Books to Quarantine With

 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