In 2020, I had a few goals for reading:

Read 75 books in 2020. Achievement Unlocked! I beat a goal I hadn’t been close to in 5 years!

1. Continue to read through the Culture series. Achievement Unlocked! I read 1 novel this year (Excession, which was excellent). Inversions I’ll read as a physical novel. I’m having trouble finding it in eBook or audiobook format.

2. Read at least 12 Indie books. Achievement Unlocked! I read exactly 12 Indie books this year. More on those soon.

3. Read at least four fantasy books. Achievement Unlocked! I read 18 fantasy novels, including Bloody Rose, Dragons of Autumn Twilight (a reread), The Final Empire, The Blade Itself, Swords and Deviltry, How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps. Gardens of the Moon, The Sleeping Dragon, The Summer Tree, The Dragon and the George, Assassin’s Apprentice, The Crystal Shard (a reread), The Runelords, Die Vol 1-3, Temple of Sorrow, and Catharsis. Many of these are traditional and indie series starters. A couple were rereads to remind me of writing I enjoyed when I was younger. Some were research reads into the portal fantasy and litrpg/gamelit genres closely tied to my current work.

I hit or smashed my reading goals.

So what? What were the best bits of 2020?1 I’ll forego most of the nonfiction this year, since it’s primarily books on craft. It’s no secret I’m a World War II history buff—particularly if it involves naval power or submarining. Craig L. Symonds’ World War II at Sea: A Global History does not disappoint. While it tries to be comprehensive, I found his books on Midway and Neptune to be just a touch better. Still, it’s an engrossing read.

What about fiction? On the traditional side, Nicholas Eames kept me going with Bloody Rose (The Band #2). Now, it was slow going at first, because the principal character was different and it took time for her to warm up for me. But the characters, world, and prose gripped me and pulled me along. If you loved Kings of the Wyld for those reasons, you’ll love Bloody Rose. If you loved the characters of the first book, you won’t like this one as much.

I rarely read a lot of short stories, but I’ve been interested in Ted Chiang’s work since seeing a translation of his Story of Your Life into Arrival on the big screen. I picked up Stories of Your Life and Others. Each story had a unique style and approach. While I didn’t love them all, each entertained me.

I’ve been meaning to read Robin Hobb for sometime now. I picked up Assassin’s Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy #1), and her ability to pull on the emotional heartstrings blew me away. While the story was a slow burn and not a traditional arc, it held me enthralled by prose and characterization. I’ll read more of her in the coming years.

On the Indie side of things, there were a few surprise hits. The Luna Missile Crisis by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle was a fun alternate look at a ‘what if we made alien contact in the 60s’?

Rhett and Jaime also wrote Dead Acre, narrated by Roger Clark of Red Dead Redemption fame. It sucked me in and held my attention from beginning to end. If you’re looking for a short bit of weird western, this is it.

Another surprise to me was C. Steven Manley’s Awakened (Paragons #1). I don’t know what I was expecting. I’m not a reader of Urban Fantasy, but this had the right mix of good, evil, tight plotting, and prominent characters. I may just open my repertoire more. I should read widely, after all.

These are my favorite reads of 2020!

Of the things on my bookshelf, there were a few clunkers in there (which is hard to admit when you see the work it takes to craft a story) but I mostly enjoyed what I read.

What are your favorites? Have you read any of these? What did you think? Hit reply or drop me a comment below! Next up, I’ll post my reading goals for 2021. Stay safe and Happy New Year!

1. Disclaimer: All of these links are Amazon Affiliate links. You can, for the most part, find most of these works on all platforms or search them for yourself.