The Certainly Most Definitive List of the 12 Best Novels Due Out in 2020

Based on an entirely unscientific survey of the 2020 Best Books lists now crowding the internet

Photo by Renee Fisher on Unsplash

I love lists, and my to-read list would likely be miles long if I were ever to print it out. What I don’t love are all the lists that erupt every January online promising to provide the ultimate guide to the best books I could possibly read in the new year.

Problem is, there’s no way I could read all the books hailed as the best books of the year, not even in a year.

So I thought I’d take a quick look at just some of this year’s January lists of the best books due to be published, consider only the novels (which I love — but I also love short story collections, and biographies, and memoirs, and poetry and essay collections…), and limit my list to 12 novels, one new book for each month. Completely doable, right?

So Many BOOKS

So I thought. Then I Googled “best books 2020 lists” — and was confronted by two dozen lists. TWO DOZEN, some listing more than two dozen (or more!) titles! But fear not, because I’ve got nothing better to do than compile this list for you (and me). Except, that is, to read the book I need to finish for this week’s book club meeting…