TTT: Favorite Books 2020

At the end of the year, I really get surprised by how many of the books I actually loved. And yet, it’s not so surprising, considering I am pretty easy to please when it comes to my usual SFF faire. Really, the more surprising thing is that my top ten list now also is a good amount of non-fantasy and scifi-related things. This is a good thing!

Top Ten Favorite Books of 2020

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez – A strange science fiction story, but really nicely done, even in its multitude of POVs and its slow, cerebral pace. I don’t know. Maybe I was just feeling it because I was in the mood for one of these.

My Dear Cold-Blooded King by Lifelight – I’ve been getting into Webtoons lately…and I totally added this because I sunk so much time getting through a good 100+ episodes/chapters that’s roughly two seasons. And just…so much luscious hair!

So You Wanna Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo – Read this due to relevance during March/April, and found it very informative. Would definitely recommend.

One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus – I will always recommend listening in on the audiobook, because the cast is always stellar as narrators. I absolutely loved the first book, and this sequel definitely delivers on the drama. I missed being in Bayview High.

Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs – Without fail, there always seems to be at least one Mercy Thompson novel that’s been released recently enough for me to lap up and adore. Smoke Bitten had a lot of living up to, considering its previous installment, but this was SO GOOD too.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston – Absolutely swallowed this book whole. And then I looked at the fanart and I could not stop after that. One of my OTPs of 2020, that’s for sure.

The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston – While Geekerella still remains my favorite of the two, this sequel is almost as good! Another great addition to the homage to fandom and fan conventions.

Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow – I’m not sure what possessed me to picking up this non-fiction expose, but it was intense. I actually listened to the audiobook version of this, and it pretty much sounded like some spy thriller. Only it was real, whodathunk?

Dead Voices by Katherine Arden – So far, Arden has done no wrong, in both her general fantasy books and her middle grade horror books. Dead Voices is the sequel to Small Spaces–which I also loved–but I think this one beats the first for scare-factor.

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman – I know I’m horrible at series, so it’s taking me a year to read each of the Scythe books, but oh man. Thunderhead was just as good, and that CLIFFHANGER ENDING has driven me off the wall. Yes, I really do need to get to reading The Toll soon.

I will eventually get to a proper End of Year survey post, once I’ve stopped moping over how much less reading I got done this year than the previous ones!

What were your top tens of 2020?