Stay at Home? No prob! Just hand me a book!

"Reading gives us someplace to go when you have to stay where you are."

- Mason Cooley

I've always loved losing myself in a book, but this year, I truly lived by the above quote. From heading to Chicago and D.C. with Michelle Obama in her autobiography, Becoming, to heading back in time to the 1940s in New York City with Vivian in City of Girls, I went places this year. The comfy corner of my couch and favorite yellow throw were my travel companions. My time was not only spent traveling, but it was also spent challenging my thinking. Many of the nonfiction books I read this year challenged my perceptions about racism. I learned so much about how my experiences have shaped my thinking and how that thinking needs to evolve. 

Here were the goals I set for reading in 2020:

• Read 36 books
• Read more nonfiction
• Try at least one audiobook. 

With the help of a global pandemic, I crushed those goals. 

• I read 58 books this year. 
• Out of 58 books, 17 were nonfiction.
• I listened to six audiobooks. 

Here is a list of the books I read in 2020 by genre. 

Clearly, fiction is my favorite genre, specifically thrillers. However, my favorite books from the past year aren't thrillers. American Dirt grabbed me from the get-go and opened my mind to new perspectives about immigration. City of Girls was so beautifully written; I was truly lost in this story. Both books immersed me in the lives of the characters. There is nothing better than making friends with the characters in a book and having that feeling of sorrow when a great book is over. 

Stamped: Racism, Anti-racism, and You helped me to reflect and process the racial justice issues that were moved from the back burner to the front this summer. This book provides the history of racism that isn't found in the books in the classrooms of our schools. It opened my mind to new ways of thinking about my experiences and recognizing how they are different from the experiences of others. Before this book, I thought I knew a lot about racism, but I learned that I was lacking knowledge on racism and anti-racism. Now, I think more about the broken systems that surround us and how I can work to impact change in my community. Because of this book, I read other books that opened my eyes further and placed a spark in my heart. 

There are no tears left in my tear ducts after reading The Art of Racing in the Rain and then watching the dramatic adaptation. Let me know if you need to borrow a dog to snuggle with while reading this novel. 

When I heard that Little Fires Everywhere was being made into a TV series, I knew I had to read the book first. I was so disappointed in the unnecessary additions to the TV series. Be thankful you didn't watch that series with me. I was the person stating, "...but in the book, that didn't happen!" or "What?! No! That's not how it's supposed to go!"

Another favorite fiction book from 2020 is authored by a friend of mine, Chelsea Roe Hooper. When Hopefully, Eventually came out, I excitedly prepared by washing my favorite yellow throw and loading my end table with a hot cup of tea and a plethora of snacks. I knew I would devour it in one day. The characters in Chelsea's debut novel were relatable and addressed real issues of anxiety, foster care, and infidelity. What I loved most about the book is that the five girlfriends in the story made me think about my core group of friends and inspired many texts to my BFF while I was reading.

A highlight of 2020 was a book club a colleague of mine and I started for 5th graders. The club began at school and continued via Zoom when we were all at home for distance learning in the spring. The club was truly an escape from the long days of trying our best to create this new space for learning at home. Three of the five books in the Children's Literature section of my list were read by our book club.

So... how do you follow up a great year of reading? Set new goals and start reading! Here are my goals for 2021:

• Read 50 books.
• Continue to read more nonfiction.
• Read like a writer. Gather a list of lines I love from the books I love and use these lines to inspire my writing.

Now, off to my favorite reading spot with the first book of 2021... I just started The Vanishing Half on audiobook, I'm two chapters into Reading & Writing with English Learners (written by another friend, Valentina Gonzalez), and another book just popped up as available on Overdrive through the Cinco Ranch Library. It's a perfect (reading) storm! Yeah... whatever!