Color My Happy Reads: Book Club 2020

Join the 2020 Color My Happy Book Club and make reading a bigger part of your life in the coming year. The book club is online, free, easy to join, and includes a wide variety of books. Sign-up and get a free printable tracking chart of the year’s books.

It’s no secret that I love to read! Like, love love LOVE it. My house is filled with books. I’m a writer and my dream is to have my own books published one day. And my favorite date nights are spent at Barnes and Noble (you can find fun bookstore date ideas here and here).

I started an in-person book club several years ago with one of my writing friends and it was so much fun! But, over time, it fizzled out. I’ve thought of started another one many times, but life just seems to busy to commit to that right now. But an online book club? That I can do!

After doing some polls on Instagram, it seemed like it was something others wanted too! So I decided to run with it!

How the Color My Happy Book Club Works

The book club will take place over on Instagram. On the last Thursday of every month, I’ll spend some time on stories (or maybe a live) talking about the book. I’ll discuss the book, share thoughts from others, conduct some fun polls or questions about the book, and create some fun book quote phone backgrounds or story shares. If it’s a nonfiction, I’ll also share some ideas for how to implement what was taught.

I’ll also put up an Instagram post up with some discussion questions for others to weigh in on in the comments section.

How I Chose the Books

I love to read middle grade (novels for kids)** and young adult (novels for teens), as well as adult fiction and nonfiction. So I included a mix of all 4 (3 of each type).

**If you haven’t read middle grade literature since you were a kid, boy are you missing out! When I tell people I read lots of novels for kids, I get some weird looks. But I promise you, children’s literature has some of the best books ever written. They are deep and meaningful, full of heart and love and imagination and wonder and emotion, and tackle some really important subjects. Trust me–middle grade is the best!

I also tried to include various genres–romance, contemporary, sci-fi, fantasy, historical, etc.

Once I felt I had a good variety, I added them to the month’s that made the most sense to me.

Note: I prefer to read books that go no higher than a PG-13 level rating. That being said, I wanted to read these books alongside you, so I haven’t read any of the books on this list. With that in mind, I can’t speak personally to the quality or content of any of them. I did do the best I could to choose books recommended by people I trust and to research content as best I could beforehand, and to choose books I believe will have quality, fairly clean content.

2020 Color My Happy Book Club List

January: Atomic Habits by James Clear

I’ve heard nothing but good things about Atomic Habits since it was released. With the new year, I thought January was the perfect time to read a book all about making and keeping good habits.

February: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

From what I’ve heard, My Lady Jane combines history, romance, comedy, and fantasy in the best of ways! I thought that made it the PERFECT February read!

March: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

March = Spring Break (at least where I live), which means it’s the best time to read some chick lit. I’ve heard SO MANY recommendations for What Alice Forgot and knew it had to be included on the list. It’s about time I read it!

April: The Someday Birds by Sally J. Pla

The summary for The Someday Birds has all the makings of some of my very favorite middle grade reads. I can’t WAIT to dive into this one!

May: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

The Secret Keeper was another one that I’ve seen MULTIPLE recommendations for. It was another must-add!

June: Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Love and Gelato looks like a cute, clean young adult romance. Plus, it’s set in Italy! I mean, is that the perfect summer read or what?

July: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I grew up watching and loving the movie version of A Little Princess, but I’ve never read the book version. I knew I wanted to add a classic children’s book to my book club list and thought this would be the perfect, imaginative and heartfelt addition!

August: How to Raise a Reader by Pamela Paul and Maria Russo

With school either back in session (where I live) or coming up soon, I thought August was the perfect time to read a parenting book all about reading. And How to Raise a Reader looks like an amazing one!

September: Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

Dear Edward was my Book of the Month pick for December 2019 (even though it’s technically not released until January), but I thought this was a good one to save for the 2020 book club. It looks so interesting!

October: Extreme Makeover by Dan Wells

All the reviews I read about Extreme Makeover said that it was intense and creepy, so it sounded like the perfect October read. The color on the cover is what sold me on it (the version I have is a fun, neon pink), but the concept sounds SO intriguing!

November: Storybound by Marissa Burt

As soon as I read the description for Storybound, I was hooked! It sounds like so much fun!

December: Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

I couldn’t get through a year of books without including a Brené Brown book, right? I can’t wait to dive into Daring Greatly!

Join the Book Club

If you want to join the book club, sign-up below and I’ll send you a free book club tracking chart. You’ll also receive a special book club email each month.

And if you post on social media about the books you read from the list above, use #CMHbookclub so we can all follow along!

Which book are you most excited about?

Britney is a wife and mom with a passion for helping other women see the good inside of them. She loves podcasts, polka dots, and dancing around the kitchen with her family.