I’ve been plotting this blog post for awhile now, and I’m so excited to finally share it with you! Reading is a huge part of my life—I do the adult summer reading program at my library every year and pretty much plan my summer around what books I’m going to read. However, because I do so much of my reading in the summer, it’s been SO hard for me to just hit publish on this post without adding more and more titles.

I’ll basically read anything I can get my hands on, including the dated magazines in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, but this year I set a resolution to read as many classics as possible. My original resolution was to dedicate 2020 to reading classics exclusively, but as the year has passed, I couldn’t deny myself the pleasure of reading other types of literature—namely, YA fiction. I have a soft spot for it! What can I say?

I tossed around the idea of writing a little summary for each book/series that I’ve read in 2020 so far, but decided that would end up being the longest blog post in history. Instead, I grouped books by genre. If one of these titles piques your interest, feel free to message me for a quick synopsis—no spoilers, of course.

The best YA Fiction series or novels I’ve read so far this year:

• Renegades by Marissa Meyer

• Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

• The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

• Arc of a Scythe series by Neal Shusterman

The best classic novels I’ve read so far this year:

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

• Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

• The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

The best nonfiction classics I’ve read so far this year:

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

• Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

There’s one final book worth mentioning, even though it doesn’t fit into any of the categories above. Around a month ago, my sister-in-law gave us a copy of The Prisoner in the Third Cell by Gene Edwards. It’s a short, powerful little book about the life of John the Baptist that essentially poses the question: Will you follow a God who doesn’t live up to your expectations? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this book found its way into our hands during this season. So many of us are suffering from crushed expectations and broken spirits due to Covid, racial injustice, and many other circumstances. This book definitely provided me with some peace, and I hope it does the same for you.