For Episode 148, as the podcast takes a brief break, we revisit a backlist episode…the Best Books of 2020 with Susie Boutry (@NovelVisits). Re-listening to this one is a unique opportunity to get a look back on a strange year. Whether you’re new to the podcast or have been with us for a while, everyone loves a TBR filled with backlist gems! Library holds should be easy and paperbacks editions have been released! So, let’s take a look back at our favorite 2020 books (overall and by genre) and our picks for tons of bookish superlatives.

This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).

This is a backlist episode. It features a new introduction and has been cut for content, but first aired on November 25, 2020, in its entirety, as Ep. 71: Best Books of 2020 and Bookish Superlatives with Susie from @NovelVisits.

Highlights

• 2020 Podcast Overview (including favorite and most downloaded episodes) 
• Overview of our reading years (including the impact of COVID-19)
• Favorite books of 2020 (trends, overall, and by genre)
• 2020 Bookish Superlative Awards

Our Favorite Books of 2020 (Overall and by Genre) [18:25]

Sarah

• Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West | Amazon | Bookshop.org [18:56]
• Untamed by Glennon Doyle | Amazon | Bookshop.org [21:28]
• The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel | Amazon | Bookshop.org [23:15]
• The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan | Amazon | Bookshop.org [24:39]
• The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:13]
• Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West | Amazon | Bookshop.org [28:30]
• One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London | Amazon | Bookshop.org [29:06]
• Long Bright River by Liz Moore | Amazon | Bookshop.org [31:19]
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:24]
• Craigslist Confessional by Helena Dea Bala | Amazon | Bookshop.org [34:50]
• We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:00]
• Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey | Amazon | Bookshop.org [37:55]
• Smacked by Eilene Zimmerman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:11]
• This is My America by Kim Johnson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [39:25]

Susie

• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab | Amazon | Bookshop.org [19:34]
• A Knock at Midnight by Brittany K. Barnett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [22:20]
• The Night Swim by Megan Goldin | Amazon | Bookshop.org [23:41]
• Godshot by Chelsea Bieker | Amazon | Bookshop.org [25:15]
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [26:52]
• Writers & Lovers by Lily King | Amazon | Bookshop.org [27:40]
• The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez | Amazon | Bookshop.org [30:12]
• Long Bright River by Liz Moore | Amazon | Bookshop.org [32:00]
• Greenwood by Michael Christie | Amazon | Bookshop.org [33:48]
• Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi | Amazon | Bookshop.org [35:52]
• Open Book by Jessica Simpson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [38:41]
• American Royals II: Majesty by Katharine McGee | Amazon | Bookshop.org [41:00]
• A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet | Amazon | Bookshop.org [42:52]
• Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam | Amazon | Bookshop.org [43:37]

2020 Superlatives [43:54]

Sarah

• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:18]
• Running by Natalia Sylvester | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:58]
• We Wish You Luck by Caroline Zancan | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:02]
• Untamed by Glennon Doyle | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:13]
• The Searcher by Tana French | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:59]
• Sea Wife by Amity Gaige | Amazon | Bookshop.org [49:28]
• Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:18]
• This is My America by Kim Johnson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:29]
• The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe | Amazon | Bookshop.org [52:29]
• Deacon King Kong by James McBride | Amazon | Bookshop.org [53:25]
• Anxious People by Fredrik Backman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [53:58]
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Amazon | Bookshop.org [53:59]
• A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler | Amazon | Bookshop.org [54:00]
• Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel | Amazon | Bookshop.org [54:02]
• Smacked by Eilene Zimmerman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [55:17]
• Eat a Peach by David Chang | Amazon | Bookshop.org [55:25]
• Stray by Stephanie Danler | Amazon | Bookshop.org [56:33]
• Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam | Amazon | Bookshop.org [56:45]
• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel | Amazon| Bookshop.org [57:40]
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Amazon | Bookshop.org [57:46]
• The Boys’ Club by Erica Katz | Amazon | Bookshop.org [58:59]
• The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:00:54]
• The Office by Andy Greene | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:01:19]
• Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:03:56]
• A Knock at Midnight by Brittany K. Barnett | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:05:10]
• The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim | Amazon| Bookshop.org [1:05:20]
• Caste by Isabel Wilkerson | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:05:37]

Susie

• Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould | Amazon | Bookshop.org [44:22]
• 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand | Amazon | Bookshop.org [45:18]
• Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore | Amazon | Bookshop.org [46:26]
• Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam | Amazon | Bookshop.org [47:22]
• Anxious People by Fredrik Backman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [48:34]
• Greenwood by Michael Christie | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:41]
• A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:43]
• Last Couple Standing by Matthew Norman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [50:47]
• Want by Lynn Steger Strong | Amazon | Bookshop.org [51:14]
• Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore | Amazon | Bookshop.org [52:21]
• Writers & Lovers by Lily King | Amazon | Bookshop.org [53:10]
• The Night Swim by Megan Goldin | Amazon | Bookshop.org [54:20]
• The Guest List by Lucy Foley | Amazon | Bookshop.org [54:23]
• Pretty Things by Janelle Brown | Amazon | Bookshop.org [54:25]
• When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole | Amazon | Bookshop.org [54:27]
• 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand | Amazon | Bookshop.org [54:57]
• Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld | Amazon | Bookshop.org [56:56]
• Memorial by Bryan Washington | Amazon | Bookshop.org [58:17]
• The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe | Amazon | Bookshop.org [58:23]
• Smacked by Eilene Zimmerman | Amazon | Bookshop.org [58:38]
• The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:00:40]
• The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:01:55]
• A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:02:15]
• Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:02:43]

Other Books Mentioned

• Beach Read by Emily Henry [15:57]
• The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel [23:19]
• The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan [24:46]
• The Mothers by Brit Bennett [27:23]
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen [35:13] 
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote [35:15]
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt [35:18] 
• Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi [36:03]
• American Royals by Katharine McGee [40:54]
• The Witch Elm by Tana French [48:01]
• Beartown by Fredrik Backman [48:59]
• The Girls of Corona del Mar by Rufi Thorpe [52:50]
• Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight [1:02:28]
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi [1:02:41]
• Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle [1:03:42]
• Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby [1:04:34]
• Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell [1:04:42]

Other Links

• Ep. 116: Micro Genres We Love with Susie (@NovelVisits)
• Ep. 145: 2023 Micro Genres We Love with Susie (@NovelVisits)
• Ep. 43: Jordan Moblo (@jordys.book.club) on Growing a #Bookstagram Account
• Ep. 63: Helena Dea Bala (Author of Craigslist Confessional)
• Mini Ep. 59: Reviving Your Reading Life + Ann Patchett Deep Dive with Alyssa Hertzig (@alyssaisbooked)
• Ep. 56: Holly Root (Literary Agent) on the Rise of Rom-Coms & Publishing in the Coronavirus Era
• Ep. 66: Kate Stayman-London (Author of One to Watch)
• Ep. 64: Catherine Adel West (Author of Saving Ruby King)
• From Novel Visits: Reading in the Midst of a Global Pandemic | Musings
• From Novel Visits: The Night Swim by Megan Goldin | [Spoiler] Discussion

About Susie Boutry

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Susie has loved reading for as long as she can remember. Some of her fondest childhood memories involve long afternoons at the library and then reading late into the night. More than ten years ago, she began journaling about the books she read and turned that passion into writing about books. Her first forays were as a guest reviewer on a friend’s blog, but she soon realized she wanted to be reviewing and talking about books on a blog of her own. From there, Novel Visits was born. That was in 2016 and, though the learning curve was steep, she loves being a part of the book community. Novel Visits focuses on new novel reviews (print and audio), previews of upcoming releases, and musings on all things bookish.

Next Episodes

Next Wednesday (August 30), Catherine (@gilmoreguide) will be joining me for the Summer 2023 Circle Back episode. And, the following week (September 6), Catherine and I are back with the Fall 2023 Book Preview.

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