What I Read in 2020: January – March

Though 2020 hasn’t been a great year for a lot of things, and a lot of people, one thing this year has been good for is reading.

Where I would’ve spent a lot of my time at concerts, going out, or in another country, I’ve spent more time reading, browsing the Daily Deals on Kindle and thinking about my next read. Which is why, inspired by this post, from Joanne (a.k.a Portobello Book Blog), I thought I’d give you an insight into the books I read in 2020 – starting with January to March.

At this point, I was probably still drunk- or still hungover 🤕- from a very heavy, Prosecco-fuelled New Years celebration (remember when we were all excited for what 2020 had in store?) and I, along with everyone else, had no clue about what was to come. I planned to throw myself into reading in the first three months of the year, taking on both books from the “Classics Challenge” I set myself as part of my goals for 2020 and books on my shelf. When I look back now, I realise I didn’t actually read that many books in the first few months 😬- probably because I was enjoying what would be my last few months of freedom!

So, without further ado, here’s the books I read in January – March.

January

Living my Best Life by Claire Frost

Blurb

Recently dumped by her boyfriend of ten years, Bell is struggling to move on with her life – and surrender the fleecy pyjamas she’s been living in since January. Haunted by #blessed on social media, she can’t help but compare her life to those she follows online, wondering where she is going wrong . . .

In the world of social media, Millie is the successful online influencer @mi_bestlife. But in real life she’s just a regular single mum trying to make ends meet, while fending off the younger competition and tenacious internet trolls. Her Instagram feed is far more #BestLie than #BestLife, and soon Millie begins to wish her life was more like her filters.

It isn’t until Bell and Millie’s paths cross that they begin to realise what they’re both missing. Can Millie prove to Bell that life online isn’t always what it appears to be? And in return, can Millie learn that she needs to start living for the moment and not for the likes?

My Thoughts

(I realise I didn’t post a review on this book but, considering the fact I have reviewed the other books on this list before, I’ll keep this one short as well.)

Living my Best Life is an honest, funny commentary on navigating womanhood, motherhood and life in amongst social media and influencer culture.

You can buy this book on Amazon| Book Depository | Blackwells

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Blurb

Here are talented tomboy and author-to-be Jo, tragically frail Beth, beautiful Meg, and romantic, spoiled Amy, united in their devotion to each other and their struggles to survive in New England during the Civil War.

My Thoughts

Little Women is a stunning classic centred on family, love and navigating womanhood in New England – against the backdrop of the Civil War

(Read my full review of this book here)

You can buy this book on Amazon | World of Books | WH Smith

Emma by Jane Austen

Blurb

Emma Woodhouse is one of Austen’s most captivating and vivid characters. Beautiful, spoilt, vain and irrepressibly witty, Emma organizes the lives of the inhabitants of her sleepy little village and plays matchmaker with devastating effect.

My Thoughts

Emma is a classic book about matchmaking, mistake making and growing up.

(Read my full review of this book here).

You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | Abe Books

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Blurb

Since its immediate success in 1813, Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work “her own darling child” and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, “as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print.” The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen’s radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

My Thoughts

Pride & Prejudice is a classic book about pride, prejudice and romance.

(Read my full review of this book here).

You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks

February

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Blurb

In the midst of a family crisis one late evening, white blogger Alix Chamberlain calls her African American babysitter, Emira, asking her to take toddler Briar to the local market for distraction. There, the security guard accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar, and Alix’s efforts to right the situation turn out to be good intentions selfishly mismanaged.

My Thoughts

Such a Fun Age is an interesting portrayal of womanhood, race, parenthood and romance.

(Read my full review of this book here).

You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Blurb

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author’s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray’s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel’s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, “a terrible moral in Dorian Gray.” Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde’s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment. Of Dorian Gray’s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.”

My Thoughts

The Picture of Dorian Gray is an exploration of vanity, ageing and masculinity.

(Read my full review of this book here).

You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks

March

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Blurb

Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula’s attempt to move from Transylvania to England so he may find new blood and spread undead curse, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Dracula has been assigned to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. The novel touches on themes such as the role of women in Victorian culture, sexual conventions, immigration, colonialism, and post-colonialism. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, he defined its modern form, and the novel has spawned numerous theatrical, film and television interpretations.

My Thoughts

Dracula is an interesting book about vampires (or, well, one very famous one), women’s position in society and immigration.

(Read my full review of this book here).

You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | Blackwell’s

The Girl He Used To Know by Tracey Garvis Graves

Blurb

What if you had a second chance at first love?

Annika Rose likes being alone. 
She feels lost in social situations, saying the wrong thing or acting the wrong way. She just can’t read people. She prefers the quiet solitude of books or playing chess to being around others. Apart from Jonathan. She liked being around him, but she hasn’t seen him for ten years. Until now that is. And she’s not sure he’ll want to see her again after what happened all those years ago.

Annika Rose likes being alone.
Except that, actually, she doesn’t like being alone at all.

My Thoughts

The Girl He Used to Know is a love story all about taking a chance, a second chance, on love.

(Read my full review of this book here).

You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks

If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane

Blurb

When her partner of over a decade suddenly ends things, Laurie is left reeling—not only because they work at the same law firm and she has to see him every day. Her once perfect life is in shambles and the thought of dating again in the age of Tinder is nothing short of horrifying. When news of her ex’s pregnant girlfriend hits the office grapevine, taking the humiliation lying down is not an option. Then a chance encounter in a broken-down elevator with the office playboy opens up a new possibility.

Jamie Carter doesn’t believe in love, but he needs a respectable, steady girlfriend to impress their bosses. Laurie wants a hot new man to give the rumor mill something else to talk about. It’s the perfect proposition: a fauxmance played out on social media, with strategically staged photographs and a specific end date in mind. With the plan hatched, Laurie and Jamie begin to flaunt their new couple status, to the astonishment—and jealousy—of their friends and colleagues. But there’s a fine line between pretending to be in love and actually falling for your charming, handsome fake boyfriend…

My Thoughts

If I Never Met You is a story of finding yourself after a breakup, figuring out office politics, and fake love.

(Read my full review of this book here).

You can buy this book on Amazon | Book Depository | AbeBooks

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So that’s it for Part 1 of my “What I Read in 2020” posts. Have you read any of these books? What did you read in 2020? I’d love to chat in the comments 😊.

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