2026 Reading Challenge

mark monday's Reviews > 2020 on Goodreads

2020 on Goodreads by Various
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bookshelves: super-private-journal

This was a trash year, but at least I read some good books.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

♈ House of ARIES | I am what I decide to be

Citadel of Fear- Francis Stevens: 3 stars
English Passengers- Matthew Kneale: 2 stars
Playing for Keeps- Mur Lafferty: 2 stars
The Human Division- John Scalzi: 3 stars
Back Passage- James Lear: 2 stars
The Men Inside- Barry Malzberg: 2 stars
Sex Criminals- Fraction and Zdarsky: 4 stars

♉ House of TAURUS | sign of the Lover

World of Edena- Mœbius: 4 stars
Cloven Hooves- Megan Lindholm: 3 stars
Mariette in Ecstasy- Ron Hansen: 4 stars
Wyllard's Weird- Mary Braddon: 3 stars
Madame Xanadu- Matt Wagner: 2 stars
Georgette Heyer: Devil's Cub & Arabella: 3.5 & 4 stars

♊ House of GEMINI | "...listening to you talking in rhymes"

Newuniversal 1959- Kieron Gillen: 3 stars
Through Darkest Pondelayo- Joan Lindsay: 2 stars
Trouble for Lucia- E.F. Benson: 3 stars
Jack Vance: Augmented Agent & Ports of Call: 4 stars
Out of the Garden- Colin MacInnes: 4 stars
Throne of Bones- Brian McNaughton: 4.5 stars
House of Leaves- Mark Danielewski: 2 stars

♋ House of CANCER | I feel

Lights of Barbrin- Joseph Burgo: 4 stars
Red Moon & Black Mountain- Joy Chant: 4 stars
14- Peter Clines: 3 stars
Disturbed by Her Song- Tanith Lee: 3 stars
Labyrinth- Lois Bujold: 3.5 stars
E.C. Tubb: Jondelle, Mayenne, Veruchia: 3 stars
All Flesh is Grass- Clifford Simak: 2 stars
How to Be an Antiracist- Ibram X. Kendi: 4 stars

♌ House of LEO | big dick energy

Secret Commonwealth- Philip Pullman: 3 stars
Mystery of Rio- Alberto Mussa: 2 stars
Macroscope- Piers Anthony: 4 stars
Valentine Pontifex- Robert Silverberg: 4.5 stars
Memories of Ice- Steven Erikson: 3.5 stars
Skippy Dies- Paul Murray: 1 star
Haunted- Joyce Carol Oates: 3 stars

♍ House of VIRGO | sign of this reader

5 stars:
The Overnight by Ramsey Campbell
Frederica by Georgette Heyer
Strange Cargo by Jeffrey Barlough
The Marvellous Land of Snergs by E.A. Wyke
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey
Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia K. McKillip
Providence by Alan Moore

♎ House of LIBRA | beauty is as beauty does

Greenwood Faun- Nina Antonia: 4 stars
Swimming Pool- Mary Rinehart: 2 stars
Emerald Princess- Felicien Champsaur: 3 stars
Black Ambrosia- Elizabeth Engstrom: 3 stars
Answered Prayers- Truman Capote: 1 star
Elizabeth- Ken Greenhall: 4 stars
Damask of the Dead- John Gale: 2 stars

♏ House of SCORPIO | Investigator meets Abyss

Friendly Examiner 2- Louis Marvick: 3 stars
Goose of Hermogenes- Ithell Colquhoun: 3 stars
Shadowland- Peter Straub: 1 star
Revenants & Maledictions- Peter Bell: 4 stars
Class Trip- Emmanuel Carrère: 4 stars
Lingard- Colin Wilson: 3 stars
Eden- Stanisław Lem: 3 stars
House of the Wolf- Basil Copper: 3 stars

♐ House of SAGITTARIUS | fuck ur feedback!

Forever War- Joe Haldeman: 3 stars
Johnnie Sahib- Paul Scott: 4 stars
Burden Kansas- Alan Ryker: 2 stars
City of Bones- Cassandra Clare: 3 stars
Robin's Fragility- Robin DiAngelo: 1.5 stars
Hush, Hush- Becca Fitzpatrick: 2 stars
NextWave- Warren Ellis: 2 stars
Skye O'Malley- Bertrice Small: 3 stars

♑ House of CAPRICORN | still waters, running deeply

Dark Palazzo- Virginia Coffman: 4 stars
You'll Know When You Get There- Lynda Rucker: 2 stars
Inversions- Iain Banks: 4.5 stars
Pavane- Keith Roberts: 4 stars
Pallaksch, Pallaksch- Liliane Giraudon: 3 stars
Saints & Strangers- Angela Carter: 3.5 stars
Glassblower's Children- Maria Gripe: 4 stars
A High Wind in Jamaica- Richard Hughes: 3 stars

♒House of AQUARIUS | "ground control to Major Tom..."

Seduction of the Golden Pheasant- D. Murphy: 4 stars
The Benefactor- Susan Sontag: 2 stars
John Masefield: Midnight Folk & Box of Delights: 4 stars
The Divine Invasion- Philip K. Dick: 4 stars
Children of the Crimson Sun- Karim Ghahwagi: 3.5 stars
The Gods Themselves- Isaac Asimov: 3 stars
Divinity Student- Michael Cisco: 4 stars
Blood Music- Greg Bear: 4 stars

♓ House of PISCES | the sign of self-undoing

Flight into Egypt- Philipe Jullian: 3 stars
A Vintage From Atlantis- Clark Ashton Smith: 4 stars
The Last Carnival- Alexandra Ellis: 2 stars
On the Hill of Roses- Stefan Grabiński: 3 stars
Parasites- Daphne du Maurier: 3 stars
All Souls- Frances Oliver: 3 stars
Seed of Evil- Edmund Plante: 2.5 stars
Tales of Love & Death- Robert Aickman: 3.5 stars
Ice- Anna Kavan: 4.5 stars


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Reading Progress

January 4, 2020 – Started Reading
January 4, 2020 – Shelved
Finished Reading
December 29, 2020 – Shelved as: super-private-journal

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Comments Showing 1-24 of 24 (24 new)

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message 1: by mark (new) - rated it 3 stars
May 22, 2020 03:00AM

mark monday ARIES: these young-souled books are excited to tell stories like they've never been told before - or so they imagine

TAURUS: let's drown in the sea of love!

GEMINI: the author is a clever sort, and likes to show it

CANCER: sensitive emotions on, sometimes buried, but always on

LEO: the author is completely confident in their abilities, perhaps complacent, always charismatic

VIRGO: practically perfect in every way, much like this sign

LIBRA: Beauty has many definitions, and many costs

SCORPIO: "hello darkness, my old friend"

SAGITTARIUS: these books don't care what you think, you're living in their world; this can be annoying

CAPRICORN: never judge a story by its synopsis

AQUARIUS: reaching for something higher, something beyond

PISCES: 'tis the inevitable destiny of humankind to fuck itself in the end; we are our own worst enemy!


message 2: by Cookie M. (new) - rated it 4 stars
May 25, 2020 12:27PM

Cookie M. Unique, fun way to catalog your reading year, Mark.


message 3: by mark (new) - rated it 3 stars
May 25, 2020 03:38PM

mark monday thanks! I always strive to keep myself entertained.


message 4: by RJ - Slayer of Trolls (new) - rated it 4 stars
Dec 27, 2020 07:32PM

RJ - Slayer of Trolls Any year with Vance and PKD is a pretty good year, even with House of Leaves weighing it down. Thanks for reminding me I need to track down a copy of Ice.


message 5: by mark (new) - rated it 3 stars
Dec 28, 2020 02:07PM

mark monday RJ, I appreciate your glass-half-full approach. Cheers to you and happy new year!


message 6: by Tim (new) - added it
Dec 29, 2020 08:30PM

Tim Nice list! On the subject of Philip K. Dick, I only read three this year. Need to read more next. :)


message 7: by Algernon (new) - rated it 4 stars
Dec 30, 2020 08:13AM

Algernon bummed to see English Passengers was a dud. I am still planning to read it, after enjoying Pilgrims this year.
And Yay !!! for Alphabet of Thorns. This gem deserves more exposure.

I will continue to pick and choose from your list, so thanks for putting all the interesting stuff in one place.


message 8: by spikeINflorida (new)
Dec 30, 2020 08:58AM

spikeINflorida Forever War 3 stars? Sacrilege!


message 9: by mark (new) - rated it 3 stars
Dec 30, 2020 01:37PM

mark monday spikeINflorida wrote: "Forever War 3 stars? Sacrilege!"

Keep in mind I consider 3 stars to mean I Liked It! Forever War is a perfectly fine novel that I would recommend, but have no inclination to reread.


message 10: by mark (new) - rated it 3 stars
Dec 30, 2020 01:47PM

mark monday Algernon (Darth Anyan) wrote: "bummed to see English Passengers was a dud. I am still planning to read it, after enjoying Pilgrims this year.
And Yay !!! for Alphabet of Thorns. This gem deserves more exposure ..."

Patricia K. McKillip is one of the very best. I try to read at least one book by her per year. I need to pick up the pace though, that's too few!

Algernon, if you haven't read it, I'd like to recommend to you Golden Hill by Francis Spufford. It's not an adventure like English Passengers, and is quite dissimilar except for its ironic tone, but I thought it was a wonderful book! I wonder what you'd think of it.


message 11: by mark (new) - rated it 3 stars
Dec 30, 2020 01:54PM

mark monday Tim wrote: "Nice list! On the subject of Philip K. Dick, I only read three this year. Need to read more next. :)"

Thanks! Sad to say, I only read one, foiling my own plans to read Our Friends from Frolix 8 or to reread either Maze of Death or Clans of the Alphane Moon. But at least I enjoyed Divine Invasion. Next year I look forward to finishing that trilogy.


message 12: by spikeINflorida (new)
Dec 30, 2020 02:08PM

spikeINflorida Yeah I know...I totally get that. Just being a loyal Haldeman fan boy. I noticed your high rating for Banks' Inversions. Love Culture...must read more. Happy (and healthy) New Year, Mark!


message 13: by mark (new) - rated it 3 stars
Dec 30, 2020 02:28PM

mark monday :) Happy New Year to you as well, Spike! I hope 2021 is a good one for you.


message 14: by Kirk (new)
Jan 02, 2021 01:52PM

Kirk Hey mark, Happy New Year, weirdly 2020 was fairly good to me though at times hard to notice that. I'm no longer your neighbor in Oakland as we finally managed to move to the UK. Keep the fire burning in the Bay Area but not literally as I still remember Orange Sky Day last September. As ever your reading promiscuity is impressive!


message 15: by mark (new) - rated it 3 stars
Jan 02, 2021 02:27PM

mark monday Happy New Year to you as well, Kirk! I was wondering if you ever made that move. Glad to hear you did! especially glad that 2020 was good to you. You are now #4 on my list of people or families that actually did well during the year. A short list but it makes me happy that last year did not fuck over everyone. It was definitely a bad year for me, possibly the worst year of my life. Could be recency bias though, I suppose. At least my work was very satisfying despite being especially busy (training volunteers during a pandemic attained a new level of importance in SF). and I read some good books!


message 16: by Kirk (new)
Jan 02, 2021 03:01PM

Kirk Ugh, sorry to hear, hope you're at least safe and healthy, and those closest to you. 19 more days til the stupidest attempted coup ever is done, then it'll just be a pandemic to terrify us.


message 17: by mark (new) - rated it 3 stars
Jan 02, 2021 04:00PM

mark monday :) that's not quite glass-half-full, but I'll take it!


message 18: by Lisa (new)
Jan 05, 2021 05:10PM

Lisa Vegan mark, Thanks for this great review. I loved seeing your book lists in one place.

I've never read these year summary reviews here but decided to read the 2020 ones by my friends.

I haven't even started a new book yet in 2021 but might write one of these for 2021.


message 19: by mark (new) - rated it 3 stars
Jan 05, 2021 06:49PM

mark monday Thanks Lisa, glad you enjoyed the lists!

I really failed this year with providing an actual review, if it can even be called that. For past editions, I've enjoyed providing an overview of what went on in my life throughout the year, along with a summary of notable books that I read. Just didn't feel inspired to do that for 2020. But that also means I had room to list all of the books I've read within the actual review space, which I haven't had room for in past entries due to me going on a bit.

I hope you do write one for this year. I enjoy going through my friends' "reviews" of their year in books. Haven't really gone through them yet, but plan to sometime this week.


message 20: by Lisa (new)
Jan 05, 2021 07:39PM

Lisa Vegan mark wrote: "Thanks Lisa, glad you enjoyed the lists!

I really failed this year with providing an actual review, if it can even be called that. For past editions, I've enjoyed providing an overview of what wen..."

mark, I should’ve been reading them all along but at this point I don’t think I have the energy to go back and read previous years. Maybe someday. Maybe you will write more for 2021.


message 21: by Jaidee (new) - rated it 5 stars
Jan 09, 2021 06:09AM

Jaidee Moon in Pisces Man !

Wishing you an excellent reading year and hope next year is better for all of us !


message 22: by mark (new) - rated it 3 stars
Jan 09, 2021 08:16PM

mark monday Well that's fun, my Moon is in Pisces too! Which of course means we are both sensitive, empathetic, spiritually advanced, in touch with our feminine side... yet also prone to melancholy, mood swings, and sudden bursts of intense emotion. Which is even more fun!

What's your Sun sign? oh wait nevermind, I just checked out your profile. Hello, Aquarius! great sign.


message 23: by Kaya (new)
Jan 25, 2021 04:09AM

Kaya Beautifully organized! Looking forward to following your reads of 2021


message 24: by mark (new) - rated it 3 stars
Jan 26, 2021 11:14PM

mark monday thanks Kaya!


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