This was the year I spent the most time with some of the most interesting people in the most interesting places...while mostly at home. I've kept my actual travel and 'normal' interactions to a minimum since the pandemic hit in March, but through books I was able to explore my interests and let my mind wander all year long. Reading also served as a hobby that gave me consistency and a sense of accomplishment in a phase of life that has felt relatively unremarkable.
I believe 2020 helped turn reading into a integral part of my daily routine, and it also changed how and what I read. Prior to my move to the city at the beginning of the year and before my office expelled us to work from home, I pretty much only read books on some lunch breaks or during my train commutes. I carried around a library loan or two in my work bag and pulled them out when I needed a time-filler. Aside from a couple road trips in the fall and winter and a few nights spent at my family's, most of my reading has happened at home—usually right before bed, but sometimes during my lunch breaks or whenever I needed a break from the TV—and mostly off of the Kindle I borrowed from my boyfriend. I still source most of my books from the library, but now browsing, pick-ups, and returns all are just a click or two away.
To some, the mix of books I read may resemble the jumble of literal catastrophes, confusion, and change that the world has endured these past twelve month—BUT I was actually very intentional about how I spent my time "literaturely." I really went after topics that have long held my intrigue, like Chicago people and history, everyday design, and human habits, and newer interests like strategy and addresses. I also sought after books that could tell me more about the experiences of other women or people of different backgrounds. In between, I downloaded stories of romance and suspense as faster, less involved reads. Each fulfilled at least one purpose: I learned something new, got to reflect, or had a means of escape.
The 20 books that got me through 2020:
All the Missing Girls, Megan Miranda (softcover; started 1/2, finished 2/4)
The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World, Melinda Gates (hardcover; started 2/5, finished 3/3)
The Design of Everyday Things, Don Norman (softcover; started 3/5, finished 4/3)
Into the Water, Paula Hawkins (e-book; started 4/12, finished 4/30)
The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City, Carl Smith (e-book; started 5/5, finished 5/21)
I Miss You When I Blink: Essays, Mary Laura Philpott (e-book; started 5/21, finished 5/25)
Dark Matter, Blake Crouch (e-book; started on 5/25, finished 6/3)
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, Charles Duhigg (e-book; started 6/4, finished 6/15)
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz, Erik Larson (e-book; started 6/18, finished 7/8)
Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals, Rachel Hollis (e-book; started 7/8, finished 7/28)
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, Robin DiAngelo (e-book; started 7/9, finished 7/19)
An American Summer: Love and Death in Chicago, Alex Kotlowitz (e-book; started 7/29, finished 8/9)
1984, George Orwell (e-book; started 8/9, finished 8/28)
Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul, Karen Abbott (e-book; started 8/30, finished 9/13)
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, Caroline Criado Perez (e-book; started 9/13, finished 9/29)
Know My Name: A Memior, Chanel Miller (e-book; started 9/30, finished 10/12)
The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power, Deirdre Mask (e-book; started 10/12, finished 10/22)
The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead (e-book; started 10/23, finished 11/13)
One Day in December: A Novel, Josie Silver (e-book; started 11/13, finished 11/24)
Strategy is Your Words: A Strategist's Fight for Meaning, Mark Pollard (hard-cover; started 11/24, finished 12/28)
Last year, I met my goal of reading 10 books. This year, I initially set out to read one a month, but as "normal" life locked down and I was able to spend more time between pages, I realized I could reasonably double my 2019 benchmark. In the coming year, I'm not sure if I'll aim higher or if I'll let myself read more leisurely without a set goal in mind. Either way, I enjoy keeping a list of what I read and finding ways to visualize how I spend my time.
The chart above was created using Google Sheets. Click here to see how I designed it.
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