Last year when I had five glorious months of maternity leave (and a very sleepy newborn) I powered through books like it was my job (you know, my job beyond keeping a small human fed, clothed, and breathing). I read 75 books in 2019, a record for me by more than 20 for the year! I was all ready to completely temper my expectations for reading in 2020. My kid is older and needs more entertaining; there is less downtime with a toddler than with a newborn; I was going back to work full time; and my husband and I were looking forward to prioritizing our social life after taking a pass on a fair number of outings last year because of baby-time. Well, some things have changed and now that we’re all stuck at home (and I’m no longer working), my reading time has blossomed. I’m reading before bed every night to help alleviate some anxiety; I’m reading while Ernie plays independently for little spurts throughout the day; and if the house is clean and meals are cooked, I’m taking advantage of Ernie’s nap times to bank some solid page-turning hours! I’ve had a few great binge-worthy reads over the last few weeks and thought I’d share if anyone else is looking for a good book.

Such a Fun Age

This book has been on a bunch of “best” lists lately and thus it was on my to-read list without knowing anything about the premise. It does such a lovely job at tackling issues alongside racism, sexism, and socio-economic status, while still being a fairly lighthearted story. Author Kiley Reid has an impressive way with words and there were so many genuine moments of suspense, thrill, and anguish that this book left an immediate impression on me. I’ve recommended it to pretty much everyone I’ve talked to since finishing it.

The Idea of You

Catalog this decidedly in the “fluffy” beach reads section, but I couldn’t help loving this book and demolished it in just a few hours. The character development is really great, and author Robinne Lee does an amazing job at giving really in-depth descriptions on emotional reactions. I loved so much about this twisty rom-com and would not be surprised to see it end up in theaters soon.

Uncanny Valley

This one might not be as much as a crowd pleaser. I have worked in tech and traveled to San Francisco quite a bit, so getting the insider scoop on how a few different startups have grown, succeeded, and failed was super interesting to me in a bit of a tabloid-esque way. The one thing that drove me a little nuts on this book was that the author rarely (if ever?) uses proper names. I’m totally fine with that for anonymity’s sake, but there were definitely a bunch of business names, well-known VCs, and places that could have just been said outright rather than sending me down a Google rabbit hole to figure them all out (cheatsheet here).

Sweetbitter

As a former server (and someone who firmly feels they “came of age” and learned a whole slew of life lessons while serving), I wasn’t super surprised at how fast and furiously I read Sweetbitter. I loved author Stephanie Danler’s writing style and definitely pulled a late night getting through a few extra chapters to then finish in the morning. Bonus on this one is that Starz made it into a TV series for two seasons (I have yet to watch it, but it’s on my list).

What’s been on everyone else’s quaran-times reading lists? Anything you’ve binged in a 24-hour period?? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. – this post is part of our 2020 goals list! Check out the whole list here.