Amazon’s best-selling books of 2020, reviewed: ‘Normal People, ‘The Silent Patient’ and more
Having spent most of the year stuck indoors under lockdown and tiered restrictions, research has shown that far more of us have been sitting down with a good book as nearly all of our social plans have been cancelled.
According to a study by Nielsen Book’s , 41 per cent of people said they were reading more books since the beginning of lockdown, with a third reading more printed books and 18 per cent opting for e-books readers such as Amazon’s Kindles. Two-thirds of people also changed their preferred genres, with a rising interest found in crime, thrillers or popular fiction.
Amazon is a popular place to shop for new reads, thanks to its Prime next-day delivery service and wide range of titles. The online retailer has unveiled its best-selling books of 2020, many of which were written by women.
Here at IndyBest, we review books across all genres throughout the year. Whether it be the best books written by women, award-winning novels or the top cookbooks, chances are we’ve covered it.
With that said, we’ve reviewed eight of Amazon’s best-selling 2020 titles which we’ve listed below. They are perfect for cosying up on the sofa over Christmas or gifting to a loved one under the tree.
Whether you’re seeking engaging prose, lovable characters or a happy ending, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
You can trust our independent round-ups. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections. This revenue helps us to fund journalism across The Independent.
‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Bernardine Evaristo, published by Penguin Books: £7.37, Amazon
Author Bernardine Evaristo was awarded winner of the Booker Prize 2019 and shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2020 for her book Girl, Woman, Other which follows the lives of 12 black, British, cisgender and gender-queer women.
Landing a spot in our round-up of the best books to read in 2020, our reviewer said: “Illuminating an image of modern British life, it's about struggle, but also about love, sex, friendship, joy, and imagination.”
“Evaristo's powerful and compelling prose weaves through time and space with sheer originality. Its thanks to this unique voice that allows the reader to truly feel connected to the characters,” they added.
‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney, published by Faber & Faber: £4.50, Amazon
As the winner of multiple awards, Sally Rooney’s Normal People is one of the most popular titles in fiction, with accolades including the British Book Awards, the Costa novel award and Waterstones Book of the Year.
Our reviewer loved the story of two college friends who try to stay apart but find they can’t, describing the 28-year-old Irish novelist as “a millennial writer with millennial concerns.”
It’d make a brilliant Christmas gift for a keen reader whose particularly hard to buy for, or for anyone who loved the hugely popular BBC series adaptation.
‘Blood Orange’ by Harriet Tyce, published by Wildifie: £2, Amazon
Taking a spot in our guide to the best e-books to read during lockdown, this story features Alison, a barrister with a seemingly perfect life, with secrets lurking beneath the surface.
It’s soon revealed she is having an affair, drinking too much and neglecting her family, and eventually things implode.
“The characters in Harriet Tyce’s debut novel aren’t exactly likeable but Blood Orange is an electrifying read that will shock you to the very core. Domestic noir at its best,” our reviewer said.
'Where the Crawdads Sing’ by Delia Owens, published by Little Brown Book Group: £7.49, Waterstones
If you love a murder mystery novel, this coming-of-age book is sure to be hit, and was one of Amazon’s top 10 bestselling books during lockdown.
Set between 1952 and 1970, Kya Clarke is the main character as we follow her childhood and into a young adult in a North Carolina swamp. Having been abandoned by her family, Kya meets two local boys and that’s where the story begins.
“Character-driven, with a poignant sense of place and time, Where the Crawdads Sing is an animated story of a community beset by tragedy. It's painfully beautiful, and definitely worthy of being your next holiday read,” said our reviewer in our guide to 2020 summer reads, but it will keep you enthralled throughout winter too.
‘The Silent Patient’ by Alex Michaelides, published by Orion: £5.99, Amazon
Appearing in our best books of 2020, this is Alex Michaelides’s debut novel, who wrote the story of the protagonist Alicia Berenson while he was studying a postgraduate course in psychotherapy and working in a secure psychiatric unit.
Returning home to her fashion photographer husband one evening, Berenson shoots him dead. It becomes psychotherapist Theo Faber's mission to find out what happened that eventful night and why Alicia spends the next five years in total silence. Our reviewer described it as “a smart, sophisticated, psychological thriller.”
'The Flatshare’ by Beth O'Leary, published by Quercus: £6.86, Amazon
If you like feel-good fiction, you’ll love Beth O’Leary’s debut novel, as we did in our review of the best summer books.
Weaving through the woes of likable characters, Tiffy Moore and Leon Twomey start sharing a one bed flat due to a comical situation in which neither have met. Throw in horrible ex-boyfriends, Leon’s wrongly imprisoned brother, demanding jobs and chaos ensues.
If you’re looking for something light following a taxing year, this is the perfect Christmas gift to yourself.
‘Untamed: Stop Pleasing, Start Living’ by Glennon Doyle, published by Ebury Publishing: £12.99, Waterstones
This featured in our review of the best self-help books, which can often act as a form of self-care, helping you to normalise how you’re feeling and make you feel less alone if you’re struggling.
As our reviewer explained, Untamed: Stop Pleasing, Start Living begins with the line: "Four years ago, married to the father of my three children, I fell in love with a woman."
The book is a "the story of Doyle's awakening, which follows the dissolution of her marriage and how she found love with Abby Wambach, an American football player.”
It offers advice on how to embrace your best life without being unrealistically optimistic and we found it to be a helpful development guide with lots of nuggets of wisdom.
If that doesn’t convince you, singer Adele credited this self-help book as making her “brain shake and soul scream”, helping her to become “less stressed and dishevelled, confused and selfless".
'The Mirror & the Light' by Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate: £20, WHSmith
This book marks the final, spellbounding stop in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy, which explores the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell.
It’s a huge 912 pages long, meaning it will keep you busy into the new year and provide a much needed screen break while working from home in the coming months.
“Mantel's dazzling prose and ability to build such a rich historical context is uniquely powerful, making this one a classic not to be missed,” said our reviewer in our guide to the best summer holiday books.
For more reading recommendations, visit our guide to the award-winning books of 2020 to gift this Christmas
