2020 wrap-up: bonus top ten lists

Happy New Year! As a celebration of this long year (finally) coming to a close. I wanted to post a few top ten lists of my favorite and least favorite books that I have read over the past year.

Top ten books of 2020

1. Mexican Gothic
2. This is where I leave you
3. The giver of stars
4. So you want to talk about race
5. The hate u give
6. Born a crime
7. Jo & Laurie
8. Tattoos on the heart
9. Trust
10. Furiously Happy

Honorable mention

• Well Met
• Sing, Unburied, Sing
• A promised land
• The book of longings

Top ??? kids books we read with the kids

1. The princess in black series
2. Arnie the donut
3. The cranberry Christmas
4. The Harry Potter series
5. The adventures of the Bailey School kids books
6. The Ricky ricotta series/dogman series
7. The garbage barge
8. No more noisy nights
9. The Nina Tenelven series
10. Everything by Mo Willems 
11. Everything by Ryan T Higgins
12. Hair love

Worst books (that I finished)

1. The two lives of Lydia bird
2. Christmas and other things I hate
3. The water dancer
4. You are not alone
5. The space between worlds 
6. The book of two ways
7. The book theif
8. Lovecraft country
9. Eat pray love
10. The boyfriend project

Year 4, week 19: Mary Had a Baby

This week's book:
Mary Had a Baby: An Advent Bible Study Based on African American Spirituals
By Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan and Marilyn E. Thornton

This was the first Advent Bible study I have ever done as an adult. We were all stuck in the house and our church has gone back to online-only Sunday services. My heart hurts that we can't sit in church together and sing the classic hymns. 

When this book study came about, I jumped at the chance to join the weekly discussion. If you don't know what Advent is, it's the four weeks leading up to Christmas in Christian churches. Each week is devoted to a different word and message for the upcoming week. This Bible book study is connecting a classic hymn with African American history. It's very interesting how the authors connect the information together. I am learning so much! 

Unlike a lot of the other books I have read in the recent past about black history, I wish there was more information. This book is more of a quick Bible study, only about sixty some pages, but I wished there was more to each of the four chapters. I would definitely recommend this book as an Advent Bible study. 

Year 4, week 18: Holiday extravaganza

Three Christmas books this week!

In a Holidaze By Christina Lauren

This was my Book of the Month selection for December. I always have the hubby look at the picks for that month and we both thought that it sounded good. He read it to the baby and me at night while I nursed her. The description said it was a Christmas-y romance with a touch of Groundhog's Day (The character relives the same day over and over). We were both excited to read it, but we both were disappointed with it. The idea had such great potential and it just didn't utilize it. I would say it's still worth a check out, but I was just a little disappointed.

Wrapped Up in Christmas Joy

By Janice Lynn

Last year, I read a book called Wrapped Up In Christmas, and this year I read the pseudo sequel to it. They're both from The Hallmark Channel's publishing house, so that tells you how insanely cheesy they are.

A woman runs a quilt shop with her sister in a small town, and they're obsessed with Christmas. They're not in a quilting bee, but they make quilts for soldiers that are always red white and blue. Naturally, the main character falls in love with a soldier. He's a fireman and has a dark past. The romance is super cheesy, like the main character gets stuck in a tree and a fireman has to save her in the tree, I mean that's kind of ridiculous. I actually originally bought it to read on my Nook, but then my 1-year-old stepped on my nook and broke it, so then I had to listen to the rest of it while I finished some last minute Christmas crafts on the sewing machine. Don't worry my husband bought me a Kindle for my birthday in October, so it was kind of like a backup thing and never really worked great, but it's still kind of a bummer.

I would say this was not as quiet as good as the original Wrapped Up In Christmas but it's still a fun night Christmas cheesy romance.

Dashing Through the Snow: A Christmas Novel

By Debbie Macomber

This was a fun little read about mistaken identity, a road trip, and of course there's romance and a dog. The guy is a veteran; the girl is a grad student. They take across country trip because they have to share the same car from an airport, and they find a dog. It's by the same author that I read a couple weeks ago. I like this one better, but it's still just a silly cheesy Christmas romance. I would suggest it.

Year 4, week 17: The Christmas Train

This week's book:
The Christmas Train
By David Baldacci

This week's book is another sort of cheesy Christmas story. This one I think was turned into a Hallmark movie as well, but I haven't seen it before, because like I have said I don't normally watch those types of movies. This year has been poo, so I have decided to read Christmas mind fluff this holiday season. So here's the next book. 

This book takes place on a train around Christmas, hence the name. The main character is a journalist (why are they always writers in these books/movies?). He is taking the train to see his kind of girlfriend so they can go skiing. He meets all these fun characters and has a good time learning about their lives. He finds out his one great love is on the train and then drama ensues. The train gets stuck in a snow storm and I'll leave it at that so I don't mess up the plot for you. 

I enjoyed this book while I finished the quilt for my son's teacher. I would recommend it if you want an easy, fun Christmas read.

 

Year 4, week 16: Starry Night

This week's book:
Starry Night
By Debbie Macomber

This week's book is the first of many (I'm assuming) of cheesy Hallmark-style Christmas books. I am not normally a Hallmark movie kind of woman, but this year and my reading choices have been heavy, so it's time for some Christmas fluff (mind fluff that is). 

This book was a quick listen while I nursed our littlest one. It tells the story of a reporter who wants to break out of just writing for the society page. She is about to quit her job when her editor says if she can land an interview with this survivalist author (which no one can track down) she can start writing more hard hitting articles. She ends up in an Alaskan snow storm in a cabin with the elusive rough and gruff man she was supposed to interview. 

Without going any further, I definitely don't want to ruin the end for you because obviously it's not predictable at all. It also takes place during the Christmas time of year (hence why I decided to listen to it). It was okay. I have two more of the author's Christmas themed romances on reserve at the library; hopefully I will like them better. If you are on the hunt for Christmas cheesy tame romance then check it out.