Books of 2020

This year I logged 35 books, down 7 from last year but probably more total pages. Here a some thoughts on a number of them:

Best fiction book of the year I expected to be The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel simply because of how much I seemed to like her Station 11. It would probably have made it as, for the most part, it was brilliantly written and engaging. But I was let down enough in the way it ended (quick and untidy, as though she had run out of time to finish it) leaving me with a bit of dissatisfaction. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes I picked on lark for some reason during the first half of the year and was impressed enough to make a note that it would probably be my year’s favorite. However now, I can barely remember a single detail about the story so that makes me hesitant to give it the honor. I see that it was made into a movie, so I may watch that, but as a book, I’m letting its day in the sun to have passed. The book I’ll select was one that Erik Larsen recommended when I went to hear him speak right before the lockdown: News of the World by Paulette Giles. I see it’s also been made into a movie.

Erik Larsen was promoting his new book that night at Bookmarks, The Splendid and the Vile. So, we segue into the best non-fiction category. Again, Larsen’s book was to be my expectation for the best. It was indeed good and classic Larsen but overall it didn’t quite match Dead Wake and was certainly below the bar of my favorite, Devil in the White City. 2020 was my short-lived love affair with Amity Schlaes, reading The Forgotten Man, Great Society and Coolidge. Of the three, I enjoyed the former two most. However, her economic mind was a little too challenging for me and her libertarian bias was okay in small does but in the end wore me down. Didn’t regret the time spent, though. The World: A Brief Introduction by Richard Haass was a very enjoyable and engaging read. But Isolationism by Charles Kupchan topped it for my favorite this year.

Other worthwhile books this year came about directly or indirectly from my involvement with my beloved Bright Leaf book club. Those included Horseman, Pass By (Larry McMurty), The Crying of Lot 49 (Thomas Pynchon), The Mongolian Conspiracy (Rafael Bernal) and My Year of Rest and Relaxation (Ottessa Moshfegh) that were our monthly selections. Also Under the Frog (Tibor Fischer) and The Transit of Venus (Shirley Hazzard) were a couple of gems that also came my way due to the club.

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