2nd Half of 2020 Reading List

If you’ve gotten a comment from my on Instagram or the blogosphere in the last month and a half you’ve probably heard me say “I’ve had that book on my tbr FOREVER, and I just haven’t gotten to it yet!” (Is that the book blogger motto or what?) I’ve also got a quarter million new releases out or coming out in 2020 that I want to read.

The obvious problem here is that I have a hard time prioritizing certain books. As a very much mood reader I tend to skip on heavier or more serious books, even if I *really* want to read them. I DON’T WANT TO DO THAT!!!

So I hand-wrote a list of must-reads in 2020! (Any other type As out there??) Here they are!

Must-Read New Releases

• 

• 

• 

• 

The Year of the Witching
Have had this Salem-esque book on my TBR since January, and a fellow bookstagramer just gave me the green-light that it’s not too scary to read. Can’t wait!

The Angel of the Crows
First of all, Katherine Addison is my everything. Second of all, an alt-history London with monsters, Jack the Ripper, and a Sherlock vibe? Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!

Deacon King Kong
Heard a great interview with James McBride that made me decide to pick this book up. Excited for the slice-of-life storytelling, religious characters, and light satire.

I’ll Be the One
I’m in a fluffy mood lately, and this looks like the funnest book on my tbr. Plus East-Asian rep AND body-positive rep!

• 

• 

• 

• 

Black Sun
Rebecca Roanhorse is a FANTASTIC own-voices author and I can’t wait to see what she does with pre-colonial America plus magic.

A Deadly Education
Naomi Novik is one of my all-time favorite authors, one of my few auto-buys. And apparently I’m not tired of magic schools. *shrug*

Beach Read
This just looks like fun! Was looking for a feel-good romance this summer, but I’ve been on the library’s wait list for WEEKS.

Date Me, Bryson Keller
Yet ANOTHER light, romantic book. This isn’t quite fake-dating, but it’s adjacent enough to make me SUUUUUPER excited about this book.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Take a Hint, Dani Brown
Are you noticing a cute/romantic/light theme here?

Harrow the Ninth
Obviously.

Prime Deceptions
I LOVED the first book in this series, Chilling Effect. Y’all, it’s not often that I like a series enough to a) keep reading b) PRE-ORDER.

We Ride Upon Sticks
Honestly, I ordered this from the book store back in early June and it just got here on Friday. It sounds quirky and smart, and I can’t WAIT to read it.

---

Must-Read Backlist

• 

• 

• 

• 

Opposite of Always
This is one of those YA books that I keep passing up because I get so excited by the big blockbuster titles. My genre rotation was keeping me from reading a lot of YA too. It’s been so long that I can’t even remember what this book is ABOUT, so I’m looking forward to finally reading it. I’ve heard nothing but good things.

Queenie
I’ve heard comparisons to both Eleanor Oliphant and Bridget Jones, and I’m really digging that vibe right this second.

This is How You Lose the Time War
Time travel is my JAM, but I’ve been reading a lot of sci-fi classics this year. Anyway, just found out this is a novella, so making room for it should be no big deal. 🙂

Supernova
Another YA book that got shoved out of the way by my genre rotation and some truly lackluster books I was gifted. Can’t wait to find out what happens in this series!

• 

• 

• 

The Queen of the Night
So this was recommended to me by the Get Booked podcast over a year ago. Historical fiction about opera? Yes please!

The Ten Thousand Doors of January
I felt like this had a similar synopsis both to The Starless Sea and the Wayward Children series, so I wanted to give myself a little space before I read this book.

Truly Devious
I’ve never read anything by Maureen Johnson. YIKES! What is it about? I don’t even remember! Am I excited? HELLS YES!

• 

• 

• 

Heroine Complex
This book has also been on my tbr for almost two years. Jenn from Bookriot reminded me on a recent episode of SFF Yeah! why I was so excited about this book and made me decide to prioritize it. Finally.

Ask Again, Yes
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway, so I guess I’d better read it this year. Again, can’t remember at all what the synopsis is, but I was interested at some point.

Witchmark
Like The Fifth Season, this book has been on my radar for a long time, but I kept getting distracted by flashier, newer books. I decided to prioritize it because it’s both LGBTQ and by a Black author. Plus I heard it was nominated for the Nebula, which is a BIG DEAL.

---

Now the obvious problem is that that is 23 books and there are *checks calendar* exactly 24 weeks left in the year! That leaves zero wiggle room for having a busy week and no time to read or suddenly discovering I want to read something else instead. EEP!

So yeah, there’s a good chance I won’t finish them all. Or that I’ll get distracted by some other book and read it instead. Or that what books are important to me will change. Or that I’ll learn about some other awesome books I don’t know about right this minute. Or that my library holds will take forever to come in and I’ll have to distract myself with something more immediately available.

You get the problem.

Anyway, that’s my goal.

Do you have any must-read books for 2020? Let me know in the comments!