Are you ready to say goodbye to 2020? I certainly am.

While this “annus horribilis”—to borrow a phrase from Queen Elizabeth—has been marked by a devastating pandemic, an economic crisis, and a divisive election, there have been bright spots. When we could manage to stop doomscrolling and actually focus on reading, the books we spent time with offered respite from the real world—or helped make better sense of it. I was struck, while watching the National Book Awards ceremony last month, when young people’s literature judge Joan Trygg remarked on the “possibly sanity-saving privilege of having a large stack of books to read” and the lively literary discussions that she shared with fellow judges. “When I look back on the year 2020, a year I’m sure we’d all like to edit, I’m grateful I will have these memories to keep,” Trygg said. Most bibliophiles can relate.

In a previous column, I shared a list of some of the books that brightened my year. This time around, I’d like to recognize some of the other literary phenomena that made 2020 bearable:

E-books and audiobooks. I make every effort to order books from indie bookstores and frequently request physical galleys from publishers when I need that tactile sensation. But living and working out of a small Brooklyn apartment means I simply don’t have the space to house every galley or finished book I might need in the course of doing my job for Kirkus (even with the snazzy wall-mounted Ikea bookshelves I installed this summer). Reading things digitally became a necessity—and I discovered that I actually enjoyed the ability to immediately summon whatever title I needed (not to mention search within it). Meanwhile, audiobooks provided a welcome hiatus from eyestrain. My first love is and always will be the printed book. But isn’t it nice to have options?

Online author events. There’s no substitute for seeing your favorite writer in person and getting a signed copy of their latest book. And surely we’ve all reached maximum Zoom fatigue. But when bookstore events moved online in the spring, it did open up a world of possibilities, no matter where you resided. How else could I have made it Houston’s Brazos Bookstore to see Edmund White discuss A Saint From Texas (Bloomsbury, Aug. 4) with Kirkus contributor Michael Schaub? Would I have jetted all the way to Portland, Oregon, to catch Kerri Arsenault in conversation with editor at large Megan Labrise about Mill Town: Reckoning With What Remains (St. Martin’s, Sept. 1) at Powell’s Books? Can’t keep up with all these virtual opportunities? BuzzFeed’s Arianna Rebolini rounds up some of the best every week.

Literary podcasts. Once you’re done reading books and attending virtual author events, what’s a quarantined bibliophile to do? Listen to a podcast. Kirkus’ own Fully Booked, convivially hosted by Megan Labrise, is required listening, of course. (Stick around after the featured author interview for the editors’ roundtable, where my colleagues recommend their favorite new books each week.) But why stop there? Some podcasts that feature among my regular downloads are The Maris Review, hosted by friendly, in-the-know Maris Kreizman (her guests this year included David Sedaris, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Brandon Taylor); So Many Damn Books, where hosts Christopher Hermelin and Drew Broussand offer drink recipes and author interviews (Rumaan Alam, Quan Barry, Hilary Leichter); and AAWW Radio, the podcast of the Asian American Writers Workshop (recent guests include Akwaeke Emezi, Elizabeth Acevedo, K-Ming Chang, and Mira Jacob).

Thanks to all the organizers and creators who sustained us in 2020—and here’s to a brighter 2021.

Tom Beer is the editor-in-chief.