I’m pretty certain that books saved me in 2020. How’s that for a dramatic opener? It’s true though. I’m fully aware I’m one of the lucky ones, with supportive and healthy family and friends to talk to, my own flat to nest in during lockdown, and a time-consuming-but-ultimately-hugely-rewarding job to occupy me, but it’s been a tough year for everyone to navigate, and I did so thanks to my ever-trusty companions: books.

This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me. I’ve always loved reading, and my favourite part of new year’s day is sitting down to write my reading list for the year ahead. This tends to consist of a respectable 20 or so books – unless I have other extra-curricular projects to distract me – and 2020 started out like any other. However, a few weeks into the first lockdown, I realised I was in a position to expand the list to 30, then a few months later to 40, and by the time the second lockdown rolled around, I was on a mission to get to 52 by December 31st so I could feel a sense of smug satisfaction about completing a book a week.

I tried to create a varied list combining classic fiction, biographies, sci-fi, recent bestsellers, horror, science and brand new releases; I am lucky to have an ever-growing pile of the latter because one of my favourite parts of my job is working with Simon Mayo to select the guests for the Scala Radio Book Club. A number of his guests from 2020 – Christina Dalcher, David Mitchell, Adam Kucharski, Dolly Alderton, Rumaan Alam, Martin Latham, Charlotte Wood – feature in the list below.

And whilst I am both smug and satisfied at achieving my goal of reading 52 books this year, I’m sharing this list because I hope to encourage lapsed readers to make some space for books in 2021. To dive into well-trodden cliché, I’ve travelled into different worlds, experienced other people’s joys and struggles, discovered alternative ways of thinking and learnt about remarkable individuals – all from the comfort of my own home. The stories I’ve immersed myself in, both imagined and real, have reminded me that this too shall pass, and that life is there for us to celebrate in all its glorious, fragile and ridiculous forms.

Here are the books, in chronological order of reading. I’ve added some comments by some of the titles; I was tempted to write about all of them in far more detail, but this article risked becoming a book in itself, so I’ve tried to exercise restraint.

1. Joanne Ramos – The Farm
2. John Wyndham – The Midwich Cuckoos – Wyndham’s books fascinate me. The creativity of his ideas, often shocking and apocalyptic, find themselves juxtaposed with the clipped, stiff-upper-lip Britishness of his characters, language and setting. The effect is all the more eerie and other-worldly. The Chrysalids and The Day of the Triffids are also excellent, and I love The Kraken Wakes, not least because the main protagonists are radio producers and it’s always fun to see your own job represented in fiction.
3. Bret Easton Ellis – White – I found this a pretty tough and distasteful read. Probably his most tough and distasteful, which is saying something – and that certainly isn’t a sign of approval.
4. Mark Kermode – Hatchet Job
5. N.J. Campbell – Found Audio
6. Yiyun Li – Where Reasons End – I was given The Vagrants about a decade ago, and still consider it to be one of the most harrowing books I’ve ever read. The subject matter of this book – a mother writes to her son who recently committed suicide – is equally harrowing, especially when you know the author is writing from personal experience.
7. Guillermo del Toro & Cornelia Funke – Pan’s Labyrinth
8. Kurt Vonnegut – Hocus Pocus
9. Marge Piercy – Woman on the Edge of Time – I bought this in Foyles off the back of one of those adorable and incredibly effective hand-written staff recommendations that you find in the best bookshops. This is such a bold book, encompassing domestic abuse and gender inequalities with time travel and utopian ideals, and it’s written so vividly that scenes from it return to me regularly.
10. Simon Mayo – Mad Blood Stirring – Blimey Charlie this is a good read! Based on actual events, the story is gripping and unpredictable, with a strong cast of fully realised characters. It’s crying out for a screen adaptation, and it sounds as though a TV series is in development. Fingers crossed.
11. Stephen King – The Shining – I treated myself to a Folio Society copy of this (top tip: keep a regular eye on their website for the sales) because their beautiful books always enhance the reading experience. I’m a huge Stephen King fan – It and On Writing hold special places in my heart – and this is a new favourite. I love the Kubrick film but I now understand why King doesn’t. The characters in the book have far more depth, and there is a stronger sense of dread.
12. Laura Mucha – Love Factually – For me, the best thing about reading this is the fact I’m lucky enough to consider Laura a friend and she’s written this frank examination of love and relationships in her own voice to such an extent that I could pretend she was sitting next to me reading it out loud.
13. Frank Herbert – Dune – Spice, sandworms and slightly strange gender politics: not to everyone’s taste, perhaps, but it’s the perfect chunk of escapism and just the thing for lockdown. I loved it. I am eagerly awaiting the new adaptation and I hope I’ll be able to watch it on the big screen.
14. John O’Connell – Bowie’s Books
15. Candice Carty-Williams – Queenie
16. Adam Kucharski – The Rules of Contagion
17. Christina Dalcher – Q
18. Holly Kyte – Roaring Girls – This is one of my favourite discoveries of the year. I hadn’t expected to be so charmed by the women under the spotlight in Holly’s well-researched and entertaining celebration of ‘girl power’ across the centuries, but their readiness to confront societal expectations is really inspiring. As soon as I finished this I bought several copies for friends and family.
19. John Steinbeck – East of Eden – I whacked this on the list because I thought I should add in a ‘classic’ or two amid all the contemporary works. I’d struggled with The Grapes of Wrath so much that I’m not sure why I convinced myself to read another Steinbeck, but for whatever reason I picked up a copy in the delightful Typewronger books in Edinburgh. I was preparing myself for a tough, stilted read and was bowled over by the beauty of the writing and the melodrama, plot twists and characters. I think Samuel Hamilton and Lee may be two of my favourite fictional creations ever written.
20. Daniel Levitin – The Organized Mind
21. Alyson Rudd – The First Time Lauren Paling Died­ – I was really taken with this. The title character lives various lives, all very similar but not quite the same, and each has very different outcomes, both for her and her loved ones. The book is elevated by Lauren’s growing comprehension of these parallel universes and her subsequent attempts to forge some form of control.
22. Charlotte Wood – The Weekend
23. Sally Rooney – Normal People
24. Anne Enright – Actress
25. Emma Straub – Modern Lovers
26. Greg Jenner – Dead Famous
27. Ann Patchett – State of Wonder – My dear friend and all-round wonderful human being Jessica Curry sent me a parcel of books during lockdown and in doing so introduced me to Ann Patchett. I feel slightly ashamed that Patchett hadn’t crossed my radar before, as I now know the world is a better place when her books are in it.
28. Philip Pullman – The Subtle Knife – I decided to read this again in preparation for His Dark Materials series 2, so I could be one of those helpful people who point out the differences between the book and the TV show. You’re welcome!
29. Stephen King – Doctor Sleep – The Shining is such a visceral book, and the ending feels so final, that I was intrigued to see what happened to Danny when he grew up. As ever, King makes storytelling seem so effortless, and it was lovely to be reunited with Dick Halloran.
30. Hazel Barkworth – Heatstroke
31. Bernardine Evaristo – Girl, Woman, Other – This is just as good as everyone’s said, if not better. The characters all deserve their moment in the spotlight and I love how their stories are interconnected. After I finished it, I lent it to my mum who pretty much inhaled it in one day. High praise indeed!
32. Helen Lewis – Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights – Another excellent gift from another excellent friend, this time maths teacher extraordinaire and hands-down legend Susan Okereke. The two of us occasionally vent our frustrations about the continued gender divide, and she was one of the recipients of a copy of Roaring Girls because I knew she’d love to read about women throughout history who put two fingers up to the establishment. In return, she gave me Difficult Women, a compelling study of women who made a difference in their respective fields. I really like the way it’s divided into themes, or fights, such as the vote, education, time, and the right to be difficult, and I was impressed that Helen was willing to share her personal experiences too.
33. Daphne du Maurier – Jamaica Inn – Daphne du Maurier is one of my favourite writers – I count ‘A Border-Line Case’ as one of my favourite ever short stories – and I set out to rectify the fact I hadn’t read one of her best-loved novels. Jamaica Inn is great fun, if dark, brooding menace is your idea of fun, and I’m a big fan of the sharp and brave Mary Yellan.
34. Dolly Alderton – Ghosts
35. Richard Bradford – Orwell: A Man of Our Time
36. Ann Patchett – The Dutch House – Another gift courtesy of Jessica Curry, and so very different to State of Wonder in story and style, but just as brilliant. I now want to read everything by Ann Patchett.
37. Kingsley Amis – Lucky Jim
38. Micaiah Johnson – The Space Between Worlds
39. David Mitchell – Utopia Avenue
40. Caroline Criado Perez – Invisible Women – Another highlight for me. A thorough – and thoroughly depressing – examination of the gender data gap. Everyone should read it to understand the world a little better.
41. Shirley Jackson – The Haunting of Hill House – The release of the film Shirley prompted me to read this. I still haven’t watched the film, but I’m very glad I read the book. Reading this felt like a bit of a fever dream – to be clear, I mean that as a compliment – and I loved the descent into different shades of madness, suspicion and fear. A superb piece of horror fiction, and I can understand why it’s still considered so influential.
42. Martin Latham – The Bookseller’s Tale
43. Neil Gaiman – Anansi Boys – I love everything Neil Gaiman writes, so it was no surprise for me to adore this. He’s another writer who makes it all seem so easy. I once found myself in front of him in a queue at the Royal Albert Hall and forced myself to form coherent words and tell him I think his books are brilliant, especially Neverwhere. Not my coolest moment but it did lead to this.
44. Charlie Connelly – Last Train to Hilversum
45. Kaethe Cherney – Happy as Larry
46. Mark O’Connell – Notes from an Apocalypse
47. Lizzie Fry – The Coven – This is due for release in 2021 and deserves to be huge. A proper page-turner involving witches, women’s rights, power, magic and Cornwall!
48. Rumaan Alam – Leave The World Behind – One of Simon Mayo’s top picks of 2020 in the Scala Radio Book Club and rightly so.
49. Kiley Reid – Such a Fun Age
50. Mo Yan – Frog – This was another top discovery for me. I went into this without prior knowledge of the plot or the author’s previous books, and was instantly drawn in. I’ve since read comparisons of this to works by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and I can appreciate the similarities in the way that families and communities, with all their quirks and characters and messy ties, are portrayed. What makes this stand out is the setting of a rural Chinese village, and how the subject of the story, the narrator’s aunt, has to wrestle with her conscience in her role as a midwife enforcing the One-child policy. Another book with scenes that will stay with me.
51. Fyodor Dostoevsky – The Double
52. Margaret Forster – Daphne du Maurier

So there you have it! I hope list this might provide some inspiration to you, and that maybe you’ll start your own reading list for 2021. Adventures lie ahead!