Though I’m certain it has already been articulated plenty over the last year, it bears repeating that words can offer us solace in difficult times. 2020 was a shit show on a global level, as well as a personal level, but reading provided me with a temporary escape—the knowledge of new perspectives, different lives. Here are the 13 best books I read in 2020 and my favorite quotes from each (because I’m too tired to type out whole summaries, but also because these books reminded me how beautiful language can be).
13. Time is the Thing a Body Moves Through by T Fleischmann
12. Under the Rainbow by Celia Laskey
11. Raising a Rare Girl by Heather Lanier
10. What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About edited by Michele Filgate
9. The Rib Joint by Julia Koets
8. In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
7. The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy
6. Whip Smart by Melissa Febos
5. Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom
4. Being Lolita by Alisson Wood
3. A Year Without a Name by Cyrus Grace Dunham
2. Tomboyland by Melissa Faliveno
1. How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones
JACKIE DOMENUS 