2020 Book Reviews
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I have always wanted to get into reading but, I truly have never had the attention span for it. My New Year’s resolution going into 2020 was to read more - I have a serious problem where I buy a ton of books (which are not cheap) and then never read any of them. I am going to attempt to read as many as I can this year and leave a quick book review on them for you guys so you can hear my thoughts. I will admit that I started the year off slow but, I definitely took advantage of quarantine and started getting into it. I am super impressed with myself, considering in the past three years I think I read a total of one book. So… let’s get into the reviews!
(Related Post - Read My 2021 Reviews Here!)
The Silence of the Girls - Pat Barker
★ ★ ★ ★★ 5/5 Stars
Such an interesting story, especially if you are into history. This book dives deep into the lives of the women of the Trojan War, which is something I had never thought about, but I was immediately intrigued. For someone who knows just the very basics of the Trojan War, it was very easy to follow along and keep up with the characters. I gave this five stars because I was pulled in from the very beginning and was a pretty quick read since the book is fairly short.
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 4/5 Stars
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
I will admit that after seeing that episode of You on Netflix where they roast Dan Brown in the book store, I wanted to read one of his books. I actually really enjoyed this book; it is pretty suspenseful because they are on the run from the cops the whole time while trying to solve a mystery. I am really into art history (I actually have a minor in it) so this book was really interesting to me, as it incorporated a lot of artwork as well as other historical information. I would rate this a 4 out of 5 because I really liked the story but it was difficult to get through only because I have seen the movie like 5 times so I already knew what was going to happen.
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 4/5 Stars
This is Not a Fashion Story - Danielle Bernstein
When I say I read this book in 3 days, I am not joking. I definitely hopped on the bandwagon buying this book, and do not regret it since it was a really good read. It is only around 200 pages so it is a fast read and Danielle is really funny and conversational so it will keep you entertained. I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I began to lose steam and interest in the end. This is my own personal opinion, since I am 22 I was much more invested in her beginning chapters when she was younger and couldn’t relate as much to the topics nearing the end.
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 3/5 Stars
The Picture of Dorian Gray is such an interesting story and a great book to read if you are just getting into classic novels. Since this is a gothic novel, the language was a bit hard to get through at points but, it is pretty short so you power through it fairly quickly. This is Wilde’s only novel that he ever wrote and it was very “scandalous” when it was released which is funny because it is pretty mellow compared to books now. I am giving this 3 stars because the story itself is really good but the wording of the novel was not my favorite.
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ 2/5 Stars
My 2020 tour of Dan Brown books continues with The Lost Symbol. As you can see I did give this 2 out of 5 stars and while the setup and writing are the same as his others, this story was just not for me. I love all the history and information but the storyline that went along with it was not my thing, so this was not my favorite. The story did take a while to build up and it just wasn’t as exciting and climactic as I thought it would be.