the Hoops of Steel by Michael Gerard Bauer. “A very sweet conclusion to the trilogy.”

April 26, 2020: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. “Not nearly as good as its reputation.”

April 27, 2020: The Great Beyond by Todd Stewart. “Well-written overview with some cool ideas.”

April 29, 2020: The Book Ninja by Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus. “Insipid, offensive, and just plain badly written.”

May 7, 2020: Alien Archive 2 by Various. “Starfinder monster book. Okay.”

May 10, 2020: Crossfire by Nancy Kress. “Solid SF novel about human colony caught up in alien war.”

May 12, 2020: The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. “Nightvale novel. Pretty good.”

May 20, 2020: The Secret History of Twin Peaks by Mark Frost. “Intriguing at times.”

May 25, 2020: Crucible by Nancy Kress. “Sequel to Crossfire. Solid.”

May 26, 2020: Misfit Monsters Redeemed by Colin McComb et al. “Nice try, but most of these monsters still deserve the ridicule they’re known for.”

June 5, 2020: The Redemption Engine by James Sutter. “How good was that!”

June 21, 2020: The Five by Hallie Rubenhold. “Account of the lives of the five victims of Jack the Ripper, putting the focus on them instead of him. Well-done.”

June 30, 2020: The Unofficial Spider-Man Trivia Challenge by Alan Kistler. “I only got 343 out of a possible 826. Sad!”

July 2, 2020: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. “The movie is better.”

July 3, 2020: Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan. “Fantastic cyber-punk detective novel. Read with rum!”

July 5, 2020: Fabulous by Lucy-Hughes Hallett. “Weird title and cover for what’s actually a really interesting modern retelling of several classical myths.”

July 11, 2020: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour. “Beautiful cover to a fantastic book.”

July 13, 2020. Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland. “Such an amazing debut novel!”

July 19, 2020. A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland. “Good sophomore effort.”

July 27, 2020. Battle of the Dawn: The Complete Hok the Mighty by Manly Wade Wellman. “Pulp caveman stories, but actually entertaining.”

July 28, 2020. Evelina by Frances Burney. “An eighteenth century precursor to Jane Austen.”

July 29, 2020. The Political Theory of Montesquieu by Melvin Richter. “Extracts and commentary.”

July 30, 2020. Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks. “Wow, what a reveal!”

August 1, 2020. Of Honour and Iron by Ian St. Martin. “Warhammer 40K book. Ok.”

August 2, 2020. Undying by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. “Satisfying sequel/conclusion.”

August 8, 2020. Rival Guide by Brandon Hodges, et al. “Useful NPC adventuring bands.”

August 16, 2020. The Chalice of Death by Robert Silverberg. “Three classic 1950s SF novels. Fun!”

August 21, 2020. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. “Grandfather of African novels.”

August 23, 2020. The Sun-Down Motel by Simone St. James. “Ghosts and serial killers. Not bad.”

August 26, 2020. You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce. “Debut novel, reasonably creepy.”

August 30, 2020. The Dead Father’s Club by Matt Haig. “Really good retelling but with twists on Hamlet.”

August 31, 2020. Girl: A Novel by Edna O’Brien. “Fictional account of Boko Haram girl. Good.”

September 11, 2020: Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. “Novel set during Hurricane Katrina. Good.”

September 15, 2020: High Fidelity by Nick Hornsby. “Just a really good novel.”

September 19, 2020: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett. “Really funny bits.”

September 27, 2020: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. “Amateur sleuths in a retirement home. Really fun.”

September 27, 2020: Taking Down Evelyn Tait by Poppy Nwosu. “Heartwarmng YA book.”

October 1, 2020: Paris est une fete by Ernest Hemingway. “Recollections of life writing in Paris in 1920s.”

October 4, 2020: Life, Love, Books by Mark Manson. “Life advice, I guess.”

October 9, 2020: Pathfinder Bestiary 2 by Various. “Lots of classics plus some cool additions.”

October 13, 2020: The Crusader Road by Michael A. Stackpole. “Pathfinder book about the founding of a new town near Thornkeep. Different but good.”

October 30, 2020: Aquatic Adventures by Amber Scott and Mark Seifter. “Indispensable rules.”

November 3, 2020: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. “Beautiful novel, close to my heart, and fully worthy of that Pulitzer.”

November 6, 2020: The Marvel Museum by Ned Hartley. “A really nice review.”

November 18, 2020: Kitty Goes to War by Carrie Vaughn. “Solid continuation of the series.”

December 15, 2020: Starfinder: Armory by various. “Whole lotta stuff.”

December 18, 2020: The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett. “Maybe a bit slow in places, but ends on the best cliffhanger ever.”

December 19, 2020: Political Writings of Leibniz by Patrick Riley (ed.). “Shows he was interested in more than just calculus and goofy monads.”

December 25, 2020: The Great Influenza by John M. Barry. “Fascinating history of the 1918-1920 pandemic, with parallels to our own.”

December 25, 2020: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan. “Really funny and clever book.”

December 27, 2020: Return of the Archwizards by Troy Denning. “Forgotten Realms trilogy with ancient Netherese floating city and monsters galore. Not bad.”

December 27, 2020: Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram. “Portland kid of Persian descent visits relatives in Iran. Sweet and moving.”

December 29, 2020: A Study in Darkness by Emma Jane Holloway. “Main character is a bit of a Mary Sue, but okay.”

December 31, 2020: Making Friends with Alice Dyson by Poppy Nwosu. “Not great, but author’s next book is.”

December 31, 2020: Matilda by Roald Dahl. “Very funny.”

December 31, 2020: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. “That was some fish!”