One of the best parts of December is looking back at the year (2018 edition, 2019 edition), but mostly at the books I read over the course of the year. When it comes to 2020, looking back at the books I’ve read this year is much more enjoyable than looking back at the weird year that this has been. But of course, I’m going to both.
This might be a little repetitive for those of you have followed along with my Reading Roundups and because of those monthly posts this will be a little more brief than in year’s past. but hey, if you’re just here for my best books of 2020 and reading stats in infographic form, just scroll to the bottom of this post.
2020 started off with a trip to Concord for a nice wintery visit to Orchard House, always a delight. You can read about that in my blog post A (Cold, Broke) Boston Girls’ Guide to Little Women. I also kicked off a brand new feature for my blog with my Reading Roundups and while I didn’t get every month, I managed every month except for November and I’m skipping December because you get this year-in-review post instead.
In February, I took a day trip to Providence, RI to attend the launch part for Wizards in Space issue 05, a literary magazine that I had a poem published in! It was fun to be able to explore a new city for a little bit and to read my poem at the launch. I also was able to connect with camp friends at the Kawanhee Night out and got a new tattoo in February as well.
Then, in March I went home for spring break and stayed there for 6 months. I was lucky to be quarantined in the midst of the beautiful Rocky Mountains and I was able to spend lots of time out and about. I also finished my first year of grad school!
One of the best parts of this year has been picking up embroidery. I really enjoy it and I’ve made some projects that I’m really proud of. Right now I’ve mostly just made things that I’ve found enjoyable, but I’m hoping that moving into 2021 I start to share the products of my labors with others a little more
I was able to have some friends visit Colorado this summer and I was able to spend some time with my grandparents and that was really a bright spot. Including taking a trip to Rocky Ridge in Mansfield, Missouri to visit Laura Ingalls Wilder’s home where she wrote the Little House on the Prairie books.
Clearly the highlight of the year was adopting Zorro in July! He’s gotten so big in the 5 months that I’ve had him and I can’t believe he used to be a tiny little kitten. I love his rambunctious personality and the fact that he’s also super cuddly.
In August I ended up back in Boston, started dating my boyfriend, Jake, and started my second year of grad school! I also completely updated my blog in August, got a new domain name, and redesigned everything. I’m really proud of how it turned out. I’ve been working on this blog since Fall of 2017 and I’m glad to have pushed myself more with it this year.
In September I started writing for the blog Hack Library School. I’ve been reading HLS since I started thinking about getting an MLIS, so it’s been really rewarding and exciting to be able to write for this blog and share my thoughts on library school with others.
October led to some great hikes in the White Mountains! I also wrote one of my favorite blog posts, Life is a Highway: A Look at America’s Interstates in “Divided Highways”
In November I was able to pop home for Thanksgiving and see my parents and sisters for a couple of days.
Perhaps the best part of December is that I started a new job at the Brookline Public Library working as a Part Time Library Assistant in the Youth Services Department. I’ve been looking for a library job since I moved to Boston in 2019 and I’m really enjoying it so far, even though the library environment is so different right now due to COVID. I can’t wait to keep to keep gaining experience in this job as I continue on through library school. I also gave a closer like at My Winter Break Reading List, and I’ve already made a dent in the items on the list!
Looking forward to 2021:
- I’ll finish my graduate degrees from Simmons University in December 2021 as long as everything works out with summer classes! Then I’ll start searching for full time librarian jobs.
- I’ve got another poem that will be published with Wizards in Space in their 6th issue
- I’m planning on keeping up with my embroidery and hopefully branching out and trying new things because when it comes to embroidery I still feel like I’ve got so much to learn.
- Something that I’ve just started in the last couple of weeks is working on my chess game and I’m really enjoying it. I hope to continue to improve.
- 2020 has been the best year yet for my blog, so I’m excited to see if I can make 2021 even better as far as more consistent posting. I know I’ve been saying for the last three years that I’ll do that (and each year I’ve posted a little more), but I’ve got my fingers crossed that this year I’ll hit peak consistency.
- Fingers crossed I’ll be able to get my car out to Boston for the summer and I’m planning on doing lots of hiking in the North East and exploring new ares when it gets warm out.
And if you’ve made it this far, you’re actually interested in this in my life or you scrolled down here to find out how much I read this year and what my favorite books of the year were! Making the infographic is one of my favorite parts of the year-in-review post! Thanks for tagging along in my blogging and in my life this year and I can’t wait to see what 2021 brings.
In text form my Top 10 Books of 2020 are (in no particular order)
- Circe by Madeline Miller
- The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett Graff
- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Divided Highways by Tom Lewis
- A Storm of Swords by GRRM
- Darius the Great Deserves Better by Abib Khorram
- The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
- Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- Prairie Days by Patricia MacLachlan and illustrated by Micha Archer
And that’s a wrap on 2020! I can’t wait for the blog posts and adventures that 2021 brings along.
Bookishly Bright 