Books I've Read So Far in 2020 - BEDIM Day 15

One thing I promised myself I was going to do in 2020 was to read more - pick up more books, tackle my fear of going into the libraries (I know right, who has a fear of the library!!!) 

However I have discovered my passion and love for reading again - so I thought I'd dedicate a post to it. 

Here's all the books I've read so far in 2020.







1. Cilka's Journey - Heather Morris 

My first book of 2020, was one that had been on my list to read since it had been published. After reading the Tattooist of Auschwitz in 2019, I was pining to read more of Heather Morris' writing. 
There were lots of tears by the end of this book, and it made me add a lot more history books to my reading list. 








2. How to Come Alive - Beth Mccoll 

I'd followed Beth on Twitter (unknowingly) for about 2 years before I discovered her book on my library app. I'm a bit of a self proclaimed self help book expert, but I can safely say I have never cried and laughed at a self help book as I did from this one.
This is also a self help book that might've actually helped me work through a few things (trust me I've read some CRAPPY self help books!) 








3. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up - Marie Kondo 

Now, I had tried to read this book around 5 times, I never finished it, I always got a bit -bored- 
I love a good declutter, trust me. I did the November Minimalism challenge in 2019, and it was the best thing I'd done in months. 
However, this book, the Marie Kondo "method" I'm still not sure about it - I know a lot of people swear by it, but I'm not convinced its the best method for clearing out your things (and who the hell likes to sit and fold clothing a "specific" way) 
However, I see why it works for some people, and I'm glad I managed to get through the book eventually.







4. Help Me! - Marianne Powers 

Right! If I'm to recommend any book out of this list (specifically self help wise) it's this one!!! 
I fell in love with Mariannes capturing writing style, and how she has worked through her own mountain of crappy self help books. 
If I'm to reread anything this year, it'll probably be this one. 






5. Hyper-Focus - Chris Bailey 

I found the concept of the book and hyper-focusing super interesting, however as I read more and more of the book, I didn't feel like I could implement anything great from it into my own life. 






6. Notes On a Nervous Planet - Matt Haig 

I fell in love with Matt Haig's writing after he published Reasons to Stay Alive, every book I've read of his is just captivating, I love his style of writing, and how he brings the situations he's been through into his writing.







7. All The Bright Places - Jennifer Niven 

I'd been putting off this book for a few years until I knew the -situation- at the end wouldn't trigger me. However after learning there was going to be a Netflix adaptation to it (still can't bring myself to watch that) I wanted to give it a go. 
I really like Jennifers writing style, but the book just seemed... I don't know, I wasn't sure why the ending happened the way it did. But I know a lot of people enjoyed it, and I can't fault that. 






8. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding 

We all know the classic Bridget Jones films, however it occurred to me that I had never read the books, so I sat down and read it all in one day. 
It's such a classic and feel good book that I'll probably read it again at some point. 






9. The Man Who Didn't Call - Rosie Walsh 

I downloaded this book on a whim, I just needed something to listen to whilst I went for a walk. Turns out I ended up pretty captivated by it, the "alternative thriller" type style of writing Rosie achieved was incredible. I really enjoyed all the unpredictable twists and turns the book took 
My only complaint about this book, was the ending. I wasn't too mad as I could see that it was going to end that way, however, I'm still going to say I wanted something better. 






10. Lyrebird by Cecelia Ahern 

I LOVE Cecelia's writing, every book she has written, I guarantee I've read it at least once, if not twice. 
Lyrebird got me hooked right from the first chapter, and I can definitely say I'll be rereading this at some point. 

This is also the book that I took out from the library, a fear conquered (as such) 






11. Atomic Habits - James Clear 

This was a reread from 2019, and I cannot recommend this book enough. 
Another self help type book with a great learning opportunity to take from it. 






12. The Holiday - TM Logan 

Again, this was one of the books I downloaded just because I needed something to listen to on a walk - I was surely captivated by how the "events" were going to transpire, however, I wanted more drama. 
GIVE ME THE DRAMATICS






13. The Girl in The Woods - Patricia MacDonald 

I loved this book, I have been getting into "alternative thriller" books quite a lot (thanks to my library having a really good selection of books in the library)
It was one that didn't actually disappoint with the lack of drama or a LOVE STORY ending.





14. Wilde Like Me - Louise Pentland 

This was another book that had been on my list for a long while (probably since it had been published) 
As I grew up in the age of YouTube, Louise was always someone I followed, and still do to this day. 
Her writing style is very captivating (I always thought that from her blog days) and made for a very relaxing read. 






15. The Weight of a Thousand Feathers - Brian Conaghan 

This was quite a deep book, a lot of real issues, a lot of real emotions. But I read through this book in less than two days, I was hooked and could not put it down. Brian's style of writing (like most peoples I've talked about in this list) has a way to really connect and captivate. 
I'd love to read some more of his writing. 







16. Damage, Everybody Hurts - Eve Ainsworth 

This book definitely comes with a trigger warning, it has a lot of real issues and real struggles that teenagers go through, but I really thoroughly enjoyed the book. Eve has a very interesting writing style, with an amazing grasp on self harm and how it affects teenagers. 





17. The Wonder - Emma Donoghue

I really enjoyed reading Emmas other book Room, so after seeing this on the library app, I had to download it and see if it was any good. 
It took me a while to get into the book, and understand what it was about, however it was a very interesting concept when I finally figured out what was going on. 
It ended up being a really incredible read.





I think 17 books is pretty good going for 5 months into the year - I definitely have a long list of books on my reading list, so maybe I'll do another one of these posts at the end of the year to see the total books I've read. 


If you have any book recommendations shoot me a DM over on Insta, I always love discovering new books





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