Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

Dear John was my first ever novel read by Nicholas Sparks. I was warned by my youngest sister that the book will disappoint me towards the end, but I still pushed through reading it. Now I know what she means.

This book has a tragic ending that will make you ask “why?” It can’t end that way. It just can’t.

It left me with so many questions and definitely not the ending I anticipated from author Nicholas Sparks. 

The story of John Tyree and Savannah Curtis who found love one summer. As great as their love story is, they had to go separate ways as John is part of the U.S. Armed Force. Their relationship was tested time and time again with the turns of events including the September 11 Attack. 

Just when John thought everything between them had ended, they met again. And it even opened more wounds than before. Now, Savannah is married with kids and surviving a battle of her own. 

If you are ready to fall in and out of love, this book is for you. Such an amazing read, but will leave you speechless in the end.

Never Let Me Go  by Kazuo Ishiguro

I remember while I was on a flight to Malaysia, I got to watch the movie adaptation of Never Let Me Go. It really made me curious as to how the book would unfold. And being a big dystopian-themed book lover that I am, I bought a copy and promised myself to read it one day.

And now I did and my jaws literally dropped with how this book was written. I’ve never read such a distressing storyline. 

Never Let Me Go presents the story of friends Katie, Tommy and Ruth who were friends/schoolmates at a boarding school called Hailsham. Hailsham was a school designed for students who were destined to be organ donors in their adult life.

This book was intense. As slow as the story is in the beginning, you don’t want to miss reading this book until the end. It was the saddest, most intense storyline ever. 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I picked up this book one day because it was on sale for 25% off. I also got curious with its title and the cover.

Christopher John Francis Boone, the main character and story-teller of the book has autism which made him hard to understand most of the time. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor's dog, Wellington, is killed. He puts it to himself to solve who killed Wellington. 

Little did Christopher know that Wellington’s death would unfold so many secrets not only in his family but also in the people around their neighborhood.

This is such an easy read. As light as it is in the beginning, it will soon present itself a whirlwind of emotions. 

Related read: Current Top 10 Books of All Time

Your Money or Your Life

This is my first ever self-help/personal finance book for the year. Saw it on Book Sale once and I didn’t think twice about buying it.

Your Money or Your Life is the very handbook you need if you want to change your money game. It goes from the basics to advance knowledge presenting you with nine steps you can do to achieve financial freedom.

There are concepts in this book that although I’ve been blogging about finances for so long, I didn’t know. From calculating your hourly rate to making budget categories aligned to what you really spend on. It also has a lot of financial templates inside that will help you in fixing what needs to get fixed in your finances. 

If you are looking for a financial book to read over this enhanced community quarantine, I highly recommend this book!

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

This is my second time to read Memoirs of a Geisha and I will not get tired reading it again. 

Memoirs of a Geisha is a historical novel written by an American author, Arthur Golden. The novel is told in a first-person perspective and portrays the life of a fictional geisha, Chiyo Sakamoto later takes the name of Sayuri, who became one of the most successful geisha in Kyoto, Japan.

This book will fulfill your time traveling dream. You literally see yourself living in the geisha district in Kyoto. The book is filled with vivid descriptions of people, places and events that will make you feel part of Sayuri’s failures and triumphs in life.

You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero

This book is actually part of my Big Bad Wolf Books haul for 2020 and something I’ve been wanting to get. Glad I was able to buy it at a low price since it is typically sold on bookstores for Php 700++. At the Big Bad Wolf Books, the price is only Php 230. 

This book is more of a change in your money mindset, something that we all need especially if we’re starting a new year. Jen provided so much insight on what making money really means. Of how it starts from wanting to change your current financial life today. If we are really into it, no excuses, no doubts, no fears will matter.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

This book is also something I can count as part of my best reads in 2020. It tackles Alice's journey to Alizheimer’s Disease. I like this book because it gives you so much perspective not only for the patient but also for the rest of the family. It provides a vivid description of the disease in a way that you can’t stop thinking about it. I found myself unable to put the book down which is amazing. 

Harry Potter 5-7

Finally!!!! I’m done reading the Harry Potter book series. 

One of my 30 before 30 bucket list is to finish reading the whole book set of Harry Potter. Last February 2019, I bought the entire book set during my first ever Big Bad Wolf Book Fair. It took me months before I finally started reading the series.

In 2019, I finished Book 1 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Book 2 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Book 3 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Book 4 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

For 2020, I finished Book 5 - Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, Book 6 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Book 7 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Wow. What a journey it has been reading these books. 

Read next: My Dystopian Books Collection

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

My first Agatha Christie book and boy was it sooooo gooood!!! The moment I finished The Harry Potter series, I knew I needed a good transitional book. I read a lot of good reviews about this book and one fine afternoon, I visited Fully Booked and finally got it.

This book didn’t disappoint at all. Yes, it was boring for the first two chapters but the rest of it will give you so many plot twists you’ll never know what’s going to happen next. The story line of this book closely resembles  a Detective Conan episode where a group of people visits an abandoned mansion and each one turns out dead for some reason. 

I really like it and recommend this to those who are looking for a one-of-a-kind reader experience.

The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison

I picked up this book at one of the second-hand book shops pre-pandemic. It interested me a lot because it was being compared to Gone Girl, a book I’ve always admired. 

In the story, Jodi Brett and Todd Gilbert seem to be the perfect couple until Todd’s infidelity to a younger woman was exposed. Jodi couldn’t believe that Todd could remove her from his life after so many years. She then paid a friend to take care of the situation. On a business trip to a different state, Jodi receives a call informing her that Todd is dead. 

True enough this book talks about marriage however it didn’t have that split plot twist that Gone Girl and/or The Girl on the Train offers. The story of The Silent Life for some reason quickly became a resemblance of The World of the Married, the Korean drama. 

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

I picked this book because of the intriguing title and the fact that it is again compared to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. This is actually an okay read. All the revelations took place at the end of the story, like literally the last 20 pages of the book.

Anna Fox, the main character in the story is unable to venture outside her home. Her everyday life includes drinking wine, watching old movies and spying on her neighbors. One day, the Russels, what seems to be a perfect family, moved into the house across. Days after Anna saw by the window a gruesome event happening to the mom. This changed Anna’s everyday life forever. 

If you’re into books with plot twists this book is for you. 

Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom

Have a Little Faith is the very first book I read of Mitch Albom. I just put this around the house and thought it could be an easy read, something I can finish quickly for my 2020 reading challenge. 

I didn’t expect anything from the book but after a few pages I found myself highlighting so many texts. Have a Little Faith based on two separate sets of conversations that took place between the author and members of the clergy: a rabbi in a relatively affluent section of New Jersey, and a Protestant minister in a very poor section of Detroit, Michigan. 

From his relationships with these two very different men of faith, Albom writes about the difference faith can make in the world.

This is such an amazing read I highly recommend reading. 

Murder of the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

I ready another Agatha Christie book just because I enjoyed And Then There Were None so much. 

Murder of the Orient Express revolves around a murder that took place in the Orient Express. Detective Hercule Poirot must then identify who among the group of people in the train is the killer in case he or she decides to strike again. 

I enjoyed reading this book just as much as I enjoyed And Then There Were None. I love the whole mystery and thrill it gives as to finding out who the killer is. 

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Last book I read in 2020 is Mitch Albom’s Tuesday with Morrie. Tuesdays with Morrie is a classic read and what I count as what one should definitely read throughout his or her lifetime. 

Tuesdays with Morrie is a memoir by American author Mitch Albom about a series of visits Albom made to his former sociology professor Morrie Schwartz, as Schwartz gradually dies of ALS. 

The storytelling of Mitch Albom is phenomenal. I also found myself highlighting sooooo much texts while reading this book. 

Overall

Although I fall short of my 2020 reading goal, I’m still grateful for the reading experience I had this year. I love that I’m already done with the Harry Potter book series. I also discovered both Agatha Christie and Mitch Albom, both of whom gave me my best reads for the year. 

That’s it for my books to read in 2020.