That One Year I Read 40 Books… All By Black Women.

8,645 pages read.

Your girl did it. Multiple funerals, mental health issues, leave from work, and just being a whole busybody, but I did it. I knocked down 40 books in 2020. What made my reads even more special was the fact that every single book I read in 2020 was written by a Black woman. Famous Black women. Established authors. Breakout authors. African authors. Caribbean authors. British authors. American authors. Fat authors. All of it.

It was such an incredible journey and overall, they were pretty good. When I checked my Goodreads’ rating from my 2020 reads, my average rating was 4.2 out of 5. I also made sure to be intentional with diversifying the genres. I am such a lover of non-fiction reads (remember, I have an English, Africana Studies, and a Human & Social Development minor) but when COVID came and then my godfather passed, I quickly switched to fiction. I actually stopped reading for about 2 months after he passed but when I came back to Dallas in August after being in New Jersey for the summer, I picked back up my habit.

What helped me out a lot was my digital book subscriptions. Because I have a Dallas Public Library card, I was able to download Libby and OverDrive for free. Then, I was introduced to Scribd and Amazon threw me a free Kindle unlimited trial. How could I say no? But the app that really kept my reading on track was Bookly. This app lets you set goals for completion, reading time, tracks your speed, and gives you badges for intrinsic motivation along the way. Yes, I am a whole 31-year-old woman but I like collecting digital ribbons. They bring me joy. *insert Kanye shrug*

Be sure to check out the books I read and add me on Goodreads! Between Goodreads and Instagram is where I get a lot of my recommendations.

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A Quick Rundown

Favorite fictional read?

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Favorite nonfictional read?

No, You Shut Up by Symone Sanders

Least favorite read?

Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

The book that surprised me in a good way?

More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth

The book that brought me joy?

The Mother of Black Hollywood by Jenifer Lewis

The book with an ending I didn’t expect?

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

A book I’d like to read again?

Things I Wish I Knew Before My Mother Died by Ty Alexander

The book that upset me the most?

If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson

A book that underwhelmed me?

Red At The Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

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My 2020 Reads in Chronological Order

1. Can We All Be Feminists?: New Writing from Brit Bennett, Nicole Dennis-Benn, and 15 Others on Intersectionality, Identity, and the Way Forward for Feminism by June Eric-Udorie

2. Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom

3. Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Monique W. Morris

4. This Bitter Earth (Sugar Lacey #2) by Bernice L. McFadden

5. A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland

   by DaMaris B. Hill

6. Influencer: Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media by Brittany Hennessy

7. Don't Play in the Sun: One Woman's Journey Through the Color Complex by Marita Golden

8. Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

9. The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

10. Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

11. The Mother of Black Hollywood: A Memoir by Jenifer Lewis

12. How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide by Crystal Marie Fleming

13. Everything Inside: Stories by Edwidge Danticat

14. Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat

15. We Want Our Bodies Back: Poems by Jessica Care Moore

16. Magical Negro by Morgan Parker

17. Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now by Maya Angelou

18. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

19. Things I Wish I Knew Before My Mom Died: Coping with Loss Every Day by Ty Alexander

20. More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say) by Elaine Welteroth

21. Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen

22. Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

23. Whatever Happened to Interracial Love? by Kathleen Collins

24. Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me by Maya Angelou

25. Tar Baby by Toni Morrison

26. Red At The Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

27. Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

28. If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson

29. Black Queer Hoe by Britteney Black Rose Kapri, Danez Smith

30. 32 Candles: A Novel by Ernessa T. Carter

31. The Art of Death: Writing the Final Story by Edwidge Danticat

32. So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo I did the audiobook.

33. Quicksand by Nella Larsen

34. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

35. Sanctuary: A Noire Immortals Story by Alexandria House

36. No, You Shut Up: Speaking Truth to Power and Reclaiming America by Symone D. Sanders I did the audiobook.

37. Are You Ready for the Yes?: How to Prep Your Personal Brand for Lucrative Opportunities by Audria Richmond

38. Zikora: A Short Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

39. Low Key Fallin For A Savage by J Dominique

40. Be Unapologetically You: A Self Love Guide for Women of Color by Adeline Bird, Delia Joseph

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Want to see more? Visit my Goodreads page! In the meantime, wish me luck as I shoot for 50 books in 2021! I’ve already completed 5 books this year so I am well on my way. #TutuReads50

Happy reading, y’all.