TBR Top Ten Tuesday by A Book Wanderer

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant to Read in 2020 (i.e. Books I’m Embarrassed I Haven’t Read Yet)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. This week’s prompt is Books I Meant to Read In 2020 but Didn’t Get To (You could take this opportunity to tell us what’s left on your seasonal TBRs from last year. Or books you were super excited about and then you didn’t get to them.)

Hello Readers! I hope you’re all well. I’m feeling very excited and nervous about the momentous day our country has coming soon. I’m hoping for a peaceful transition! Today we’re looking at books we meant to read in 2020 but didn’t get to for whatever reason. I could probably make this list 2 or 3 times longer, because while I like to “plan” out my reading year, I don’t always stick to it.

To find my list of ten books, I’ll be pulling out my 2020 Popsugar Challenge planning list I made at the end of 2019—before 2020 wrecked most of my plans. 😉 Most of these were set aside because I ended up choosing more diverse books in their place, so if there were ever a good reason to procrastinate reading a book, I feel like that’s a good one! And all of these have made an appearance on My 2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge “plan”. Hopefully, this will be the year I finally read them!

(Link to Goodreads synopsis through book title.)

  1. Circe (and The Song of Achilles) by Madeline Miller – I’ve owned both of these books since 2018! There really is NO excuse for me not having read them yet. The only thing I can come up with is that maybe I’m scared I won’t like them after all the hype. But—I’m pretty confidant I will. 2021 needs to be the year!
  2. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon – I’ve owned this one since 2019, but for some reason it keeps falling under my radar. I’ve only heard great things!
  3. The Last Star by Rick Yancey – I tend to have a terrible memory when it comes to books, so one of the biggest reasons I never finish series is I’ve usually forgotten most of the plot by the time I pick up the subsequent books. But not with this one! Even though it’s been FIVE years since I read The Infinite Sea, I still remember most of the plot. I feel like that’s a sign I should finally finish this one.
  4. One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus – I only picked this one up last year, but the buzz was big! And one of my favorite movies is The Breakfast Club, so this is a must-read for me.
  5. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien – This book. Every year it shows up on my TBR and every year I don’t read it. I read The Two Towers in 2012. 2012!!!! And I didn’t LOVE it. So why would I feel the need to finish the series?? I mean, I have seen the film….Why wouldn’t that suffice? Because it’s LORD OF THE RINGS! And I feel like a reading fraud because I’ve read the first two and didn’t finish. We’ll see if 2021 is finally the year. 😉
  6. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman – I’m way late to the party on this one, but I know I’ll love it. Because all of YOU seem to love it!
  7. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – Another one that is on everyone’s must-read list that I still haven’t read, despite owning it since 2019.
  8. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid – I haven’t mentioned this one in a while because it was becoming ridiculous how often I was saying I needed to still read it. I’d hoped that if I stopped bringing it up, I might actually get to it. No such luck. I own the hardback and audiobook for this one. 2021 is the year! I hope.
  9. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – I’ve owned the beautiful hardbound edition of this book since 2018. It’s another one I know I’ll love. One of the prompts on my reading challenge this year is most beautiful cover, and I have this—and only this—slotted in. Hopefully I’ll finally get to it this year!
  10. The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams – I actually read the first chapter of this one last year, but I couldn’t get into at the time. I think that made me hesitant to pick it up again, but so many of you loved it, I’m determined to try again!

What books are you most embarrassed to have not read yet? Which one of these is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!

46 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant to Read in 2020 (i.e. Books I’m Embarrassed I Haven’t Read Yet)”

  1. I’ve heard LOTS of people talking about the ‘Bromance’ books. Half of the time I think they sound fun and as if they might be entertaining and the other half, I’m just not into their plots, etc. Hope you enjoy all of these if you have the chance to read them. 🙂

    Reply

    1. Yes, they definitely have a lot of people talking. I’m determined to give the first one another try, but then I’ll move on if I still can’t get into it. 🙂

      Reply

  4. Great list! Madeline Miller’s novels are wonderful, I hope you enjoy them when you get to them (but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t, it’d be very boring if we all liked the same things!) and I really enjoyed One of Us is Lying, too. I keep meaning to try the audiobook of Daisy Jones & The Six!

    Reply

  6. Yaas, great list, Dedra! I’ve read the majority of these and some are on my all-time favourites list including The Nightingale, Circe, The Sun is Also A Star and of course, Daisy Jones! They gave me serious feels and unsurprisingly had me choking up a time or two ? I hope you get around to reading them this year and enjoy them, too! Happy reading ? And I also hope the country has a smooth transition! I think the whole world is crossing their fingers with you! Lol

    Reply

    1. Yeah, it’s pretty ridiculous that I haven’t read all of these yet. They’re going at the top of my TBR—right behind all my arcs. lol YES, if we can just safely get through the transition, hopefully things will start getting better—and more boring. Who knew we’d be desperate for boring. 😉

      Reply

  8. I hope you get to read these and enjoy them all. I have read The Nightingale and The Bromance Book Club and enjoyed them both. Some of the others are on my TBR, but who knows when I will get to them. Great list Dedra.

    Reply

  10. Oooh, so many great ones on this list. I am so glad I read The Nightingale although it made me ugly cry. It was amazing, painful, and beautiful.

    Reply

  13. The Bromance Book Club was my favorite of your book selection! I’m pretty embarrassed that I haven’t read The Hunger Games yet, oops.

    Reply

    1. Oh yay! I really need to give it another try. The Hunger Games books are great! It’s been a loooong time since I’ve read them, though. I need to do a reread someday. 🙂

      Reply

  15. I’ve read half this list and some of them are favorite books! You REALLY have to read Daisy Jones & the Six. Listen to it if you can. One of Us Is Lying and The NIghtingale are must reads, too. I also really liked The Bromance Book Club and The Sun Is Also a Star. I hope you get to read all of these very soon!

    Reply

    1. Ha! Well, I ended up switching my very first book of the year, so I hope that’s not reflective of how the rest of my year will go. 😉 But sometimes the books just fit somewhere better once I’m reading them. And thank you for sharing which books you enjoyed! I’m excited for those three!

      Reply

  22. Oh, you haven’t read One of Us is Lying yet? I’ll admit I know nothing about the Breakfast Club, although I did love OoUiL quite a lot, along with its sequel. The Lord of the Rings and the 5th Wave are both series I’ve owned for awhile but haven’t gotten around to yet. The Sun is Also a Star is another I recently acquired, though I’ve been very hesitant to read it since I didn’t like Everything Everything. I do hope you’re able to get around to all of these this year!

    Reply

    1. Now I’m feeling my age… The Breakfast Club is a film I was obsessed with when I was a teen in the 90s. I *think* it holds up… at least both of my teens enjoyed it. 😉 I haven’t read Everything Everything, but hearing you didn’t love it actually makes me more intrigued about the author. I thought she was one of those everyone loved. Ha! Happy reading to you, too!

      Reply

  23. Definitely finish The Return of the King! I think the Two Towers though good is my least favourite. I never finished the 5th Wave series, I ended up putting the books to charity.

    I hope you get to read them!

    Reply

    1. Oh ok! That’s actually reassuring to hear. I’m curious to see if the final book in the 5th Wave series holds up or if I’m over that genre. Happy reading!

      Reply

Let's Chat! (Comments are manually approved)