2020: The Best Books I Read
I’m not one of those readers that throws out five-star reviews for any book I find enjoyable.
To receive that distinction – and only about 14 percent of my reads in 2020 earned it – a story must capture and hold my attention, challenge my perceptions or beliefs, tap into emotions and/or be incredibly entertaining.
One story — “Giovanni’s Room” by James Baldwin — did all those things. No other book I read this year has stuck with me the same way, and it will likely land on my all-time favorites list.
The other nine five-star books and my honorable mentions — novels that were imperfect but still engrossing — represent some of the best art I consumed in 2020, and I’m grateful to the authors, publishers, narrators and fellow readers for bringing them to life.
Overall Favorite Book
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
Dates read: July 20 – 24, 2020
You are warned early there will be no happy ending, but I was still surprised at the pain imposed on the three main characters — David, Giovanni and Hella. The way Baldwin intertwined masculinity and sexuality into a toxic swirl of destruction is as powerful in 2020 as it was at the time of publication in 1956. There’s a section in part two where the genius of Baldwin’s writing is fully realized, and it was brought magnificently to life by Dan Butler in the audiobook. This is simply a must read (or listen). Read my full review here.
Favorite Book Published in 2020
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Dates Read: December 20 – 24, 2020
Through Nora’s experiences trying out alternate versions of her life, Haig perfectly captures the demon of regret. The plot is a modern take on a well-worn premise (see “It’s a Wonderful Life”), but Haig’s writing is so immersive and imaginative, you get pulled in immediately and become invested in most of Nora’s live(s). Not that the story needed much elevating, but Carey Mulligan brought out Nora’s humanity and sold even the more unbelievable alternate lives in the audiobook. Read my full review.
The Other Five-Star Reads
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow
Dates read: January 22 – 25, 2020
An engrossing behind-the-scenes look at one of the biggest media stories of the past decade. Farrow breaks down the process of unmasking the years of misdirection and spin undertaken by some of the world's most elite entertainers and journalists that enabled powerful men to continue to prey on women trying to do their jobs. It is disgusting to learn the true lengths these men -- and some women -- went to to protect those in power. Read my full review on Goodreads.
A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne
Dates read: February 3 – 9, 2020
In Maurice Swift, Boyne has crafted a narcissistic sociopath on par with Hannibal Lecter who alternately disgusts you and fascinates you with his complete lack of conscious and acts of manipulation. While it takes a little time to pick-up on the structure, once you do, you know each part is going to go down paths you didn't expect. Read my full review on Goodreads.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
Dates read: May 7 – 15, 2020
Boyne earns the distinction of having two books on my “best” list and one on my “worst” list, which speaks to the diversity in his storytelling. Honestly, I teetered back and forth between four and five stars, because even though I enjoyed "Furies" a lot, there was something a bit familiar to a few elements of the story. Ultimately Boyne pieces the puzzle together in a way that felt authentic, and that's not easy to do with a large cast of characters that intersect at various points in time. Read my full review.
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
Dates read: June 6 – 11, 2020
We’re not infallible, and the belief that we are — or that we don’t need to apologize for the privileges afforded to us by our whiteness — is exactly why this book is an important step in making real change. It was full of eye-opening and long overdue lessons. Read my full review.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Dates read: June 12 – 18, 2020
I feel like I’ve lived my entire life knowing about Evelyn Hugo and needed to remind myself that she didn’t exist, a testament to Reid’s genius. Evelyn is richly drawn, complex and morally ambiguous. She’s unapologetically driven by her own ambition and rarely second guesses her actions. It is exactly how you expect a Hollywood icon to be. Plus, that twist near the halfway mark – completely caught me by surprise! Read my full review.
Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig
Dates read: September 30 – October 3, 2020
In a candid, raw, funny, accessible and incredibly eye-opening memoir of essays Taussig expertly breaks down this intersectionality and leads the reader/listener through the multiple ways culture — sometimes in well-meaning ways — has cultivated bias against a population that makes up 26 percent of adults in the United States. Every single person should read this book. Period. It led to a lot of self-reflection and provided clear ideas on how to be an advocate and ally. Read my full review.
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
Date read: October 10, 2020
This divisive novel finished a close second as my favorite read published this year. Where others have decried the lack of answers and action – this is a character study, not a thriller – I thought it was a master stroke by Alam to allow the reader to fill in the gaps. In a year when isolation and uncertainty reigned, “World” held up a mirror to life in 2020 and gave us a modern classic. Read my full review.
Flamer by Mike Curato
Date read: October 18, 2020
I had never read a graphic novel, and this served as wonderful introduction and high bar for the format. Through illustration that alternates between crude, clear, colorful and monochromatic — is that not the range of teenage emotion? — Curato brings to life the hopes, fears and confusion many queer kids feel as the schism between what’s mainstream and what isn’t becomes clearer. Read my full review.
Honorable Mentions
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr
Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 by Daniel James Brown
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Sting-Ray Afternoons by Steve Rushin
You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld
Explore more of my 2020 reading and listening:
