24 Books I Appreciated This Year and What You Need to Read

Jaceybonavia/ Climate, Lifestyle, Plastic, Wildlife, Zero Waste

At the very beginning of 2020, I set a goal to read 12 books. I am a slow reader, so this was a lofty, “stretch” goal. Yet, determined to reach that goal and to broaden my knowledge and expertise, I dedicated many of my evenings and weekends to reading. I read 24 books — doubling my goal!

If you are interested in purchasing any of these books, click on the affiliate links or images below. I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you buy from my links.

During 2020, I read the following books in this order:

1.  Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver
2. The F*ck It Diet: Eating Should Be Easy by Caroline Dooner
3. Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating by Christy Harrison
4. Call of the Wild by Jack London
5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
6. Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings
7. Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste by Bea Johnson
8. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
9. So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
10. Fat!So?: Because You Don’t Have to Apologize for Your Size by Marilyn Wann
11. Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System by Mary Appelhof and Joanne Olszewski
12. Landwhale: On Turning Insults Into Nicknames, Why Body Image Is Hard, and How Diets Can Kiss My Ass by Jes Baker
13. Big Girl: How I Gave Up Dieting and Got a Life by Kelsey Miller
14. 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste by Kathryn Kellogg
15. Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism by James W. Loewen
16. How to Give Up Plastic: A Guide to Changing the World One Plastic Bottle At a Time by Will McCallum
17. Building a Better World in Your Backyard: Instead of Being Angry at Bad Guys by Paul Wheaton and Shawn Klassen-Koop
18. In Defense of Sugar: The Sweet Truth about the Diet Industry’s Latest Evil by Joey Lott
19. I Am Her Tribe by Danielle Doby
20. Self Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Dr. Kristin Neff
21. Body Positive Power: Because Life is Already Happening and You Don’t Need Flat Abs to Live It by Megan Jayne Crabbe
22. All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson
23. Introduction to Permaculture by Bill Mollison
24. The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate (Illustrated Edition) by Peter Wohlleben

Depending on your interests, I would recommend most of these books for you. 

Recommended Books to Develop a Better Relationship with Nature

Based on the website you found this list on, I am guessing that you are interested in sustainability.

If you are interested in learning about the climate crisis, you will love All We Can Save. It is a powerful collection of essays and poems written by women with diverse experiences. Their stories kept me awake some nights, and everybody needs to hear them.

If you are interested in learning about plants, especially trees, and how they communicate with one another and interpret and respond to the world, you have to read The Hidden Life of Trees. I will never look at trees the same again. Now, they will forever be my nonhuman kin.

If you are interested in designing your life to mimic nature, conserve energy, regenerate the earth, and rely on a local economy, you will learn a lot from Intro to Permaculture and Worms Eat My Garbage.

If you are interested in zero waste, low waste, or plastic-free living, you will love Zero Waste Home, 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste, and How To Give Up Plastic. They give practical tips for reducing your waste. This will help you keep your home simple and decluttered, reduce your contribution to landfills, and reduce your reliance on extractive industries.

(If you are looking for more sustainability-focused books, I highly recommend checking out Chelsea Green Publishing. If you use this affiliate link, I will receive a small commission for your purchase at no extra cost to you!)

Recommended Books to Develop a Better Relationship with Food and Your Body

If you are interested in anti-diet resources, I highly recommend Anti Diet and The F*ck It Diet. You can read my review of Anti Diet here and my review of The F*ck It Diet here.

If you are interested in the history of fatphobia and its connections to racism, you will learn a lot from Fearing The Black Body. You can read my summary of Fearing the Black Body here.

If you want to read about experiences of fatphobia and fat positivity, read Fat!So?, Body Positive Power, Landwhale, and Big Girl. You can read my review of Fat!So? here.

Finally, if you are interested in self-compassion and mental health and well-being, it is no big surprise that you need to read Self-Compassion.

Recommended Books on Race and the Evils of Racism

If you are interested in purchasing any of these books, click on the affiliate links or images below. I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you buy from my links.

If you want to read about this history of racism, especially anti-black racism, in the United States and of the development and maintenance of all-white towns, Sundown Towns is extremely enlightening.

As I mentioned above, if you are interested in the history of fatphobia and its connections to racism, you will learn a lot from Fearing The Black Body.

Finally, if you want to learn how to talk about race more effectively, you should definitely read So You Want to Talk About Race. No matter how anti-racist you believe you are or how good your intentions are, there is always room to develop into a better ally, or, better yet, co-conspirator.

Which of these books have you read? What did you think about the book(s) you read? What books do you recommend for me and other readers? Leave a comment or let me know on Facebook or Instagram!