What an utterly strange year. I'm not the first nor the hundredth to say it, but this one didn't go like I anticipated. But what will go on as in other years: my annual reading recap and recommendations.
Totals: 77 books-- 39 nonfiction/ 38 fiction
Page count: 27,648 pages-- 13,322 nonfiction / 14326 fiction
Top Ten Reads of 2020
1. The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles by Gary Krist
I loved this book. Loved it. I have tried a couple "city histories" over the years but none have really grabbed me like this one. Told mainly through the stories of three powerhouses in different segments of LA: movies (DW Griffith), infrastructure (William Mulholland), and mysticism (Aimee Semple McPherson), Gary Krist paid equal attention to each character and how they contributed to the culture Los Angeles is famous for today. I didn't want to put it down. It also made me want to visit sunny LA again.
2. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Perhaps the perfect quarantine novel. In 1922 Count Alexander is sentenced to spend the rest of his life in one hotel in Moscow. For the next thirty years we meet the guests, staff, and politicians whirling in and out of his circle as he muses on everything from poetry to the perfect dinner menu. But don't be fooled, it's not just thinking. The Count keeps busy with work, love, and the children of the hotel that find their way into his heart. It wasn't what I thought it would be, it was better.
3. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell
I love his podcast so it's no surprise that I greatly enjoyed this new book about communication, both what we think we're good at and what we're actually quite bad at. The audiobook version was produced in a podcast adjacent style, with interviewees reading their own sections where possible, which was also a nice touch. International espionage, alcohol and consent, and mistaking truth for lies, amid much more.
4. Grant by Ron Chernow
My first Ron Chernow biography! I've avoided this author throughout the years through a mix of wariness of the time commitment and the hype, but I'm glad I finally dove in. I've been working my way through presidential biographies and #18, Ulysses S (did you know the S was a clerical error? His real name was Hiram Ulysses Grant?) really impressed me as one of the greats. A deeply honest man, a master soldier, and a loyal husband and citizen. Yes, Chernow is as good as all the reviews have said.
5. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
A tiny slip of a book sandwiched on this list between two much larger tomes but it proves that it's not the size of the book that counts, but the size of the story's heart. I cried on the train reading this book. I don't want to say too much but if you're looking for a light hearted read this is not the one for you right now. (For a less loss-centric Patrick Ness book check out The Rest of Us Just Live Here.)
6. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
It was January 2018 and I was in New York City for the first time, at a Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. I had come with a group of Utah theatre lovers and my friend Corina and I were looking at books in the gift shop. "Have you read this?" she asked me, pointing to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I said no and she was aghast. "You HAVE to." I put it on my list that day but it didn't happen until this year. She was right, this book is a treasure. Francie grows up in Brooklyn in the early days of the 20th century with all the happiness, hardship, and daily life that entails. Really feels like a time capsule to another life.
7. Permanent Record by Edward Snowden
Everyone has an opinion on Edward Snowden but I really think this book is worth a read no matter what you think. I was struck by how much thought and turmoil went into Snowden's decisions. And while I rather expected it to be a dry read (and there are technical sections, don't get me wrong), Snowden's personality and humor made it go quicker than I anticipated.
8. The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History by Nathalia Holt
If you're a Disney lover this one is a must read. Nathalia Holt takes us behind the scenes of classic films like Cinderella and Bambi all the way up through Frozen as women worked their way through the ranks of the Disney boys' club. Although these animators were often not credited in the early days of animation (common practice at the time), without their hard work and artistic talent the films would not be what they are.
9. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Lovely. A wonderful book that unfolds in layers with each character and plot line not quite what it seemed to be at first glance. I love Fredrik Backman and his compassionate look at humanity. Thankfully this one is not as melancholy as A Man Called Ove, although that is still his best work. This little puzzle box deals with an apartment viewing, a police investigation, and a bank robbery that never happened. Highly recommend.
10. Mozart's Starling by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
I was in the midst of a reading slump this fall. Quarantine had closed everything, I needed something new, and audiobooks are just not the same. When we moved back to the Utah and got to go inside a library again, I cried. Libraries have always been my happy place and I get so excited by the prospect of learning new things. Wandering the shelves I found this book and it totally cured me. Mozart had a starling as a pet, and so does the author. A quick read on Mozart and his music and starlings in general. Did you know they can mimic human speech? And I learned what a murmuration is.
Honorable Mentions
Fiction: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
Nonfiction: All the Wrong Moves: A Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything by Sasha Chapin
And now, all the rest!
As always, I'm always looking for recommendations for what you enjoyed, and I'm also thrilled to give more personalized recommendations or discussion on anything on the list!
Also as always, recommendations are bolded and rereads are marked with *** and books are listed alphabetically by author
Nonfiction
Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man-- Emmanuel Acho
Saturday Night Widows: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives-- Becky Aikman
Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog-- Dave Barry
The Grand Escape: The Greatest Prison Breakout of the 20th Century - Neal Bascomb
The New One: Painfully True Stories from a Reluctant Dad-- Mike Birbiglia
Solutions and Other Problems-- Allie Brosh
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness-- Susannah Cahalan
Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of 20th Century China-- Jung Chang
All the Wrong Moves: A Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything-- Sasha Chapin
Grant-- Ron Chernow
***Mao's Last Dancer-- Li Cunxin
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea-- Barbara Demick
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know-- Malcolm Gladwell
A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano - Katie Hafner
Mozart's Starling-- Lyanda Lynn Haupt
Reporter: A Memoir-- Seymour Hersh
The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History-- Nathalia Holt
The Recovering-- Leslie Jamison
Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture-- Ken Jennings
The Mirage Factory: Illusions, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles-- Gary Krist
Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship-- Robert Kurson
After Lincoln: How the North Won the Civil War and Lost the Peace-- AJ Langguth
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin-- Erik Larson
The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations-- John McCain
The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly: A Physician's First Year-- Matt McCarthy
Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life and Maybe the World-- William McRaven
The Avenger Takes His PLace: Andrew Johnson and the 45 Days That Changed a Nation-- Howard Means
The Greatest Love Story Ever Told-- Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally
Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent's Guide to Raising Flawless Children-- Therese Oneill
Expecting Better-- Emily Oster
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship-- Ann Patchett
Chasing the Devil: My Twenty Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer-- Dave Reichert
Is This Anything? -- Jerry Seinfeld
A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Ann Bradstreet to Annie Proulx-- Elaine Showalter
Permanent Record-- Edward Snowden
My Beloved World-- Sonia Sotomayor
The Answer Is: Reflections on My Life-- Alex Trebek
A. Lincoln: A Biography - Ronald C White Jr
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- Simon Winchester
Fiction
Northanger Abbey-- Jane Austen
Anxious People-- Fredrik Backman
Mercy Snow-- Tiffany Baker
World War Z-- Max Brooks
***Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism-- Georgia Byng
To Capture What We Cannot Keep-- Beatrice Colin
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes-- Suzanne Collins
The Passage-- Justin Cronin
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse-- Louise Erdrich
Careful What You Wish For-- Hallie Ephron
***Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine-- Gail Honeyman
An American Marriage-- Tayari Jones
Curiosity Thrilled the Cat-- Sofie Kelly
The Institute-- Stephen King
We Are Okay-- Nina LaCour
A Star is Bored-- Byron Lane
Is This Tomorrow?-- Caroline Leavitt
***The Lost City of Faar-- DJ MacHale
Prayers the Devil Answers-- Sharyn McCrumb
The Silent Patient-- Alex Michaelides
Anne of Windy Poplars-- Lucy Maud Montgomery
A Monster Calls-- Patrick Ness
The Rest of Us Just Live Here-- Patrick Ness
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars-- Christopher Paolini
Hogfather-- Terry Pratchett
Lords and Ladies-- Terry Pratchett
Men at Arms-- Terry Pratchett
***The Titan's Curse-- Rick Riordan
***The Battle of the Labyrinth-- Rick Riordan
***The Last Olympian-- Rick Riordan
The Second Mrs Hockaday-- Susan Rivers
The Island of Sea Women-- Lisa See (I am recommending with a caution that this does contain very graphic violence and I was not prepared)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn-- Betty Smith
The Warden's Daughter-- Jerry Spinelli
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
A Gentleman in Moscow-- Amor Towles
Sing, Unburied, Sing - Jesmyn Ward
Maisie Dobbs-- Jacqueline Winspear
