My 10 favourite books of 2020

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2020 was the Year of the Rat according to the Chinese zodiac, and it’s certainly been the year of the rat for me. In English we call avid readers ‘bookworms’, named after the creepy crawlies that munch their way through precious paperbacks and hefty tomes alike. But in Spanish the term is ‘ratón de biblioteca’, which technically means library mouse but hey, it’s close enough. My point is I read a lot in 2020, and I wanted to share my 10 favourite books with you in case you’re in need of some inspiration for your 2021 reading lists (and also to refresh my memory since it was a long year). 

Non fiction

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

I realise I’m late to the party, but this book is an absolute eye-opener. Harari takes the reader on a journey through the history of our species, looking at the cognitive revolution, the agricultural revolution, the unification of humankind and the scientific revolution in turn. He’s a brilliant writer, and it’s his mastery of words that really brings history to life and makes this book such a page turner. But Sapiens is much more than a simple recounting of history, and Harari encourages us to question popular narratives and assumptions, constantly blowing the reader’s mind with every page. 

Sapiens is definitely up there as one of the most educational and thought-provoking books I’ve ever read, and I would strongly recommend giving it a read if you haven’t already.

The Lonely City by Olivia Laing

This made for such a fascinating read. The state of loneliness is often seen as something shameful, and I loved the way Laing challenges that perception through the stories of different artists, including Andy Warhol and Edward Hopper. One of my favourite parts was Laing’s commentary on Hopper’s Nighthawks, the famous painting I’ve gazed at many times but hadn’t fully appreciated until reading this book. I hadn’t noticed how the architecture of the painting - the sharp angles and absence of an external door - physically traps its four subjects in the late-night diner, together but psychologically miles apart in their lonely states. 

If you're interested in art history and digging deeper into the condition of loneliness, this is definitely worth a read. 

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

I wasn’t sure that Alderton’s popular account of her 20s could live up to the hype, but I was hooked from the first page in. As someone who went to an all-girls school in a London suburb, I felt very connected to Alderton’s story and found great comfort in her anecdotes of love, friendship and growing pains. The fact that she’s also a brilliant writer (not to mention hilarious) meant I gobbled this book up in little more than a weekend. 

Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong by Angela Saini

This book was eye-opening and empowering in equal parts, and it made me realise the extent of gender biases in scientific research and how that has fed and been fed by our everyday assumptions and unconscious biases about men and women. Saini also presents research that redresses the balance and provides optimism for the future of women's role in society. There’s a lot to take in but it’s an important book and should be on everyone’s 2021 reading list. 

Life as a Unicorn by Amrou Al-Kadhi

Amrou Al-Kadhi’s account of growing up as a gay Muslim boy and becoming a drag queen is moving and enlightening, and another extremely important read. Al-Kadhi is a beautiful and brave storyteller, and their writing had me experiencing a whole spectrum of emotions - one page raging, another crying with laughter. The book contains so much insight and wisdom and serves as a beacon of hope from a true survivor. It’s the best memoir I’ve ever read and I really recommend getting yourself a copy pronto. 

Fiction

Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada

The book centres around the Quangels, a working class couple who defy the Nazi regime by distrubuting postcards denouncing Hitler throughout Berlin. Based on a true story, it makes for a compelling read about anger and rebellion in a terrorised city. It’s a thrilling tale, since despite the Quangel’s actions being small-scale, the stakes are high and a sense of impending doom runs throughout the novel. Just as Hannah Arendt investigated the banality of evil in her account of Eichmann’s trial, Fallada highlights the banality of good in the Quangel’s small act of resistance.

The simplistic style of writing takes a while to get used to, and it was even a little off-putting at first, but try to push through because the story is worth it. 

I read this just before visiting Berlin (you can read more about my Berlin trip here), and it really added to my time there. I even saw the street where the Quangels lived and it made visiting the German Resistance Memorial Centre especially moving.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

I had been putting off reading Anna Karenina for years, considering it too big and cumbersome to carry around all day in my bag. But with the pandemic dashing any hopes of taking a book into the outside world, there was no excuse not to give Anna a chance. 

It’s a complex novel with an array of major characters and plenty of contextual references dotted throughout, but if you’re after a gripping story of love, jealousy, betrayal and rule breaking, Anna Karenina should be top of your reading list. It also made for a fascinating introduction to nineteenth century Russian society, something I didn’t know much about before.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Jones’ love triangle tale lays bare the devastating effects on personal lives of mass incarceration and racial injustice. It’s an incredible romantic drama that keeps the reader turning those pages, desperate to know whether we get our storybook ending or perhaps a more realistic conclusion. The book is extremely critical of the US justice system and highlights how it impacts more than just the person behind bars. 

It’s obviously a heavy topic and made for a tough read in places, but I found it extremely eye-opening and addictive.  

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo

I had seen a few adverts for this book in pre-pandemic times on my commute and it did not disappoint. The book is comprised of a series of separate yet intertwined tales of twelve different characters, each with their own story to tell. Evaristo amplifies black female voices and opened my eyes to a Britain I've read far too little of in fiction. The powerful set of stories combined with Evaristo’s unique style of writing makes it a beautiful read. 

Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill

I absolutely love this book of short stories. Set amidst a backdrop of 1980s New York, Gaitskill writes about female protagonists who are complicated and flawed in a way in which I’d never read before in any other fiction. I’ve always loved the likes of Hemingway and Salinger for the complex characters their stories centre around, but these characters are more often than not male, so Gaitskill’s Bad Behavior made for a refreshing read. 

The stories are dark and more than a little bleak in places. But instead of feeling depressed I felt optimistic and inspired to read about such imperfect and real women, something I realised I had been craving. 

I’m looking forward to getting stuck into some new stories in 2021, although I might have to invest in a bigger bookshelf! Whatever this year has in store for us, I'll be reading my way through the ups and downs and taking comfort in the characters I meet along the way.