Well, well, so it is the last day of this horrible 2020. I had so many hopes for this year. A new decade, the Happy Twenties, new hopes, new projects… And everything we hoped for just went down the toilet thanks to a global pandemia. 2019 had been such a bad year for both my husband and myself at so many levels that we couldn’t imagine 2020 could be any worse. Well, guess what? Can you all say “pandemia”? Yep, it could and was worse than 2019.

However, I’m also grateful for some things, because, if this year has taught me something, is that you can always make delicious lemonade even if the lemons are extra sour.

For example, I’m Asperger and certain situations really make me go into a full-on panic attack, followed by anxiety issues that can last for weeks. Well, this year I have learnt to control those better. How? By understanding that the situation we were living was absolutely out of my control. And when you cannot control something, it doesn’t make any sense to fret about it. So 2020 is the year when I have managed to handle certain situations in a better way.

Another example. I have always felt terrified of talking on the phone and being in front of a camera. Don’t ask me why, just Asperger stuff. Since it was impossible for me to see friends and family members in person, I have overcome my fear and now I can do videocalls, Skype and Zoom meetings, and other stuff like that without problems. So yay for not feeling anxious every time I have to make a phone call!

2020 is also the year that made me understand that I am stronger than I thought. Because of his work, my husband had to travel to the States in May, while I had to stay in Spain because I wasn’t allowed to travel due to the restrictions. Originally, he was going to be there only for two weeks and I was like, “Oh yeah, sure, I can handle two weeks of being in the apartment by myself”. No biggie, eh? Guess what? His two-weeks trip turned into five months. Did I have some meltdowns? Sure. Did I manage to get a grip and control them to the point that I didn’t have them any more? Yes, I did. Don’t get me wrong, it was awful to be separated from my husband for so long, but crying in every corner of the apartment wasn’t going to bring him back home sooner, right? So thank you, stupid 2020, for making me stronger.

But I digress. Like a lot. Let’s get to the important thing here. Books. Due to the uncertainty of the coronavirus situation, I haven’t been as focused as any other year. Sometimes it was difficult for me to sit down and read a book, so I have watched a lot of TV and Netflix. Why? Because that didn’t require the same mental effort as reading a book. I had a Goodreads Goal of reading 150 books, but I only managed to read 125. To me that’s a huge success, because I honestly thought I wasn’t going to go over the 100 mark. But I managed to finish another challenge I was doing, and that made me feel quite accomplished.

Without further ado, I present to you all the books I have managed to read this year. How about you? Did you read more, less, or about the same as any other year? Have you read any of the books listed below? I want to know! Hit me with your comments!

And if you have made it this far on this long post, I want to wish you an amazing new year, full of happiness, laughter, and great books.