(Off the board) The books I started and didn't finish in 2020.
Beware. The list is ridiculously long.
For reasons that should be relatable to others, I had a harder time in 2020 actually finishing books I started. Here's what I'm sure is my incomplete list of titles.
1. True Trump: An Honest Biography of Donald Trump by Ross Rosenfeld
I agreed to review the book given to my by the author. I thought I could read about the President from a dispassionate point-of-view. Turns out I couldn't.
2. Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo
I sort of finished this one after I said I didn't. But by 'finishing' I meant speed-reading almost to the point of silliness. This was a book club selection so I really wanted to finish it for the discussion sake. Then, as it turns out, we canceled club that month.
3. Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by B.J. Fogg
I launched this book right about the same time that the pandemic launched. The timing was bad and I set it aside for a while and haven't gotten back to it yet.
4. Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Not sure if this one really counts because I checked out the library e-book of this one to my phone several times in 2020 and just never found the initiative to start it.
5. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
See note above. I did the same for this book, checking it out several times and then never bothering to even try and read it.
6. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
Same as the above two books. I checked it out multiple times, had it on my device for weeks at a time and never got to it.
7. Ten Windows: How Great Poems Transform the World by Jane Hirshfield
Pretty scholarly. I just couldn't concentrate hard enough to make the effort worth the while.
8. Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver
Kingsolver is my favorite author and I've read just about everything by her except this collection of essays. I decided I wasn't interested and set it aside. My tastes ran toward poetry and short stories this year, something I could consume in short reading stints. Not this collection, however.
9. Where the Bluebirds Sing and the Lemonade Springs by Wallace Stegner
See note above. This is another essay collection by a favorite author.
10. The Love Letter: a Novel by Madeleine L'Engle
This was an ill-advised purchase from BookBub. I doubt I'll get back to it.
11. The Yellow House by Sarah Broom
I purchased the Audible version of this memoir. Both my husband and I decided, after listening to about an hour of it, that it was too serious to continuing listening to due to our current collective mood.
12. The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming
I realized that I didn't care what happened to Charles Lindbergh, past tense, when I was living my own nightmare, present tense.
13. Bedtime Stories for Stressed Out Adults
I purchased the e-book and would read a story or two before bed when the pre-election crap was especially distressing. Now that Biden has won, even though Trump is still being awful, I can sleep without it.
14. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
I really liked this book which I checked out in audio format from the library. But it disappeared from my account before I was finished with it and I haven't had another turn yet.
15. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Ditto. See above. However this was an e-book instead of an audiobook. It also disappeared before I was finished with it.
16. Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh
Ditto. Ditto.
17. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman.
Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. The ridiculousness of this situation is the book is so popular I may not get it back for six months from the library. Don't you think they should buy a few more copies?
18. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
I made myself a promise to avoid reading books with explicit sex in them just because I usually feel it is unnecessary to the story and often disturbs me. When I got to one part of this book involving sexual acts, I decided to give it up. Now I see this book on the end-of-the-year best books list and wonder if I abandoned it too soon.
19. The Submission by Amy Waldman
A friend loaned me her copy of this book several years ago in hopes we could discuss it. I tried but found that the serious topic of racism around the 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers just didn't gel with my literary needs this year. Plus, I think my friend has given up on me and the potential conversation.
20. Trust Exercises by Susan Choi
This book which was on lots of end-of-year best books lists for 2019 just didn't capture my attention in the first or second chapter and I gave it the heave-ho, even wiping it off my TBR list.
I'm sure there are others that I started, or checked out and never cracked, but I didn't put them back onto my TBR list so I've forgotten what they were.
Hey. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year everyone! Here's hoping that 2021 is a better reading year than 2020 was.
-Anne
I'm glad you knew your limits for the books that didn't work for your tastes. I hope you get another shot at the ones you still want to return to soon.
ReplyDeleteMy post.
It's not the year to be self-critical or harsh with ourselves. I think you did an admirable job of reading and also were wise to let go of books that didn't appeal to you.
ReplyDeleteI do think this is the year of unfinished books as the pandemic exacerbated books that "didn't work in the moment." But to have the audio books disappear because they are due is dreadful! I hope you get back to some of those.
ReplyDeleteThere's always next year for these titles! I hope 2021 is a better reading year (and all-around year) for you.
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT!
I feel your pain. I didn’t do much library reading this year because of my slow reading pace. I’ve read a few of these. I would recommend Red Rising, if you are ever in the mood. Here’s to better things in 2021! Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteThere were a million that I checked out, either from curbside or at Overdrive/Hoopla, and returned without reading, too.
ReplyDeleteStill, I read a ridiculous 709 books this year. It looks like reading was stress relief for me.
This post is relatable! I sit on library waitlists for months, then I get the book and don’t read it. Then I have to sit on the waitlist for more months.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I need to start that King series. :)
ReplyDelete