Every year, one of my favourite things to do is to reflect on my reading year and make a list of my favourite years. I’ve been doing ‘Top Reads of the Year’ post for years now and, every year, having to choose a small, single-digit number of books to include in this list has always been difficult. And so I had a thought: Why do I even have to choose 8 or 10 books, even though I have so many favourites?
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It’s been a year of years, friends.
Whatever 2020 looked like for you, and wherever you find yourself at the wee dawn of this new year, I hope you’ve found some warmth and comfort in the little places in your life. It’s been a terrible few months all around, so I hope (and Sprout hopes!) that you’ve been treating yourself gently too.
Amidst a lot of personal turbulence in the past year (between online college and some bad mental health days), fiction was a constant that I returned to over and over again whenever I needed grounding—the stories I experienced were both escape portals and anchors in my day-to-day life. It is perhaps no surprise that I ended up reading double the amount of books I set out to read in my 2020 Goodreads goal; the achievement feels a little bittersweet, but it’s a victory nonetheless! It brings me a lot of joy today to be rounding up all of my favorite books that I read this strange, strange year, and I hope they bring you some solace too.
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What a year 2020 has been. I’m actively resisting the urge to talk and reflect on 2020 as a year, because I am sure that there will be an overabundance of thinkpieces. But all I’ll say that – it’s been a tough year, friends, and I’m so proud and glad that we all made it through together.
With books though, I think this has been one of my favourite reading years. 2017 was my last favourite reading year – that was the year where I made the conscious decision to diversify my reading choices, and I discovered so many wonderful stories. Though the years after were also good, I think 2020 was the year where I just read a series of phenomenal books that now live in a tender place in my heart and memory.
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In case you’re new to the Pond’s book recommendation posts, the recommendation posts are brought to you by Varian, the Pond’s very own Toadshifter who is knowledgeable in all kinds of magic! One of Varian’s ambitions is to get better at sewing, hence why whenever Varian has come up with their latest costume, they will always recommend a few books that inspired them!
Ramadan mubarak to all my friends who celebrate! Although the world is a strange and unfamiliar to us at the moment, I hope that all of my Muslim friends can find peace and fulfilment this month.
In celebration of Ramadan, I decided to put together a list of some of my favourite books by Muslim authors! All the books that I recommend on this list are books that I have already read (save for one, which I am partway reading and I’m loving it so far!), so they have my stamp of approval. Reading books by Muslim authors is a fun and awesome way to show solidarity to our Muslim friends during this time. Better yet, why not join in on the #RamadanReadathon that’s going on right now? You can find more information about this readathon on Nadia’s blog, the readathon’s Twitter account, and Instagram account!
The Quiet Pond 