My Three Favorite Books I Read in 2020
Favorite "new to me" books I read this year.
One of the coping mechanisms I turned to during this absolute swamp of a year was reading light, bright young adult romance novels—the easier, the sweeter the better. And the author that delivered the joyful champagne bubbles that I needed again and again was Kasie West. Of the eight Kasie West books I read this year, By Your Side was my soft, heart-eyed favorite. One fateful Friday night, Autumn Collins finds her locked inside a gigantic, empty library. Only it's not so empty: the school "bad boy" soon makes his presence known, and the two find themselves pairing up to fight off boredom, hunger, and perhaps some burgeoning feelings. This book was just exactly what I was needing when I read it, and I found myself grinning and feeling bubbly throughout. I see myself reading it again soon!
“What was I scared of? Letting someone close? Handing him the power to hurt me? Letting go of control? Possibilities don’t hurt as much as realities. Possibilities are exciting and endless. Realities are final.”
I gobbled this book up in one day, and it's hard to say what I enjoyed more—the story line, the love interest, or the food descriptions! When they're all vying first place like that, you know you're in a good spot. Natalie Tan returns to her childhood home after the death of her mother determined to reopen her grandmother's old restaurant, and finds herself armed with an old cookbook containing recipes for more than just delicious dishes. Incredibly, this is Roselle Lim's first novel, and we are so fortunate that she chose to bestow on us her exquisite descriptions of everything from food to grief. With a touch of the fantastic, Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune is the perfect novel to whisk you away into a swirling world of charm, steam, and mystery.
“Wishes are worth nothing because there’s so many of them. If they turned into stars, there will be no sky left.”
A blonde movie fan with a penchant for crushing on charming gentlemen? No, unfortunately this book is not about me. However, it is about lover of all things retro Bailey Rydell, who moves to a tiny California town, takes a job at a quirky local museum, and sets about searching for her fellow cinema-lover and pen pal, Alex. In the meantime, she makes friends, has more than one adventure (including rescuing a replica of the Maltese falcon), and even catches the eye of a terribly attractive museum security guard slash surfer. With every chapter beginning with a different movie quote ("10 Things I Hate About You," "The Force Awakens," "You've Got Mail), it felt at times that Alex, Approximately was written just for me. This book absolutely turned my heart into confetti, and I can't recommend it enough.
"I'll give him a pass. Because, hello! The Philadelphia Story. I could watch this a thousand times and never get weary of it. Watching with someone else who's never seen it is so much better. With Porter? I can't believe my luck.”
Honorable Mention
There's Someone Inside Your House, Stephanie Perkins (Terrifying and unputdownable.)
The Fill-In Boyfriend, Kasie West (This one VERY narrowly missed making my top three.)
My Life Next Door, Huntley Fitzpatrick (I'm in love with the main character's love interest!)
Serious Moonlight, Jenn Bennett (Mysterious and lovely.)
How to Speak Boy, Tiana Smith (Gave me heart eyes for days!)
One Of Us is Next, Karen M. McManus (Even better than the first book in the series.)
Girl at Heart, Kelly Oram (Gave me all the butterflies!)
P.S. I Like You, Kasie West (More like P.S. I Love This Book!)
Shuffle, Repeat, Jen Klein (Sweet and well-written.)
The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad, Cookie O'Gorman (Listened to this in one day!)
Two Can Keep a Secret, Karen M. McManus (Twisty and fascinating.)
Our Stop, Laura Jane Williams (I literally cried from the loveliness.)
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Holly Jackson (I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel to be released!)
My goal heading into this year was to read 60 books. Thanks to the-virus-that-shall-not-be-named, I had a lot more reading time and ended up finishing 83. If you saw me throughout the year, this doesn't surprise you. "I've read 50 books." "I've read 60 books." "I've read 70 books." Maybe I thought if I said it enough, it could be something other than my only accomplishment of the year. Regardless, I genuinely enjoyed almost everything I read! You can view my full list here.
My Three Favorite Movies of 2020
3. The Gentlemen
Exceptionally dynamic and unmistakably Guy Ritchie, "The Gentlemen" has to be the most fun I had watching a movie this year. Stacked with the most impressive cast this side of "Ocean's 11" (Matthew McConaughey, Henry Golding, Hugh Grant, Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell, Michelle Dockery) and an intricately spun and delightfully twisty script, Ritchie's latest film takes us on a wild ride of blackmail, betrayal, and more than a little hilarity. "The Gentlemen" had me laughing, gasping, and covering my eyes, and thinking back on it now, it's taking everything in me to not abandon this blog in favor of watching this movie again.
2. P.S. I Still Love You
Dear Peter Kavinsky... If you're surprised to see the second film in the "To All the Boys" series on my list, you clearly do not know me well at all! While it didn't quite live up to the first (mostly due to its undercurrent of sadness and edge of heartbreak), I still found it to be a fun and charming escape. Jordan Fisher was a brilliant (and swoon-worthy) addition to the cast, and Lana Condor and Noah Centineo are still the perfect, absolutely magnetic center of the franchise. Overall "P.S. I Still Love You" was absolutely delightful, full of tender moments, swirling snowflakes, and a sky full of lanterns.
1. Palm Springs
What a breath of fresh air! From its very first moment, "Palm Springs" showed itself to be smart, original, and laugh-out-loud funny. Starring the brilliant Andy Samberg and a lovely Cristin Milioti (who was more than up for the task of holding her own against Andy), the latest film from the Lonely Island crew is more than a "Groundhog Day" retread. It's a bright, colorful, and unexpected joy ride that keeps you guessing for the entirety of its runtime. While the story of a man trapped reliving the same day again and again, desperate to create joy where he can may not sound like much of an escape from our current reality, it's nevertheless an enchanting and surprising diversion with more than a little heart—and a GREAT use of J.K. Simmons. Now hand me my jean jacket—it's time to go dancing.
Honorable Mention: Tenet
I obviously didn't get to see the number of movies I would have liked this year—yet another thing the pandemic ripped away from me. One of my favorite moments of last year was unrepeatable this year, and the less said about it the better.
My Three Favorite TV Shows of 2020
Favorite shows I started watching this year:
3. (tie) Outer Banks
This show? This show right here? Is absolutely ridiculous. And stressful and dramatic and unbelievable... but I don't know! It's also eternal summer and pretty people and a treasure hunt and friendship and storm surfing and wait why are you running from the cops and WHY DOES THAT GUY HAVE A GUN I THINK I'M GOING TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK. I just kept coming back for more, and when a BIG MOMENT happened in the penultimate episode, I legit stood up and screamed from the SHOCK of it, and honestly isn't that what we want from our suspenseful TV shows? And then when my winter needed an extra dose of eternal summer, I found myself diving straight back into the OBX for a second time.
Stream it on Netflix
3. (tie) Downton Abbey
A few months into lockdown I was desperate for something new to watch. Enter the Crawleys, their household staff, and a truckload of Maggie Smith one-liners here to transport me to World War I-era England. I started the series not knowing the difference between a housekeeper and a lady's maid, and left scoffing at the idea of household with only one footman (can you IMAGINE). At times over-the-top and incredibly soapy (jail! illegitimate babies! blackmail!), Downton nevertheless offered a brilliantly written and perfectly acted escape from the mundanity of yet another evening spent at home.
Stream it on Amazon Prime
2. High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
Before she blessed us with "Drivers License," Olivia Rodrigo was lighting up the screen and tugging our heartstrings with songs like "All I Want" in the Disney+ small screen treasure High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. There's honestly just too much to love about this show: the songs, the musical theater in-jokes, the breaking of the fourth wall, the love triangle, the callbacks to the original HSM. I'm here for it, I'm in heaven, I just started watching it for the third time, BRB.
Stream it on Disney+
1. Taskmaster
Just when the long days of quarantine were realllllly starting to drag, lo: the heavens opened up and the Lord bestowed upon me the MOST perfect show for escaping pandemic living: Taskmaster. It's premise is incredibly simple: Greg Davies, aka "The Taskmaster" forces a set of five comedians to complete a task, and then awards them points based on their performance. The tasks range from the straightforward (create the tallest cardboard box tower) to the bizarre (measure the circumference of a caravan in baked beans), but they are always, always hilarious. Even better are the moments between tasks in the studio when the Taskmaster passes judgement on the performances of the comedians (nothing makes me laugh harder than Greg Davies staring in silent disappointment at a contestant who knows they totally failed their task). This hilarity, along with the show's puzzle-solving aspect (certain tasks contain a hidden clue, while some contestants parse the language of the task itself to find a workaround), combined to create my ideal television show, and my most favorite of the year.
Stream it on YouTube
Honorable Mention: Never Have I Ever, The Mandalorian, The Baby-Sitters Club, The Queen's Gambit
My Three Favorite Events of 2020
3. New York, New York
Some people call the day the pandemic became real—like, really REAL—"Tom and Rita Day," because it was the first day most people finally felt like they knew someone (albeit two very famous people—the Hankses) who'd been diagnosed with COVID-19. Well I just happened to be in New York City on Tom and Rita Day. (I know, I know. I know.) I was there with Lori and Emily, and while our trip kind of folded in on itself due to... gestures around wildly at the all of everything... we still pieced together a memorable holiday spent thrifting, visiting my favorite restaurants (Buvette and Valerie!), spotting celebrities on the street (Hugh Dancy!), and seeing Six in its as of yet final performance before the shutdown. And even as the world crumbled around us, I was fortunate to face it all with slightly unhinged laughter ("MHMMM!") and pizza consumed on our hotel room beds with Lori and Emily.
2. Gal Pal Weekends
Before, during, and... also during quarantine (lockdown?), I was blessed to get weekends away with some of the best ladies in the land. In February several handfuls of Britt's nearest and dearest descended on her family's lake house to celebrate her bachelorette weekend with food, games, Mamma Mia, and all the catching up with far-flung friends. It was glorious.
Then in August, I grabbed a few close buddies and escaped down to the Morby beach house for a relaxed birthday weekend. It was incredibly, blessedly chill, full of coffee and reading and laughing and talking. We made more than a few trips to the beach, walked down to watch the sunset each evening, played games (a movie game AND a To All the Boys game), made homemade pizza, and watched Taskmaster. Though we never ventured into town, I think this low-key time away was just what we all needed. (As Melissa put it, "All I want to do is sit on the deck and drink coffee." And we did.)
Finally, early in the fall Ellie and I booked a room at a charming hotel in Dallas with pink doors, twinkling string lights, and a sparkling pool. We spent our time reading in the pool, reading next to the pool, eating good food, and watching Cobra Kai. We never left the hotel grounds and I still find myself longing for a repeat visit. (Ellie?)
1. Double Family Vacays
The very best people, in one of my very favorite places. If I had to pick a bright spot for the year, as I've been doing for each day, this would be it. And that we got to do it TWICE in 2020? All glory to God. Because it was dreamy, dreamy, dreamy. Trips to the beach and swimming at the club. Boat rides, catching crabs, flying kites, fishing, golf cart rides, catching crabs, playing card games, jumping in the canal, watching movies... Literally, what more could I want. What. More.
The last thing I want to do is leave the impression that my year was full of highs, or that I was exempt from the lows. This year took so much from me—from all of us, of course—and we won't be forgetting its effects anytime soon. The important thing to remember is that there are bright spots, even if they're as mundane as morning coffee, and that they're bestowed on us by the very One who holds this whole thing together. Be near, Oh Lord! (And open Broadway again as soon as you can, thanks SO very much.)
XOXO,
Val
