If You Only Read Five Books in 2020…
By: Kaitlyn S. C. Hatch
Tags: Reading Challenge, Readinglist, Books

First of all, I want to thank everyone who clapped for, commented on, shared and highlighted my book blog from 2019. It was the most popular of all my blog posts last year, with new readers right up to the end of December.

I started writing these book reviews as a way to move away from the elitism of your average ‘books you must read’ posts. There are no books anyone must read. There are a lot of ways to be smart and reading is just one of these. Also, such lists are often woefully inadequate. They are shining examples of the ongoing and pervasive views of the dominant culture, often overwhelmingly from a white, European, cis-gendered, and/or male perspective.

Reading happens to be one of the few things I do as an act of self-care. Whether it’s fiction or non, fanciful or academic, speculative or instructional, a book is food for my entire being: heart, mind and spirit. As a writer, reading also helps improve my ability to lay words to a page. I learn from reading all kinds of books by different authors on all subjects. It matters to me that a book is not only well-written but also pushes the boundaries of my personal bubble. I read to be a better person — to increase my awareness and expand my heart and mind, to gain insights into experiences and perspectives different from my own.

I decided that 2019 would be the year when I would finally read 100 books. I always read a lot, but setting such a goal in the past felt wrong. I knew I’d use it as a way to beat myself up, likely turning something that is a joy into a chore. But this past year felt different. I felt like I could finally manage to tick this off my bucket list without turning it into a stick to beat myself with.

I started slowly, only committing to my usual 52 books a year. I told myself that if I reached 52 books by the end of June then I would adjust and go for 100.

And I did it.

In fact, I surpassed my goal and read 105 books in 2019!

My past posts have kept the number of books I recommend significantly limited, to just five or ten books total. To keep it to just ten for my 2020 recommendations isn’t going to work, particularly as I’ve read such a breadth of genres.

This year’s blog includes fifteen books total. They are my top three recommendations from five genres: General Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Speculative/Science Fiction, Memoir, and Young Adult (YA) Fiction.

I appreciate not all genres appeal to all audiences. You may be an adult who is quite happy to never read Young Adult fiction again. Perhaps non-fiction just doesn’t appeal to you, or try as hard as you might, you simply don’t enjoy sci-fi. No judgement here. My aim is to curate a list of books so good that if you choose any five of them, you will not be disappointed.

The criteria for my selections is many-fold, but I generally include books that are well-written, enjoyable to read, have original content, and/or are incredibly clever. For fiction, I look at well-rounded, believable characters and excellent world-building. For non-fiction, I look for clarity in concept or theme, and a good, easy-to-follow structure for presenting ideas. I chose books that I think will be appealing to readers of all walks of life and reading levels — unpretentious, thought-provoking, and fun.

As ever, they are in no particular order, although I have a few super fond favourites that I have marked with an asterisk. These indicate books I gave five stars to on Goodreads, which is the rating I give to books I love so much I will recommend them to basically anyone I meet and often buy them as gifts.

Enjoy! And please do share in the comments any titles you read this past year that you totally loved.

General Fiction

The Valley of Amazement — Amy Tan

Amy Tan paints an incredible picture of the courtesan culture in Shanghai over a span of forty years through the life of Violet Minturn. In this epic telling, power, privilege, and identity are at the centre of the narrative, as Violet first lives as an American born abroad, raised in a courtesan house run by her mother, and then as a courtesan herself. This was a fascinating, fun read that was hard to put down. There is intrigue, plot twists, and a whole host of fascinating characters.

Amy Tan is one of the most underrated writers I’ve ever encountered. She is best known for The Joy Luck Club and often her writing is described as ‘stories about mothers and daughters’. While most of her books, including The Valley of Amazement, centre on a mother/daughter relationship (sometimes multiple generations, to a grandmother and even great-grandmother), this misses the core of what she writes. Amy Tan writes about Intergenerational Trauma, the refugee experience, and cultural identity, as well as the personal and familial impact of political change. I love all her books and can’t recommend them enough.

Girls Burn Brighter — Shobha Rao

CN — Sex trafficking & sexual assault

This is a story about survival, love and friendship. The two main characters are young women born low-caste in India, seemingly doomed to lives of servitude and poverty. Told alternatively from the perspective of one and then the other, Shobha Rao captures the individual harm experienced at the hands of a patriarchal society, illustrating how the suppression and subjugation of women is a global, systemic and cultural issue. She also creates vibrant women who refuse to lose their ambition for better lives in the face of the oppression they experience. Poornima and Savitha support and sustain one another, even in the absence of the other, simply by having another to look to as someone who believes they not only deserve more in life, but that more can be realised.

The Great Believers — Rebecca Makkai

I came across this book totally by chance. It was on the recommended books display at my local library and the cover stood out enough to get me to read the synopsis. This beautifully written story jumps back and forth from one protagonist in the modern day, to another in Chicago during the 80’s AIDS crisis in America. Not only are the characters incredibly rich and well written, but this is an original take on how stories of this time are usually presented. It explores the ongoing impact of the AIDS crisis in the United States and the trauma that lives on in the lives of those who survived and those who cared for the many young men who lost their lives. It is also interesting to read something about this time not set in San Francisco or New York, but another major American city.