Being at home so much in 2020 has been hard, but one of the silver linings has been having far more time to read.

I think I’ve read more books this year than ever before. Not one or two a week like some people seem to manage. I didn’t even do that as an English Literature undergraduate when literally ALL I had to do in an entire week was turn up to 6 hours of lectures and read books!

But still, I’ve read considerably more in 2020 than I would in a normal year. Enough to have a shortlist of those which inspired me & helped keep me going!

So here it is…

(Ps. These aren’t listed in order of preference; just the order that I happened to read them in!)

Top Non-Fiction

1. This Too Shall Last - K.J. Ramsey

   I had the pleasure of being on the book launch team for KJ, as a fellow Hope*writer, and I just can’t recommend this book to anyone enough. It’s the best thing I’ve read on the subject of suffering & faith in a very long time.

2. Untamed - Glennon Doyle

   I don’t agree with Glennon on everything theologically but this is still a wonderfully inspiring book, with an important underlining message: Life is hard but you can do hard things.

3. Everything Happens for a Reason & Other Lies I’ve Believed - Kate Bowler

   Reflections on faith following a cancer diagnosis which caused the author to reconsider a lot of the so-called American ‘prosperity gospel’ teaching she grew up with.

4. The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry - Mark John Comer

   Every now and then a book is released that is written for ‘now’ - and this is one of them. An enlightening read about all of the ways that hurry is ruining our lives, why it matters to our spirituality, and what we can do about it.

5. I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness - Austin Channing

   In a year that has seen the Black Lives Matter message propelled to the very forefront of our social conscience, I’ve read a number of books by black Christian authors this year, but this one is probably the best.

6. One Thousand Things - Ann Voskamp

   Never considered being thankful for the way the light reflects off the soap suds in your sink before? Me either, but Voskamp does! This book will truly open your eyes up to how to live in every day thankfulness, and how this practice can completely revolutionise your life.

7. The Book Of Delights - Ross Gay

   I just loved the whole concept of this book, which is writing a series of short essays about what delights the author each day. I found it a breath of fresh air; profound, poetic, and well, er… delightful!

8. Shalom Sistas - Osheta Moore

   I hadn’t really considered the idea of ‘peace’ as a concept much before reading this book, but it highlights how ‘shalom’ encompasses so much more than calmness. It happens whenever Jesus-following women catch a vision of a vibrant, whole, flourishing world.

9. One Woman Can Change the World - Ronne Rock

   Another entry by a fellow hope*writer and friend, Ronne’s book documents the lives of real women who are influencing their communities with grace and gumption, even in countries where oppression weighs most heavily. It can’t fail to leave you feeling moved, and inspired to pursue your own God-given destiny too.

10. Everything is Spiritual - Rob Bell

    Written almost as a continuous stream of consciousness, this book explores some big ideas about the world and how we fit into it; our sense of connection, purpose, and meaning. Like much of Bell’s work, it’s a book that will challenge and stretch your thinking…

Top Fiction

1. Normal People - Sally Rooney

   A story about a complex friendship between two teenagers, Connell and Marianne, who grow up attending the same secondary school in rural Ireland, and later meet again in college, in Dublin. The pair weave in and out of each other's lives over the years, developing a bond that transcends their circumstances, traumas and insecurities.

2. The Testament - Margaret Atwood

   A sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, this novel is set 15 years after the events of the original novel set in Gilead, the dystopian world in which women were treated as second class citizens. It’s a brilliant follow up; gripping, and beautifully written.

3. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng

   What else can I say about this book? I’ve raved about it all year long! Inter-twining themes of motherhood, family, friendship, class and race, it’s a gripping and beautifully written read.

4. Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Black

   A powerful, and timely love story, set in an alternative history in which native African people had colonised Europe rather than the other way around, with Africans oppressing whites.

5. City of Girls - Elizabeth Gilbert

   Nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris arrives in New York with her suitcase and sewing machine, and soon finds employment as a seamstress at her unconventional Aunt Peg's charmingly disreputable Manhattan theatre. A story of female identity and self discovery.

6. Spark of Light - Jodi Picoult

   This novel centres on a fifteen girl held hostage inside a women’s health clinic by a gunman, and her desperate attempts to contact her father waiting outside. It sensitively treats some difficult subjects, and is told in real time, but backwards, with great effect.

7. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

   If you could view every possible outcome for your life, would you want to? And would you ever be completely happy? An uplifting novel about regret, hope, second chances, and appreciating what you have.

8. Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng

   I read this after falling in love with Ng’s writing in ‘Little Fires Everywhere’. This novel centres on a mixed-race Chinese-American family whose middle daughter Lydia is found drowned in a lake. Her family’s search for her killer ends up revealing secrets that tear it apart.

9. The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris

   This is based on a true story about a Slovakian Jew named Lale Sokolov who was imprisoned at Auschwitz, and fell in love with a girl he was tattooing during his time at the concentration camp. A moving & thought provoking read.

10. Book of Longings - Sue Monk Kidd

    A story imagining the life of Ana, Jesus’ so-called young wife might sound too controversial for some christians, but the real focus was on the character of Ana and her determination to have a voice in a society where women rarely did. Don’t read if you’re a biblical purist, but I found it a fascinating new take on a familiar story and on womanhood generally.