Hello dear reader!
Happy NEW YEAR!
May your year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in this year, you surprise yourself. Neil Gaiman
I hope 2021 will be filled with love, kindness, good health, positive energy, happiness, good books and new opportunities!
I also hope you had lovely holidays, ate loads of delicious food and got a present or two (hopefully books, right?).
We have left the year 2020 behind us now. It was a strange one. I won't go into everything that was strange about this year in detail, because guess what, we all know the one thing that affected us all - Corona.
We had a few lockdowns here in Ireland last year, and it looks like we will have some more in 2021 - yey. But a good thing for me was that I read more books than ever - a silver lining, maybe? I still had to work my 9-5 job during the week, but one really good thing of lockdowns was that I did not have to spend time in public transport, at all. And I also learnt that I really like working from home.
The negative side of all of that was and is, of course, not being able to see family and friends... and I was probably even more stressed out because of work than usual. Although, I am very happy and grateful that I can work from home, don't get me wrong...
I managed to read some amazing and inspiring books in 2020, and I am very grateful for that. I tried to get out of my reading comfort zone - thriller/crime/mystery novels - and I found some real gems in different genres.
As a disclaimer, I read loads of good books, but I will list 5 of my top reads here. If you want to discuss them with me or even hear about more books I read this year, you can find me on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest. Always love a good book discussion, review, suggestion... so, don't be shy, find me on social media and let's talk books.
Okay, here we go... no spoilers ahead.
- A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles
This book will always have a special place in my heart. I read it together (not the same copy) with my mom this year. We live in different countries and because of Corona, we couldn't see each other in 2020 at all. Which breaks my heart.
Therefore, this book is very important to me. But, besides the emotional connection to it and the discussions with my mom, this book is a real masterpiece and should be, if you haven't read it already, on your TBR list.
The book is a historical fiction novel with a little bit of everything. There is poetry, romance, espionage, politics, history ... and in the middle of it all - Count Alexander Rostov. In 1922 the Count was sentenced to house arrest (a kind of lifelong quarantine? A very relatable read...) in the famous hotel Metropol in Moscow. The reasons behind it are very well explained in the book, so I won't go much into detail. Alexander Rostov is one of my favourite characters ever in a book. His wit and humour delighted me in every page of the book. If you read the book, you will see why.
Deemed to spend the rest of his life inside the hotel Metropol and to watch everything happening in the world from his attic window, shows and teaches him what life is really about.
Beautifully written and my favourite read of 2020!
2. Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
My absolute favourite Neil Gaiman book is still "The Ocean at the end of the lane" (read in 2019), but "Neverwhere" is a close second.
London is my favourite city I usually visit 3-4 times each year. This year, I could not do that. So, I had to find a book that will bring me to the streets of my favourite city. "Neverwhere" gave me even more. I visited London Above, but also London Below. And, as I love a touch of fantasy in a novel, I was captured by Gaiman's writing and would love to visit London Below myself.
A city of monsters, murderers, angels, knights, rats and everything that does not belong above, in the light. London Below is the city of the people and creatures who have fallen between the cracks. Richard Mayhew is a young businessman, who, with a single act of kindness, experiences a life like no other. He visits a world that is at the same time bizarre and utterly familiar. We follow his adventures in London Below, and maybe even fall in love with it?
I definitely recommend this book to everyone who loves a bit of fantasy and wants to escape their everyday life in search for an adventure filled with mystery, bizarre creatures, kindness and courage.
3. The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse, Charlie Mackesy
This ONE! Love, love and love. Please, if you haven't had the chance to hold this book in your hands, find a way! It is the ultimate 2020 read. We all need it.
It's like a warm hug. From a loved one, from a friend, from a colleague, from a stranger. It is comforting, it is joy and fear, it is friendship and courage, it is you and me. It is love.
Full of beautiful pictures too, it will most definitely warm your heart.
4. The Midnight Library, Matt Haig
This book I finished just recently. When I started reading it, just after the main character Nora enters the Midnight Library, I knew where this story was going and I figured out the end of it very quickly, but nevertheless, I was intrigued, and I wanted to read it till the last page. This story is important. And it is not about the suspension of what happens next, but about the journey.
"Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices... Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?"
I recommend this book to everyone, even if you figure out what will happen early on. We all have some regrets in our life... so, in my opinion, we all should read this book, as some of the sentences written in this book might change your way of thinking. They might make you love yourself more. They might change on how you feel about your regrets. This book might show you that even if you could change a choice you regret, it would not lead to a happier and more fulfilled life.
5. Never let me go, Kazuo Ishiguro
I never really thought I would like this one that much. Even while I was reading it, I had moments where I wasn't sure how I feel about this book. I am not even sure I would always think of it as a book I would recommend to everyone. But, when I finished reading it, I was thinking about it for days... and I could not start reading anything else for a while. The story captured my full attention.
I started reading it without even knowing what this book was really about. For all I knew, it was about some kids in some kind of English boarding school. Wrong. I will not spoil the book here, but it is so much deeper, so much more complex. It will make you think about morality and you will have some questions for yourself, but also for the world around you, after you finish this book.
A powerful book, which breaks through the boundaries of the literary novel. It is a love story, a mystery, a sci-fi novel. It will make you think. And, that is always a good thing.
These are my Top 5 Reads of 2020. Let me know on Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest if you have read any of these books and what are your thoughts on them. Would love to hear from you!
Have a lovely weekend!
Till the next read, my friends.
