#edit: just noticing my description for bridge of san luis rey got cut off ill see if I can change that lol

[a-rivederlestelle]

my top ten books of 2020

so i read exactly 100 books in 2020 ~to cope~ and decided to share my top ten!!! (i'll add my descriptions/random thoughts under a readmore)

the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon

gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir

this is how you lose the time war by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone

giovanni's room by james baldwin

a wizard of earthsea by ursula k. le guin

on a sunbeam by tillie walden

the sound of waves by yukio mishima

the bridge of san luis rey by thorton wilder

red, white, and royal blue by casey mcquiston

code name verity by elizabeth wein

A beautifully written feminist fantasy retelling of St. George and the Dragon. A diverse cast of characters, gorgeous and engaging worldbuilding, so many dragons, and maybe one of the most carefully, beautifully developed f/f relationships between main characters that I’ve ever read. I’ve reread it multiple times, including listening to the audio book just to feel more immersed. This is exactly what I mean when I say I love fantasy and want to find more fantasy books.

A lesbian necromancers space opera filled with honest-to-god in-text meme references crossed with a whodunnit murder mystery. The most unique narrative voice I’ve ever read with the most distinct character personalities. Balances horror and humor on a needle point with ease. I literally created a playlist for this that I then wrote a song-by-song explanation for, if that explains anything.

A delicately interwoven love story in gorgeous epistolary prose. Alternating points of view, constantly shifting settings, breathtaking metaphors and imagery. “I’ll be all the poets, I’ll kill them all and take each one’s place in turn, and every time love’s written in all the strands it will be to you.” is an actual quote that makes me lose my fucking mind. I can and will judge a book by its cover when it’s as beautiful inside and out as this novella.

Reading this book will now always be waking up early on a summer morning and sitting outside in the slowly warming sun, surrounded by green and birdsong and patio stones chilly under my feet. Reading the sentence “And here my baby came indeed, through all that sunlight, his face flushed and his hair flying, his eyes, unbelievably, like morning stars.” and sitting with it in all that sunlight, in all that early morning silence. It’s hard to put anything else about this novel into words.

The main conflict revolves not around a war, but a path to self-discovery. As Le Guin described it, “The discovery brings him victory, the kind of victory that isn't the end of a battle but the beginning of a life.” This was an important distinction for me: these worlds, these characters are not singularly contained within their pages. At the end of every story can be, should be, at its core, the beginning of a life.

Found family on a spaceship. Beautifully diverse female and nonbinary characters. What else could you want from a graphic novel? A love story, a coming of age story, a story about community and healing and support all shown through distinctly designed and colored panels. Beautiful. Just so beautiful and hopeful and loving.

A classic Japanese coming of age novel with prose as rolling, swelling, and captivating as the sea itself. Full of resonating emotion, a genuine young protagonist, delicate young love, and human connection. There’s this emotion I felt while reading it that I still can’t adequately explain, something fulfilling and melancholic all at once.

Thornton Wilder has the most distinct power of any writer I’ve read to show significance in the insignificant. There’s a beautiful simplicity in the way this book lays bare the humanity in all people. He narratively grapples with the question of fate versus will with a slow-building and detailed description of the lives lost when the titular bridge breaks, and his ability to consider existential meaning through the mundanity makes this a novel that sticks with me.

The modern enemies to lovers fairytale we always deserved. Alex’s struggle with his sexuality is deeply relatable and his relationship with Henry is developed so carefully and lovingly. It’s just such a fun, accessible, and comforting read, especially for a young adult queer reader.

I’ll randomly think of the line “Kiss me, Hardy, kiss me quick!” and cry. Intricately written and so deceiving in the best, most intentional ways, that I was actually breathless when I began to figure things out. Once again: I love epistolary novels. Also, Julie apparently being confirmed bisexual in the prequel is something that can actually be so personal.