1. Northern Lights - Philip Pullman

First read

2. Magenta - Sara Jolene

First read

Written by sarsar14!

V unsettling, I approve. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, something unexpected would happen and everything landed on its head

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3. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

Reread

I read this once when I was very small and didn't really remember anything other than 'nothing happens until the end when someone shoots a gun and someone goes deaf'. OH HOW WRONG I WAS. The beginning is a hard slog, but once you hit the middle it's so worth it. The characters are SO PURE and I can't BELIEVE I remembered someone going deaf over what actually happens at the end because The End Is Not Okay! D:<

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4. Northwood - Brian Falkner

The grammar was a bit sloppy in places, but the story was quirky and fun. All in all, I enjoyed it. This one was also written by a New Zealander

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5. Brambly Hedge - Jill Barklem

First read

it's so soft ;-; this was my sister's third birthday present so I thought I'd better read it. It has all the rosy, comfortable atmosphere of Beatrix Potter and I love it

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6. Swiss Family Robinson - Johann David Wyss

Reread

This story is v wholesome and I appreciate it. I didn't remember how ott the island is, and discovering it amused me. It's essentially All The Continents mushed into one "island". Kangaroos, buffaloes, elephants, hyenas, European and Asian birds, and New Zealand flax. Plus rock that's conveniently soft enough to cut through, and things like salt grottos and conveniently-beached whales. Fantastic. I love it. As unrealistic as it is, it's exactly the sort of thing that people as writers want to explore, and I adore the gentle love the family have for each other. The father cries when the situation calls for it, the mother is tough and independent, and the boys are upstanding lil blokes. The movie was the complete opposite, it was honestly disgusting. Don't watch it.

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Honourary mentions:

1. Children of the Sky - Amelia Rain

First read

Written by ChildOfThe1TruKing!

I didn't actually start this in 2020 - that was way back in 2018. But I did finish reading it in 2020, so it counts. The characters are as vivid as they were in the first book, and I look forward to seeing how the story continues to grow. The downside to reading a book over the course of two years is the amount of information I forget between starting and finishing, so one of these days I'm going to have to sit down and read the whole thing from cover to cover!

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2. The Ruins of Gorlan - John Flanagan

Reread

I'd forgotten how wholesome this story is ngl. Love 'em. This one I started in the last days of 2020. I would have been able to finish it before 2021 ordinarily, but life was a bit too busy (and then on the 31st after work I couldn't find it, rip).

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Final tally:

Books begun:
45

Books ended:
46

Total books completed completely in 2020:
44

Books read at all:
47

Remaining books on the list:
9