2020 End of Year Recaps

Hello everyone! It’s the last day of 2020, so just like every year, it’s time for my end of year recaps. I think we all can collectively agree that 2020 isn’t a great year, but in terms of reading, it’s actually my best one. This year, I manage to beat my previous reading record and discovered my ultimate favorite reads. So without further ado, here’s my 2020 end of year recaps.

2020 READING STATS

Number Of Books You Read : 65 books

Number of Re-Reads : 5 books

Genre You Read The Most From :

• Contemporary (29 books)
• Fantasy (25 books)
• Historical Fiction (4 books)
• Mystery (2 books)
• Classic (2 books)
• Romance (1 book)
• Science Fiction (1 book)

1. Best Book You Read In 2020?

       

I read A LOT of great books this year, but if I have to choose one I’d pick The Poppy War series by R.F. Kuang.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco. I still enjoyed this book but I thought it would be darker considering it’s about demons and hell and witches? Anyway, I think the second book will be more interesting so I’m still gonna continue this series.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

   

For good surprise, definitely Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman. It’s my first Bowman’s book so I didn’t really know what to expect, but I end up loving that book so much. As for bad surprise, I’ve got to say Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins-Reid. I really really love The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo last year, but personally, I thought Daisy Jones was boring

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

Not sure if people actually read it, but I recommend Clap When You Land multiple times since it’s such a wonderful story! I highly recommend listening to the audiobook because Elizabeth Acevedo herself narrate it and it’s truly the best audiobook I’ve ever heard.

5. Best series you started in 2020? Best Sequel of 2020? Best Series Ender of 2020?

       

Best series starter : These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
Best sequel : The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi
Best series ender : The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2020?

       

I have A LOT. Akemi Dawn Bowman, Roshani Chokshi, Elizabeth Acevedo to name a few.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read / was out of your comfort zone?

I haven’t really tried adult fantasy before, but this year I finally read some and I love most of them. One of them is Jade City by Fonda Lee, which is a really complex but definitely worth the read!

8. Most action-packed / thrilling / unputdownable book of the year?

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong was truly a ride from the beginning till the end. It’s a Romeo & Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai featuring gangster and monster, so if you haven’t pick it up, please do!!

9. Book You Read In 2020 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. I kinda was in a reading slump when I read it, so I’m definitely planning to re-read it at some point. This book is short (only 100+ pages), but it’s truly beautiful ❤

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2020?

       

11. Most memorable character of 2020?

Chen Kitay from The Poppy War series. I just really really love him, okay?

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2020?

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia! It’s my first book by her and I’m absolutely blown away. If you’re looking for a beautiful book filled with so much yearning, this one’s for you.

13. Most Thought-Provoking / Life-Changing Book of 2020?

I read The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim a few months ago when I was feeling low and it’s such an inspiring reads.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2020 to finally read?

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. I LOVED the movie and have watched it countless times, but I never actually pick up the book until 2020 (thanks to Nostalgiathon!). It was really fun.

15. Favorite Passage / Quote From A Book You Read In 2020?

“What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?” ― The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2020?

   

Shortest book = The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
Longest book = The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

17. Book That Shocked You The Most?

I didn’t expect THAT scene in Jade City!

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

       

• Hun-Kamé and Casiopeia Tun from Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Yadriel and Julian from Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
• Skye Shin and Henry Cho from I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year?

I’m sorry for keep saying The Poppy War, but Rin and Kitay are definitely one of the best platonic relationship I’ve ever read.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2020 From An Author You’ve Read Previously?

This is cheating a bit since First & Then by Emma Mills is a re-read, but I really love this book and somehow it’s even better when I re-read it <3.

21. Best Book You Read In 2020 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else?

I’ve heard A LOT of good things about Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko, so I borrowed it and turns out all of those things are true. Seriously, it’s really really good so if you haven’t pick it up, I definitely recommend it!

22. Best 2020 debut you read?

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas was such a fun and light read! I’m living for Yadriel and Julian’s banters.

23. Best Worldbuilding / Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

The Silence of Bones by June Hur is set in 1800s Joseon (Korea), and I think she did a great job at portraying the setting (although it probably helps that I’ve watched many historical k-dramas). I’m looking forward to read her next book, which is also set in Joseon!

24. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face / Was The Most FUN To Read?

Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston. The main characters have a sunshine/grumpy dynamic and it was the cutest thing ever.

25. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2020?

Because I’m a sucker for Persuasion retelling, The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne definitely made me cry!

26. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

One of my favorite reads this year is Songs from the Deep by Kelly Powell. It’s basically a murder-mystery set in a remote island (also featuring sirens but they’re more like background characters), so it’s really interesting and enchanting.

27. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Again, no book wreck me as bad as The Poppy War trilogy. I don’t think I know pain before I read this book </3

28. Most Unique Book You Read In 2020?

The only unique book that I read this year is probably Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins-Reid. It was written in transcript format, and the audiobook is also full-cast so it was quite unique.

29. Book That Made You The Most Mad?

I read What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter in audiobook format, so I didn’t know whether that main character is truly that annoying or the narrator just made it seems so, but I was annoyed the whole time I read it. It’s a shame since this book is about book blogger and I was looking forward to it.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2020 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2021?

Definitely Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse! I’m really curious about this book since lots of people seem to love it, so it’s going to be my first read of the year.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2021 (non-debut)?

       

• Always Jane by Jenn Bennett
• Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales
• XOXO by Axie Oh
• Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

3. 2021 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

       

• Counting Down With You by Tashie Bhuiyan
• Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan
• The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
• She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2021?

• These Violent Delights #2 by Chloe Gong
• The Gilded Wolves #3 by Roshani Chokshi
• Raybearer #2 by Jordan Ifueko

6. A 2021 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone?

I’ve only read one 2021 book, You Have a Match by Emma Lord, and it was pretty good! If you love books with family relationship, do consider this one.

Before I share my 2021 plan, let’s take a look at my 2020 plan first :

• Blog more! And hopefully next year I didn’t have to take unexpected hiatus — I published 50 posts (!!!) in 2020, so compared to 29 posts in 2019, I definitely accomplish this one
• Write more non-bookish content. I’ve been meaning to write non-bookish content for a while, so let’s hope I get to actually write it in 2020 — I only write 1 non-bookish content, so yeah this one is a no
• Read at least 35 books. I’m lowering my goodreads goal since if all goes well, it’ll be my last year in college (how did time flies so fast??) and I’ll definitely be busy doing my undergrad thesis during the second half of 2020 — I read 65 books this year!
• Read more diverse books, and not just the one with asian aspect in it. I realize that most of the diverse books that I read are mostly by asian authors, and I’m hoping to broaden that — I don’t really have the exact numbers, but I think I read more books by marginalized authors this year
• Reactivating my bookstagram, maybe? I’ve took a few photos but haven’t gotten around to edit it yet — I actually did re-activated my bookstagram, but it only last a few months before I’m gone again (oops)

And here’s my 2021 plan :

• Write more non-bookish contents! I actually have a few in my draft right now but I’ve been super lazy to edit it
• Read at least 40 books
• Re-activating or maybe restarting my bookstagram?
• Going self-host maybe? If I can get a job next year I’m going to try self-host

Some statistics of my blog in 2020 that I want to share :

• Including this one, I posted 50 posts in this blog this year
• As of December 30th, 2020, String of Pages has been viewed 3,712 times (compared to 1,930 times in 2019)
• Two of my most viewed posts are 21 Upcoming 2021 Books by Asian Authors and 16 Books Based On Folklore by Taylor Swift

What’s your favorite reads from 2020? What books do you plan to read in 2021?
And lastly, I just want to say thank you for supporting me this year and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021! ❤

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p.s. This recap is based on Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner‘s prompts.