As you probably know, I am quite the voracious reader.
I don't set goals like I'm going to read 52 books this year or anything like that. Honestly, I don't have any idea how many books I read in 2019 or 2018 or in 2017 or in any year ever. I don't really care because I read for fun and not to achieve some sense of satisfaction.
I don't know how many books I'll read in 2020, but suffice it to say that I will read a lot. Or more accurately I imagine, I will listen a lot and read some, mostly grad school stuff that I can't get in audiobook form.
So below, you will find a list of the books in my Audible library, waiting to be listened to, and the books in the To Be Read folder on my Kindle (which I have lost, but I read on the Kindle app on my iPhone and iPad). I wanted to share them with you because I've chosen most of them based on the recommendation of someone else, and I thought you might be interested.
There's less than zero chance of me actually finishing every book on this list. I will probably start at least a quarter of them, decide they're crap, and dump them. (I return Audible books that are terrible. You can get a refund. No such luck in the Kindle store, at least not that I've found.) I will start and finish a whole bunch more books, especially the fiction ones and Outlander books. The non-fiction books are a crap shoot to be honest. I don't get as excited about non-fiction as I do about fiction, though there are some really good ones below that I really do want to read/listen to.
Do let me know if you try any of them out. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Oh, and I have a list over here of my favorite recent books and audiobooks with my personal reviews, so check that out too.
Note: I have NOT read any of the books below, and I cannot speak to the language or themes therein. I don't even know if they're any good. The books on my review page (linked above) are all excellent, but I can't say anything about the quality of the books below, except that they were recommended to me by people I like.
Fiction Books I Plan to Read in 2020
This is historical fiction, about three seamstresses in Nazi-occupied Paris, and then about one of their granddaughters decades later. December 2019 - Finished and LOVED. Read more about my recommendation here.
More historical fiction from Reece's Book Club. This one is about two secretaries turned spies during the Cold War. It's based on real women I think.
This is not at all like any of the other books on my list. This legal thriller is about a "normal" family whose 18-year-old daughter is accused of murder.
This is about the aftermath of a secret drunk driving accident.
Flatshare is a light romance about two people who share the same apartment, but one lives there in the daytime and the other lives there at night, and they have never met.
The Giver of Stars is from Reese's Book Club on Audible. I have loved everything that she recommended, and I think this one is going to be really good. It's about a group of women who gave out books in Kentucky in the 1930s.
This is from Reese's Book Club, and that girl hasn't steered me wrong once, and I'm pretty sure I'll love it.
No idea what this is about, except that it's a Christian romance so I think safe to say it's not a bodice ripper.
No idea what this is about, but Reese recommended it and said it's a romance, and that's all I needed to know.
This is supposed to be a really great book about a widow and a widower who fall in love despite a lot of local prejudices. I can't wait to listen.
December 2019 - Finished and LOVED. Read more about my recommendation here.
This is written by the author of The Only Woman in The Room which I loved. It's historical fiction about Albert Einstein's first wife, who is considered by many to have been the real genius behind his discoveries.
This is about a 17-year-old girl who is sent to spend the summer with her long dead mother's family. It sounds really good.
This Pulitzer Prize winning novel is about a young man's adventure in North Korea. Also can't wait to listen to this one.
This is suspenseful, about a "perfect" married couple and the murderous secret that one of them is keeping.
This is suspenseful, about a jealous ex-wife. Except the Amazon description says that's not what it's really about, so I can't wait to dig into it and find out what it IS about.
Got this on an Audible 2-for-1 sale. I've heard both good and bad reviews of it, so I'll give it a try. If I hate it, I'll just quit it and read something else.
I'm really intrigued by this book. It's about a married couple in crisis, and it takes place entirely in their marriage counselor's office over a 10-month period.
This is told from the point of view of a man who is going on a month-long trip with his wife of 30 years, despite her asking him for a divorce.
I have had this in my Audible library since April 2019, and I have heard lots of women say it was their favorite novel of the year, but something is holding me back from listening to it. It's supposed to be really good.
This is a Christian romance by an author I enjoy. (She wrote the River of Time series that I devoured.)
This is about a Depression-era traveling circus. Sounds good.
Amazon says this is an epic tale about two female doctors in New York City in the 19th century. I don't remember why I bought it, but I think it might have been on an Audible 2-for-1 sale. I'll get to it eventually.
Another one I got on that Audible 2-for-1 sale, this one is about a widow, her daughter, and the young couple she takes in as boarders in 1920s London. It won a lot of awards when it came out.
Um, still fiction but - OUTLANDER
Season five of Outlander is coming up, and I will read book five to keep up. I've read the entire series through twice already, but I like to read the book as the show goes. I'll start book five to prepare for the next season which will start in February, I believe.
This is an Outlander novel, not part of the original series but a Lord John Grey book featuring a lot of the same characters.
Also an Outlander book, this is a novella about Roger's parents.
What else but an Outlander novella?
More Outlander books. This is a series of seven short stories featuring Jamie Fraser.
Say it with me now, "Bring on the Outlander stories!!!"
I'm making a special exception to put this one non-fiction book in the fiction section because it's all Outlander.
Non-Fiction I Want to Read in 2020
Last year, I included my grad school book which was stupid because I only enjoyed two of them. They do not make the list this year, even though I will read them.
This is the non-fiction book I am most excited to read. It's written by Julie Bogart who is the author and inspiration of the Brave Writer homeschool movement. She's all about doing what makes sense for you and your kids and allowing their interests and excitement to guide their education.
I really like Mark Batterson, who I first read with The Circle Maker about four years ago. I loved that book, and I really like his style. I think this book is going to be really good.
You know, I've loved Princess Diana since I was a wee little girl, too small to know what a tortured soul she was. I bought this book in the wake of the royal wedding but never got around to reading it.
I have this in print and audiobook because it is so good.
Devotional I started in 2018 and really like. Will continue.
Another devotional I read almost every day and really love.
I worked with the author's mom on a project last year and loved the whole family. I can't wait to read this one and apply its wisdom to my own kids. I imagine one of the points might be: "Don't post about your daughter's first period on Facebook." {Clearly there is something wrong with me.}
I absolutely can't wait to read this one, but I'm going let Amazon speak for me here:
At one time, Corrie ten Boom would have laughed at the idea that she had a story to tell. For the first 50 years of her life, nothing out of the ordinary ever happened to her. She was a spinster watchmaker living contentedly with her sister and their elderly father in the tiny house over their shop in Haarlem. Their uneventful days, as regulated as their own watches, revolved around their abiding love for one another.
But with the Nazi invasion and occupation of Holland, everything changed. Corrie ten Boom and her family became leaders in the Dutch underground, hiding Jewish people in their home in a specially built room and aiding their escape from the Nazis. For their pains, all but Corrie found death in a concentration camp.
Here is a story aglow with the glory of God and the courage of a quiet Christian whose life was transformed by it.
December 2019 - Finished and LOVED. Read more about my recommendation here.
A friend recommended this to me, saying that anything by Jen Wilkin is truly excellent.
I love Brené Brown, the end. I have read most of her books, and every one has been better than the last. I can't wait to dig in to this one which I think is about resilience.
Again, Brené Brown. She's a researcher who studies shame and resilience, and she is absolutely positively brilliant. I first met her at a blogging conference way back in the beginning of blogging, and I have loved her ever since. I've read everything she's written except these two, so I'm past due to get down to it.
I'm really interested in this one because it's about a woman who felt she was a "bad missionary" and how she built a big online following and influenced loads of people for Jesus.
I'm rereading this one that I first read when my second child was born. It is packed full of such great information and wonderfully practical tips, and I feel I need to reread it ten years later since my kids are in a totally different stage.
Someone (I forget who) recommended this book on business, and I was interested enough to buy it... but not interested enough to actually listen. I want to listen, so hopefully this will be the year.
This book is so good that I can only listen in tiny chunks, feverishly writing notes while I listen. I may invest in the paper book just to have something to highlight in.
See note on Copywriters Handbook, above.
I read this on jury duty in 2018, and I really really wanted to love it - but didn't. I want to give it another chance because I love Sarah McKenzie and her site and her mission and I want to love her book.
I got this book a few years ago at the suggestion of my then business coach, but I never finished it. And I think I need it. A lot. It's kind of about mastering your influence in your sphere, whatever it is.
Another book I bought years ago on my business coach's recommendation and never read. Michael Hyatt is a platform powerhouse, and I would really like to follow his lead in business.
I am a huge introvert and find it really difficult to make and especially to sustain friendships. I've owned this book since it first came out but have never actually started reading it.
Someone recommended this to me though I don't remember who. It's about brains and how we have evolved to remember negative stuff more often than positive stuff and how we can reverse that tendency.
Started this last year and will hopefully finish next year. It's easy to read but I like to digest it very slowly and incorporate the suggestions into my writing.
Because every writer can get better, n'est-ce pas?
Read this for grad school the first time around and wanted to give it another go.
Also read this for grad school the first time and wanted to get another crack. (Like all my clichés?)
This is like a series of case studies of six different couples and families.
Curious about this one but haven't read it yet.
This guy is like a guru of the professional and executive leadership world, and I thought this book would be a good starting point into his works.
A Last Word on my 2020 Reading List
None of these books is particularly new or fresh or exciting I suppose; with a few very limited exceptions, they've all been sitting in my reading queue for months or even years.
While I hope this will be the year when I clean it all out, cross all the books of my To Do list, I am realistic enough to know that that is probably not true. Half of these books will still be on my list in 2021 because I will still be meaning to read them and still will not have done so. Other books will pop up in Audible emails, catching my attention and leaving me dying to listen. It just happens, and I constantly struggle with shiny object syndrome.
I do know one thing for sure. I will read in 2020. I will read a lot. I will find books I love (usually fiction) and books I don't love (also usually fiction) and I will share all that with you.
If you've read any of the books on my list here, I would love to hear about it. Or if you have suggestions that I should add to my list, I'd love to hear about that, too.
Lori says
Voice in the Wind...oh my gosh I read all three books from the Mark of the Lion series by Rivers and I could.not.put.them.down. Those books are amazing!
Tara Ziegmont says
Thanks for the tip!
Jessie Weaver says
I hesitated on Daisy Jones and the Six for a long time. I didn't love all the drug use - it majorly turns me off from a book. But all the readers on this are amazing and it feels like a real story because of all the different voices. Well worth a listen!
Amar Kumar says
Hey Tara,
Your imagination thrives off art. Literary fiction is an awe-inspiring example of art because it allows significant room for interpretation.
Since our real emotions are clouded under peer pressure, we find ourselves not only discovering our true emotions when reading but wants and needs.
When we read, the chains of social pressure are released, and we find ourselves looking at life in the perspective we’ve always believed to be true but hid from ourselves and others.
Reading can give you a sense of calm in just minutes. Eventually, thanks for suggesting these wonderful list of books.
With best wishes,
Amar Kumar