Barbara Chernov*:

Untamed by Glennon Doyle. (NF). An excellent read for anyone who is looking to work on themselves and find their power. It is more geared toward women but also good for anyone going through a divorce.

Any and all books by Anthony Williams, the Medical Medium. I read his books ten years ago and thought he was too extreme, but now I find that I love most of what he says. He is the person behind the celery juice craze. His Liver Cleanse book (NF) is superb, as well as his Life Changing Foods book (NF). I drink celery juice all the time and also drink his detox smoothie almost every day.

I am now reading the book Too Much and Never Enough by Mary Trump (NF) about DT. She really understands his mental illness issues so well, and I find it all fascinating and disgusting and sad all at the same time.

Barbara Friedman:

The Final Four of favorite reads: I have clearly read a lot this year with not much else to do. I prefer the historical books, as you will note below, but I do enjoy sprinkling in the mysteries and novels.  So here are my four — a VERY difficult choice

Return to the Reich: A Holocaust Refugee’s Secret Mission to Defeat the Nazis by Eric Lichtblau (NF). A German Jew escapes Nazi Germany, fleeing to the US, joins the US forces and infiltrates back into Nazi Germany to help win the war.

A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Politano. (HF).  Tressa Harlowe and her mother return to an estate in southern England where her father, recently deceased, has buried a fortune . . . but has told no one where it is.  In dire     financial straits but with the assistance of the vineyard manager, she works to find the treasure . . . does she find it?  A fun and well-written mystery which is a good relief in these times.

The Indomitable Florence Finch by Robert Mrazek (NF).  A true WWII story, but it takes place in the Phillippines.  Finch, a Fillipino, is a go-getter and brave woman who defies the Japanese occupiers, diverts tons of oil         which is sold on the black market to provide funds which she uses to buy food and medicine which is secretly diverted to American POWs.  She wins the Presidential Medal of Freedom but never tells her family about her heroics for 50 years. This is an amazing story and very much worth the read.  And it is a very different take on WWII as it focuses on the war in the Pacific arena.

The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo (F).  If you like mysteries, try Yokomizo; her Japanese mysteries are very good.

Ben Senturia:

I have devoured  Ken Follett’s beautifully written trilogy’s. The Evening and the Morning (F) (prequel to Pillars of the Earth), and it does not disappoint.  It’s a long and wonderful read. 

My favorite novel of all times is Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (F). Walter’s latest novel, The Cold Millions (F), is focused two brothers trying to find their way during Wobblie organizing in the Northwest US. I couldn’t put it down.

 I picked up Deacon King Kong by James McBride (F) from the Miller Time list and was not disappointed. 

Bill Plitt:

I haven’t read as much as I wanted to this year. Been kind of busy, busier than I ever imagined.  

Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman (NF). For many years, my image of humans left to their own devices would resort to mayhem and chaos. Well not totally. I didn’t want to go that route since it seemed so dark and unforgiving. I must admit that the story of schoolboys gone mad in the Lord of the Flies by William Golding (which I used in my classes for years), and the research on the  “Zimbardo Effect” at Stanford in 1971, and by Stanley Milgram’s research with a “Shock Machine,” influenced  my attitude for a long time. Spending a few days as an inmate in the Colorado State Penitentiary myself in that same year also had an effect on my beliefs.

Bregman poses a  different perspective, sparked by the discovery of a moment when some Australian school boys, who were marooned on an island for a little more than a year together, suggested a different  view of human kind faced with crisis. The author discloses some fallacies in previous research and provides an argument for his thesis that humans basically believe in the goodness of human kind. I found this refreshing given what we see and hear about today’s world.

Out of this reading sparked a song I wrote with my wife Kay called:  “Loving Acts of Kindness”.  “The Kindness of Strangers”  movie is also complementary (Prime Video 2020).

Bina Shah:

An American Marriage by Taiyari Jones (F).

The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay (F). (Ed. This book won many prizes and was award as a ‘Best Book of 2019’ by numerous reviews.)

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (F). A psychological thriller.

It’s Always the Husband by Michele Campbell (F).

Brian Steinbach:

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (F). I got this based on an NPR story. The structure was fascinating, as two different stories starting some 17 years apart gradually merged into a true murder mystery as well a a love story, while on the way you get a picture of live in the wetlands of North Carolina. I found the ending very satisfying although others apparently haven’t

Deacon King Kong by James McBride (F). This one first came to me as an excerpt in the NYT. The book delivered. Totally absorbing story of late 60’s Brooklyn (or was it Queens) where life in a project rubs up against smuggling and organized crime in a decaying waterfront, but faith prevails in the end.

Imperfect Union by Stephen Inskeep (NF). A biography of Stephen Fremont and his wife Jessie. Fremont was a self-aggrandizing explorer who played a surprising role in the “acquisition” of California from Mexico and later as the first Republican presidential candidate, on an anti-slavery platform; Jessie publicized his adventures and provided much needed political support. Fascinating look at a lesser known piece of US history.

Grant by Ron Chernow (NF). Chernow tells us all you would ever want to know about Grant, his family., is early failures, and the less covered western campaigns in the Civil War, as well as the denouement in Virginia in 1865-65. A timely history for a our time – I’m looking forward to finishing it with his presidency and Reconstruction in the new year

Carrie Trauth:

Recently, I read three books by the same author because I enjoyed her writing style and because all included some accurate historical elements:

A Race to Splendor by Ciji Ware (HF). Following the 1806 devastating San Francisco fire, two woman architects rebuild two famous hotels.

That Autumn in Edinburg by Ciji Ware (HF). A compelling mystical attraction draws an American designer and a visiting Scotsman to work together to save their respective firms.

The Summer in Cornwall by Ciji Ware (HF). An American nurse and dog trainer takes her spoiled ward to her English cousins to help the youngster adjust to her Mother’s sudden death and her father’s abandonment. In Cornwall, the nurse meets a troubled veteran and together they help save the family’s estate.

Catherine Lynch*:

I was absolutely enthralled this past year by The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish (NF). The novel is long,and I was completely absorbed, transported to another world (two of them, actually) in a way I don’t remember feeling since I was a child known to be a Bookworm. It reminds you of the sheer joy of great fiction, but also of the beauty of scholarship, history, philosophy… I could go on. Strongly recommended!

Chris Boutourline:

Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday (F) is the best thing I’ve read this year. This debut novel consists of two novellas and a coda, all seemingly unrelated, folded into a remarkable whole. The first novella follows a young editor’s affair with a decades older novelist (inspired by the author’s affair with Philip Roth). In the second novella an Iraqi-American, detained by airport customs agents, endures a wait, worthy of Kafka, while he considers the arc of his life and the country his parents left behind. The coda uses an imagined episode of Desert Island Discs (a actual BBC broadcast that explores the music that influenced, and chronicled, the lives of celebrities) to further explore some of the books themes. As a bonus, for this reader, and the Massachusetts born author, the first novella is set in NYC with the 2004 MLB Red Sox-Yankees playoff series playing in the background.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (F) tells the story of young lovers who, separately, leave Nigeria, at the time under military rule, for the West. The tale is told through the eyes of the female protagonist, Ifemelu, who punctuates her story with blog entries on issues facing Black Americans, offered by a non-American Black. My favorite aspect of the book was the author’s success in having the reader feel he was in the hairdresser’s chair, along with Ifemelu, as she had her hair braided over the course of many hours.

The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre (HF). Given the recent infiltration of U.S. intelligence by Russian actors this might seem an anachronistic tale from a simpler time for spying. This account reads like the best spy novels, with twists, turns and near-misses, but is based on fact. If nothing else the description of the qualities the Russians look for in recruiting will stick with me – they sought a promiscuous, greedy and egotistic man. 

Chris Rothenberger:

Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance (NF). This family memoir of growing up in Appalachia, dirt poor, without opportunity will stay with the reader long after the book is done. The cultural and family dynamics contributing to the economics and disintegration of the white working class there underscores his struggle. He amazingly manages to find a path out and his success is astonishing.  With it comes ambivalence and maturity as life progresses. It is a passionate and personal story about loyalties, family, love and survival. It would be a great Book Club read, as well.

The Girl with Seven Names by Hyoseon Lee (NF). Unbelievable and true story of a woman’s defection from North Korea. Her perilous escape, identity crisis, family, loyalties, and brutality of the Communist regime are very real and keep the reader on edge to travel with her through the uncertainties, real danger and challenges lead to eventual success.  Very engaging true story.  This too is a good Book Club read.

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate (HF).  An account of three young women searching for family in the post Civil War era in the South to a modern day (1980’s) teacher who learns of their story and its vital connection to her students’ lives in Louisiana. Set in 1875 Louisiana, Hannie (freed slave), Lavinia (pampered heir to a failed plantation), and Juneau Jane (Lavinia’s Creole half sister) set off to find a stolen inheritance, and lost slave family members. Teacher Benedetta Silver gets a job at a poor school in Louisiana and stumbles upon the century old story of the three women, a long ago journey and a hidden book that reveals everything.

Cindy Olmstead:

Know My Name by Chanel Miller (NF). This is her journey after being sexually abused by a Stanford Univ student. I listened on Audible as she reads the narrative. It is extremely poignant and shows how the victim (in 2016) is still viewed as guilty. Chanel does an excellent yet laborious job of sharing her struggle to find her voice, ultimately being able to get the legal system to change. Meaningful to me as it shows how the role of woman in rape is still victimized and subjugated. Miller courageously attempts to dispel this reoccurring issue.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (F). Historical novel. First mobile library in Kentucky thanks to Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project. These traveling librarians went into the Appalachia’s to dispense books to those who had no other access. Main character is part of a breed whose skin is blue, unlike others. Poignant, courageous, confronting intolerance, overcoming horrific odds…..very moving and inspiring story about the power of books.

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates (NF). Her work with the Gates Foundation to lift up women worldwide to bring economic and health security. It is not a typical feminist approach but her strength is as an advocate based on her personal awareness from her global travels to aid the needy. Meaningful to me to see how Melinda came into her own voice to influence powerful changes in the world.

A Promised Land by Barack Obama (NF). Currently listening to it on Audible. Liking what I hear as it is Obama’s voice doing the reading.

Found “reading” was a mixture of paper and audible. More disturbing was my lack of ability to concentrate. Not sure if that was because I was reading heavy BLM books, like Kendi and Wilkerson, or because it was the sign of my mental stay home state.

David P. Stang:

Biography of Silence by Pablo d’Ors (NF). Pablo d’ Ors is a 57-year-old Spanish Catholic priest, novelist and Zen meditator…whose remarkable Biography of Silence is largely about how disciplined meditation can exponentially expand your consciousness and your quality of life. His book is not meant to be a step-by-step beginner’s manual on how to meditate, but rather it explores the “what” and why” of meditation. Is intended to take you on a journey into your interior mind and demonstrate to you what can happen to your consciousness when you meditate.

The Gift Of Years: Growing Older Gracefully by Joan Chittister (NF). The author is a Catholic nun and well known spiritual writer. She encourages us to cherish the blessings of aging and to overcome its challenges, and shows us that this is a special period of life – may be the most special of them all. Older age gives us wisdom, freedom, and prosperity of another kind. Older age enlightens – not simply ourselves but also those around us. To live these years well, we need to look at every one of them head up and alive. Life is not about the length of years we managed to get out of it rather it is about living into the values offered every day about growing older with grace.

The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter Than You Think by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods (NF). Hare is an ethologist and evolutionary anthropologist who founded the Duke Canine Cognition Center. His wife Vanessa Woods is a researcher at that facility…In the past decade, we have learned more about how dogs think than in the last century. Breakthroughs in cognitive science, pioneered by Brian Hare, have proven dogs of a kind of genius for getting along with people that is unique in the animal kingdom. This dog genius revolution is transforming how we live and work with our canine friends, including how we train them. In their book they compare the consciousness of dogs to wolves, foxes, chimpanzees and bonobos and conclude that dogs are able to communicate with humans better than any of these other animals.

The Quest For Hermes Trismegistus From Ancient Egypt To The Modern World by Gary Lachman (NF). The author has published several books regarding the links between consciousness, culture, and the Western esoteric tradition…(this) spiritual adventure story traces the profound influence of Hermes Trismegistus on the Western mind. For centuries his name ranked among the most illustrious of the ancient world. Considered by some a contemporary of Moses and a forerunner of Christ…Trismegistus is one of the most influential fountainheads of spiritual  consciousness and human wisdom.

Donna Pollet:

These are my three memorable books. Two were read electronically. Squeeze me was in paper. I read serendipitously, no rhyme or reason. Additionally, I read less than in past years and also looked for well written and well-plotted escapism. My personal preference is for psychological suspense and page turning mysteries, spy thrillers, and police/crime procedurals filled with dramatic characters and complicated twists.

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker (NF). An in-depth portrait of a family plagued by schizophrenia as well as a critical and insider commentary on psychiatric trends, reflecting profound diagnostic and treatment divisions. Written with compassion and empathy and analytical insight, it is the perfect blend of compelling storytelling and methodical investigation.

Squeeze Me by Carl Hiassen (F). Just for escapist fun. Laugh out loud passages. Hiassen knows his colorful south Florida characters well. With his talent for political humor, irreverence and outrageous plots, the former President, the First Lady, political supporters and a cast of quirky players are grist for his caricature and hilarious mill.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (F). It’s all about identity—race and gender. Shades of complexion, how we truly see ourselves, what the world sees, and what we wish the world to see are the themes of this multi-generational family drama. Once the light skin African-American twins, Stella and Desiree, choose separate paths, based on race and the ability to “pass” a lifetime of serious, secret, and complicated consequences are put into motion for them and their progeny.

Ed Scholl:

These are my favorite reads from 2020, a year that I’ve had more time to read than usual because of Covid. Two of these books I also read in the e-book version, downloading them from my public library account (something else I discovered because of the difficulties of browsing the library).

Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 by Stephen Ambrose (NF). I read this before my train trip across America last summer, and I’m glad I did, as we followed part of the original transcontinental railroad route from Sacramento to Omaha. Building that railroad, especially through the sierra Nevada mountains, was an engineering marvel, and Ambrose tells the story in a very engaging way.

The Language of God by Francis Collins (NF). I was given this book by my son, and I really enjoyed it. It is written by the Director of the National Institutes of Health (Anthony Fauci’s boss), and he argues for the compatibility of science and faith. Given that much of the US population sees an inherent conflict between science and religion, it is a refreshing reminder that they need not be.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (F). I wanted to read some good fiction, and this was very much a page turner. It’s a novel based on a damaged Vietnam Vet who takes his wife and daughter to the wilds of Alaska to begin a new life.

Educated by Tara Westover (NF). An awe-inspiring memoir about the author’s upbringing in a fundamentalist Mormon family in Idaho. The author received no formal education growing up, but eventually got into the Brigham Young University and later earned a PhD from Cambridge. A great story of grit and determination and succeeding against all odds.

Elaine Samet:

As to my reading, it is one of the things that occupy much of my time.  After having been so pleased with The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkinson I read her new work, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (NF). In spite of being very well documented, it reads almost like a novel. Amazing.

I am now reading Obama’s latest, A Promised Land (NF). He could have had a great career primarily as a writer; he is so talented. No ghost writer for him. What a mind!!!! His insight into what it takes to mount a campaign was overwhelming.

Elizabeth Tilis:

I didn’t read that much this year but here are a few notables. I read ZERO non-fiction this year. I guess the whole point of any limited reading I did was to escape and turn my brain off. My book club has been on hiatus since we haven’t been able to meet outside. Samantha and Brooke’s [Ed. Elizabeth’s daughters] favorites are below mine!

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell (F). We read this for my Kansas City Book Club, and while I did not particularly “enjoy” reading it, it was one of the most thought provoking books I read all year. I say I didn’t enjoy it because I felt it was very hard to read and was almost painful at points, and I had to put it down. It made me feel so uncomfortable, but it was extremely gripping and made for an interesting conversation. I definitely recommend reading it, with that caveat that it’s not going to be a fun/light read. It’s sort of like how “Six Feet Under” was one of my favorite TV shows, despite how depressing, raw, and unsettling the entire series was, just because it made you feel so much. 

All These Beautiful Strangers by Elizabeth Klehfoth (F). Pick a book with an eerie mystery and throw in a boarding school and there’s probably a good shot that it’s going to be one of my favorite books of the year. No exception here; it was an enjoyable read that I couldn’t put down that helped me escape!

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (F). Suggested by many other MillersTime readers, it was a great psychological thriller. I did not see the twist at the end. A good thriller will always make a reader second-guess himself/herself, right?

The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney (F). According to Goodreads, I didn’t give any books five stars in 2020 (maybe I was grumpy for some reason), but I would have given this one 4.5. It tells the story of two tragedies that happen in the summer of 1986 in Oklahoma and what happens twenty-five years later when those people attempting to solve the cases come together. 

Brooklyn Tilis, 3+

The Monster at the End of This Book, part of the Sesame Street Books

The Ten Thank You Letters by Daniel Kirk

Should I Share My Ice-Cream by Mo Willems

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! by Mo Willems

Samantha Tilis, 4 3/4

Dragons Love Tacos and Dragons Love Tacos 2 by Adam Rubin

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

Mix It Up, Press Here, Let’s Play (3 separate books) by Herve Tullet

Ellen Miller:

There were many good books this year to choose from – and so, so much time. In addition to the best-sellers and prize-winners that I read and that truly deserved high praise (ones the ‘Editor’ of this blog refused to let me include here, but ones I will list AFTER this post is published…see Footnotes in the Comment section under my name). I also thought very highly of a number of books by authors whose work received less attention. 

Here are the four outstanding ones that I want to recommend this year.   

If you’re from the South, The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi by Richard Grant (NF) was an outstanding glimpse of a modern day city still coping with its past. A story of a southern town and how it reconciled (or not) time-worn traditions and racial justice. The book is full of wonderful characters and stories.

If you’re interested in new authors, especially with a gift for slightly off-beat story-telling, you want to get to know Ottessa Moshfegh. This year she released Death in Her Hands (F). It’s a fascinating book about aging and reality, art and imagination and as a bonus it starts with a murder “mystery.” Stylistically, it reminded me of one of my previous favorites — Olga Tokarczuk’s  Drive Your Plow Over the Bones.

I loved the book Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor (F). It fictionalizes an account of the real-life relationship between Bram Stoker (the author of Dracula) and the two stars of Victorian theatre Henry Irving and Ellen Terry. It takes place in Victorian London in the late 1800’s and is a clever story of friendship, love and loyalty, and a whole lot more. Besides the story, the characters and the gifted writing, my admiration for this book was likely increased by my lack of ability to attend live theater in 2020.

And one other to add to the list: Soul Full of Coal Dust: A Fight for Breath and Justice in Appalachia by Chris Hamby (NF). I just finished this book before this writing deadline and moved it to the top of my “don’t miss” list. It tells a story of the miners who since the 1960s have fought for their rights to benefits for their illnesses and the attorneys, doctors, judges, and mining companies who fought them (and some who fought with them). You may know of the general outline of this story, but it’s the details that grab you all along the way. The work leading up to the book earned the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting.

Ellen Shapira:

I have been reading much more than usual during the last 9 months with my preference being for fiction, especially historical fiction, mostly read on a Kindle.  Being very visual, I get too distracted listening to audio books.  Also I like not having the clutter of books hanging around and I like being able to hold my kindle comfortably with one hand while lying on my back or sitting in a recliner! I prefer newly published novels and discovering new authors, but I also enjoy reading highly claimed novels that are decades old.

I have already talked about my two most favorite books of the Covid months in previous posts, here and here. Since that last book list, I have read a few more books I have liked, three of them on similar themes dealing with racial and family conflict in the south set in the first half of the 20th century. I have been drawn to exploring issues of the origins of our country’s racial inequity.

Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera (F). It’s set in 1920’s South Carolina and focuses on  three women, one black, two white whose stories intertwine. Their family dramas are set against the cotton decline in the South due to a boll weevil infestation. The characters are richly depicted and the mother daughter relationships are compelling.

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate (F) has two major story lines, alternating between a contemporary new teacher trying to motivate her impoverished students and a story of their ancestors. The most interesting  story was the one set in Louisiana in the years right after the Civil War focusing on three young women, black, white and biracial who are searching for family and identity in the years right after the Civil War. 

The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau (F) is a beautifully written Pulitzer Prize winning novel from the early 1960’s about prejudice and family secrets over several generations. Again themes of strong southern women and racial prejudice dominate.

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue (F), author of Room, is probably my favorite book of the last few months. Set in Ireland in 1918, the book tells the story of a nurse/midwife working in a maternity ward of a hospital caring for several pregnant women, all with Spanish Flu. Not only was it fascinating to learn more about that pandemic and early 20the century  obstetrics, but the character relationships were richly described and developed. Themes around  War World I, Irish Independence, feminism, sexual identity, love and death made this a very satisfying read. 

Emily Nichols Grossi:

Thank god you limited us to four. I have hardly been able to read or focus this year so was feeling sheepish about what would have been a minimalist list. And now that’s the goal! :)

I really, really struggled to read this year. My overarching stresses were the pandemic and having everyone home + the election. Those left me with little ability to sleep, focus, or read beyond brief works, and although I missed reading, I will bid farewell to 2020 with some wonderful books in memory and on my shelf of favorites.

The Country Girls by Edna O’Brien, (F). I’m still on my Irish literature tear and have been meaning to read O’Brien. Recently, I heard that The Country Girls, three novels (written: 1960, 1962, 1964) and an epilogue in one book, was an inspiration for Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels. While I have not been able to get into My Brilliant Friend, I was nonetheless intrigued by The Country Girls being even more of a seminal work than I’d thought. So, I jumped in and, thirty pages later, was hooked. 

The story follows two “country” girls from Western Ireland through child- and adulthood and all the associated angst and joy and reality. The characters are flawed but real, and I often disliked them even when I wanted to hug and help them. I really, really enjoyed this compilation. Irish writers so often have phenomenal character development and can really tell a story, with depth, empathy, candor, and fun. 

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson (NF) was absolutely excellent and terrifyingly relevant. A must-read about the American ambassador to Germany, stationed in Berlin, during Hitler’s ascent prior to WWII, I was riveted and both marginally comforted and significantly freaked out by the ways in which history seems to repeat itself because of human fallibility, thirst for power, unwillingness to face reality, ignorance, and hope.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (F). This novel, about a Mexican woman and her son escaping cartel violence in Acapulco by attempting to get to el norte, is riveting, horrific, gorgeous, educational, and unforgettable. It’s nearly 400 pages long, and I read it in maybe two days; I couldn’t, and didn’t want to, put it down. You may have heard about the backlash against American Dirt, based on Cummins’ being only partly Latina: who gets to tell whose stories? I found the book magnificent and moving and think it’s absolutely worth reading.

Every book by Tana French, (F). Her mysteries are utterly transportive, well-written tales with terrific characters and terrific senses of place.

Eric Stravitz:

Absolutely American by David Lipsky (NF).

Less by Andrew Sean Greer (F).

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (F).

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (F).

Fruzsina Harsanyi:

I did not read to escape from this strange year. I read to understand better the challenges confronting us. I picked three challenges — the pandemic, institutional racism, and the environment (see here) — and the books that brought me a deeper understanding.

The Great Influenza by John M. Barry (NF). The information about the so-called Spanish Flu was fascinating. But Barry’s “side trips” into the history of medicine in the US, the founding of Johns Hopkins University, the role of the media, Woodrow Wilson’s leadership (or lack thereof) and the Versailles Peace Conference were all fascinating and relevant to our time. 

For a deeper understanding of institutional racism, in and outside America, against African-Americans and other races and ethnic groups:

The Yield by Tara June Winch (F) showed institutional racism in Australia and won that country’s top literary award. Written by an Aboriginal woman, it described centuries of racism, colonial violence, oppression and environmental destruction. But it also offered hope through a new generation and a celebration of the Wiradjuri people through their language. 

The Hemingses of Monticello, An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed (NF). In this meticulously researched work, Gordon-Reed tells the Jefferson/Hemings story by focusing on the Hemings family, the enslaved women and men who worked in Jefferson’s house and lived there as servants to their father and siblings.  An important read for me in the time of Black Lives Matter as I try to understand systemic racism more deeply. 

Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar (F). In this searing work of auto-fiction an American-Pakistani Muslim man describes America today, the promise and the reality; what it means to be treated as an outsider and to want to belong without losing your identity.  

Garland Standrod:

During the quarantine lock down, (which still goes on; I’m an introvert but this is ridiculous), I decided to read four long poems in English about which I had heard but never read. So I read one by Wordsworth, one by Melville, and one by Lord Byron. The final one of the four leads my list for 2020. (Note from the Editor: These final two sentences have been edited to keep Garland within the prescribed four submissions.)

The Ring and the Book by Robert Browning (Poem). This long dramatic poem, of 21,000 lines, was Robert Browning’s best work and was a bestseller in the 1800s. It tells the story, in 12 books of a murder trial in Rome in 1698. Each book is narrated by a different person involved with the trial, thus giving a Roshomon effect way before Roshomon the short story and the  film. Browning focuses on human nature and the meaning of truth in human affairs. Browning also tells how he found the description of the trial in a used bookstore in Rome.

The Good Shepherd by C.S. Forester (F). Tom Hanks wandered into a used book store in New York and found this novel, first published in 1955. Hanks liked the novel so much, he made a film, Greyhound, based on it. Unfortunately the Covid epidemic prevented the film from being released.  The longest battle of World War II was the battle against U-boats in the Atlantic, and one of the hardest tasks was to shepherd convoys across the Atlantic. The splendid novel puts us inside the head of Ernie Krause, the captain of the Keeling, a destroyer and the lead ship of a convoy of 37 boats traveling across the North Atlantic in 1942. The reader is never permitted a moment’s escape from Krause’s brain. The Good Shepherd takes place over 48 sleepless hours as Krause’s convoy comes under attack from the Nazi submarines—the U-boats that sank nearly 4,000 Allied vessels over five years and caused the loss of more than 70,000 men in what came to be known as the Battle of the Atlantic.

Norwood by Charles Portis (F). This road trip novel of the 1960s is my favorite novel. I am not saying that it’s a great novel, but it is either a minor great novel, or a great minor novel. It certainly is not a minor novel. Like Charles Portis, I am from Arkansas, and like Charles Portis, I worked at the New York Herald Tribune. Portis died in February at the age of 86 and was one of the great American chroniclers of the 20th-century bizarre, erasing the distinctions between normal and abnormal. This novel like his others is characterized by dry ice witty dialog and a vivid sense of the absurd.

Out of the American Neon Desert of Roller Dromes, chili parlors, The Grand Ole Opry, and girls who want “to live in a trailer and play records all night” comes ex-marine and troubadour Norwood Pratt. Sent on a mission to New York by Grady Fring, the Kredit King, Norwood has visions of “speeding across the country in a late model car, seeing all the sights.” Instead, he gets involved in a wild journey that takes him in and out of stolen cars, freight trains, and buses. By the time he returns home, Norwood has met his true love, Rita Lee, on a Trailways bus; befriended Edmund B. Ratner, the second shortest midget in show business and “the world’s smallest perfect fat man”; and helped Joann, “the chicken with a college education, ” realize her true potential in life.” — goodreads.com 

Actually it is a great novel.

The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler (NF).  For book lovers, this book is a snare and an enchantment, or entrapment. The author, who is British, gives brief vignettes of 99 authors who have been successful but are now largely forgotten. He concentrates primarily on British authors, but the book is endlessly fascinating. Each reader will think of authors he should have included and will learn of authors of whom had no knowledge. Many of the authors were monstrously productive. Fowler, the author of this book has also been monstrously productive, and it is perhaps ironic that I had never heard of him. It is also ironic, perhaps deliberately, that one of the authors he discusses is Brigid Brophy who in 1967 published Fifty Works of British and American Literature We Could Do Without.

Glen Willis:

Way Back in 1989 I read a book called, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I have always had a taste for historical novels, and this one caught my eye. It was the beginning of four novels set in medieval twelfth century England. Pillars of the Earth follows the careers of Tom, a master builder and an ambitious monk dreaming of building the world’s largest Cathedral.

Volume two: World Without End is set two hundred years after Pillars of the Earth. Like our own time, the history, science, and politics are overshadowed by the single most destructive disaster to affect humanity until that time, The Black Death.

Volume Three, Kingsbridge continues the story. Kingsbridge Cathedral watched the 15^th century unfold with religious, civil and wars tearing their culture apart.

Which brings me to the book I just read.

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett (F). This is a prequel to the other three novels. Set in 997 CE, the participants are on the footnote of a new historical time, The Middle Ages. The Characters are rich and colorful.  Like the first Robin Hood movie I ever saw.

Edgar, a boat builder whose natural talents inspire him to go build buildings, bridges and ultimately establish the first footprints of the town that one day will be called “Knightsbridge.” I found the book to be a page turner.

My 98-year-old Aunt and I share Kindles. So, we read a lot of books at the same time. I thought I would ask her for a review. She had a little trouble remembering the whole story, but when I pressed her, she said, “Since when do history books have so much sex in them?”

Maybe a new Netflix movie.

Harry Siler:

The Way Forward Is With a Broken Heart by Alice Walker (F). A quote from the back cover says, “Alice Walker gives us stories based on the rich wisdom of her own experience.” In the Reader’s Guide which follows she says, “I started thinking that it would be interesting to write fiction as a mature adult and know exactly where the characters and themes came from.”

The Work: My Search for a Life That Matters by Wes Moore (NF). A memoir by a talented and high achieving young man looking deeply into his life, and with a lot of gas still left in his tank.

Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Michelle Kuo (NF). The daughter of immigrants goes to the Mississippi Delta “to teach American History” and has her life changed.

The Hidden Garden by Kate Morton (F). A mystery with several related characters written with their several points of view, moving back and forth in time and place from 2005 to 1905, all in search of the identity of a grandmother, who at the age of four, had been put on ocean going boat. The novel’s structure is unique and important to the telling in a way that contributes to the unraveling of her life. 

Haven Kennedy:

Giovanni’s Room (F) and The Fire Next Time (NF) by James Baldwin. I just discovered him. He’s a brilliant author.

In the past year I’ve started reading books that gave me a clearer view into history. I read Uncommon Arrangments: Seven Portraits of Married Life in London Literary Circles 1919-1939 by Katie Roiphe (NF), a book  discussing the unique relationships of many couples in the literary world.

Female Husbands: A Trans History by Jen Manion (NF), an historical account of women who posed as men and married women. It’s important to understand that LGBTQA+ and trans issues aren’t modern, and they aren’t new. It’s even more important to understand how they aren’t ‘white’ problems. Too often people of color get left behind when people demand recognition of their gender identity. We saw this with the woman’s movement, with suffragism. This is why I loved reading Baldwin’s work; he spoke clearly of his pain of being both black & gay.

This is the time when people’s stories of not fitting in, of being different, of hiding, need to come out.

Hugh Riddleberger:

I do have one recommendation…though not a book.

Heather Cox Richardson writes a daily post. called Letters from an American (NF). She is a BC history professor and author, and Louise and I read her column daily and know that one day she will turn her postings into a book…so call this an advanced review. Her columns are thoughtful, often historical in nature, helping us understand the progression of America to its present place on the world stage. 

James Crabtree:

Of Ants and Dinosaurs by Cixin Liu (F).

State of Emergency by Jeremy Tiang (F). Winner of the 2018 Singapore Literature Prize for Fiction.

The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson (NF), authors of Why Nations Fail.

The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Henrich (NF). A New York Times Notable Book of 2020.

Jane Bradley:

I narrowed 56 down to 10, then 8; then had a tough time winnowing to 4. Strange year for books – and read a lot of Atlantic and New Yorker articles instead.

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (F). A moving story about a Ghanaian family living in Alabama, from the author of Homegoing, which was on my list of favorites in 2018.  Yaa Gyasi’s characters are unforgettable.

Memorial Drive – A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Tretheway (NF).  Like Transcendent Kingdom, this book also tells a moving mother-daughter story, but as a gripping memoir of life in the segregated South.

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson (NF).  This book was especially timely for the summer of 2020, giving us another perspective on racial injustice. Her earlier book, The Warmth of Other Suns, was on my list of favorites in 2014.

The Splendid and the Vile:  A Saga of Churchill, Family and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson (NF). Though I’ve read several books about Churchill (and especially liked  Franklin and Winston by Jon Meacham), I learned even more in this fascinating history. A great diversion from current events.

Jeff Friedman:

Always an end-of-year highlight! 

The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser (NF). The book focuses on Baker’s staff work, which included running five presidential campaigns, serving as White House Chief of Staff, and Baker’s work on the Bush v. Gore lawsuit and the Iraq Study Group. That gives the book a different emphasis and content from standard political biographies, though the descriptions of Baker’s terms as Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of State are interesting, too. Baker and Glasser are terrific writers and researchers.

Alien Oceans: The Search for Life in the Depths of Space by Kevin Peter Hand (NF). While earth-like planets are very rare, it appears that a surprisingly large number of planets and moons have underground bodies of water that could feasibly support life. The book is fascinating in two ways. First, you learn a lot about how astronomers and physicists draw inferences about objects in the universe. Second, the book makes a surprisingly strong case that we might find other forms of life in our solar system within the next few decades.

The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Henrich (NF). The book explains how people living in the West have psychological profiles that are distinct from people living in other parts of the world. Henrich traces that psychological divergence to the Catholic church’s unique regulation of marriage. Then he argues that those restrictions reshaped social relations in ways that laid the foundations for modern economic development. This gives the reader a ton of interesting knowledge about the “deep histories” of psychology, culture, and economics.

The Secret Life of Groceries by Benjamin Lorr (NF). A fascinating assessment of what it takes to make supermarkets function. My favorite chapters involved a deep-dive into the strategic concept behind Trader Joe’s, a discussion of how supermarkets negotiate with producers, and an investigation of labor practices in Thailand’s shrimping industry. All of the essays are beautifully written and well researched.

Jesse Maniff:

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (NF).

His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope by Jon Meacham (NF) .

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (F). Occasionally you pick up the right book at the right time: with all the seriousness of 2020, I needed a book about septuagenarians who solve crime.

Joe Higdon:

Stalin Waiting for Hitler 1929-1940 by Stephen Kotkin (NF).

The Splendid and the Vile  by Erik Larson (NF).

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu  by Joshua Hammer (NF).

Judy White:

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson (NF).  Like her previous book, The Warmth of Other Suns, Wilkerson has written a scholarly yet passionate, dense but highly readable book explaining the origins of the racial divide. Though thoroughly researched, her points are mostly supported by stories — wonderful, memorable stories. Each chapter gave me a new idea to think about, and I thought I had a pretty good grasp of this subject. Only once we understand it can we resolve it. Don’t miss this one.

Off the Radar by Cyrus Copeland (NF). My favorite reads are well-written books about real people doing amazing things, and this book, recommended by the national Chautauqua reading group, fits that description (as do the next two books). Copeland grew up in Iran, son of an Iranian mother and an American father. Years after his father’s death, he feels the need to learn more about his father, who was not one of the American hostages in the 1970s but who was imprisoned in Iran during the exact same time. Was his father a spy? That question hangs over much of the book, so we have an international suspense story and an autobiography as well as a biography of both his parents. It was hard to put down.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (F). I reviewed this book a few years ago, re-read it this year, and it holds as one of the best fiction books I’ve ever read. World War II, love story between a blind French girl and a German soldier, but much more. Each chapter is very short, and at first they seem disconnected; one of the treats of reading it is seeing how they all converge. It spares none of the horrors of the war in Europe but balances that with much beauty of spirit.

Another repeat read during Covid, The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (NF).  Like Seabiscuit, another book I loved, this is about a subject I had no interest in: competitive rowing. But the best writers can tell a tale about almost anything and draw the reader in. This one held up to a second reading well. Real people, real life can be as amazing as any fiction.

Kate Latts: 

This Tender Land by William Kent Kruger (F). This was a favorite from the first half of the year but remains high on my list. It is about four orphans who flee from the Lincoln Indian Training School and travel by canoe down the northern Mississippi River during the summer of 1932. Their journey is full of the people they meet along the way and the life changing experiences they have. Each of the kids struggles with their own tragedies and demons and find peace as the book unfolds.

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See (F). This is a multi generational book set on the island of Jeu in Korea between the 1930s and present time that chronicles the lives of two female friends and the twists and turns that their lives take them and the ensuing impact on their friendship. The book is focused on the traditional custom of women divers who are the primary income earners for their families. I did not know about this custom and family dynamic in this secluded area of Korea and was fascinated to learn about it as well as how a small island in Korea weathered the world’s events of the 20^th Century, including Japanese Colonialism, WWII, and the Korean War.

The Gilded Years by Karen Tanabe (F). This book is about a young African American women from Boston who attends Vassar College in the late 1890s passing as a white girl. The book takes place during her senior year when she becomes friends with a most influential group of white girls. She knows that pursuing this high life including, a wealthy white suitor from Harvard, is putting her secret at risk. This was an interesting read this summer as the topics of continuing prejudices and social injustices were so heightened.

Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie (F). This book is set in Japan post WWII and is about a young girl abandoned by her birth mom with her imperial grandparents. The grandparents are worried that she will put a blemish on the family name and banish her to the attic. Fortunately her half-brother comes into her life and through him she is able to find her own way as she navigates her childhood, teen years, and young adult life. This read is not dissimilar to other Asian family stories but a nice read.

Kathleen Kroos:

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Mitchell Richardson (F). There is some interesting history behind the story and the author and an excellent read. 

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano (F) which is based on a true story of a young Dutch boy who like Edward was the sole survivor of a plane crash.

Kathy Camicia:

Cannot possibly limit it to four, but here’s my favorites:

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (F).- Booker winner and deserved it .

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli (F). Well written saga of a failing marriage and our failing all children at the border.

Read lots of good old stuff—D.H. Lawrence, Virginia Wolf

Coventry: Essays by Rachel Cusk (NF).

Hot, Cold, Heavy, Light, 100 Art Writings 1988-2018 by Peter Schjeldah (NF). Brilliant essays from the soon to be deceased New Yorker art critic.

Kevin Curtin:

Going to try to read The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart by Alicia Garza. Our university is coordinating a sort of reading group/book club over the winter break. Garza founded the Black Lives Matter movement. 

My reads below:

Misplaced by Gabriell Struble (F). This is a novel written by one of my graduate students in our Mental Health Counseling program at Alfred University. It concerns a young person living in a residential treatment setting who struggles with mental illness. Struble originally developed it as a screenplay for her undergraduate theater class. The book follows the main character’s recovery as he is “forced to relive his past and prepare himself for a future in a society that makes him feel so out of place.” 

Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski (F). Cannot believe it took me this long to read a Bukowski book – glad I started with this one, a real shit-show (in a good way) and what has been hailed as his best novel. My son was reading it for a college class and recommended it. This one is the first of a trilogy that details the character’s childhood and adolescence experiences, which are rough, even cruel at times, and yet Bukowski manages to provide humor throughout. Sadly during his adolescence he learns to cope through alcohol use (too much), but at the same time discovers his gift for poetry.  

Not Without Peril: 150 Years Of Misadventure On The Presidential Range Of New Hampshire by Nicholas Howe (NF).

This past summer I completed my 46^th High Peak (Mount Skylight) in the Adirondack Mountains, so I was intrigued to read up on a different mountain range that was somewhat close by. This book is a collection of several different true-to-life stories, beginning in the late 19^th century up through the present day, in which the author investigates the many tragedies of hikers attempting various ascents in the Presidential Range of New Hampshire’s White Mountains. 

Mindful Running by Mackenzie Havey (NF):  Mindful Running is an area of interest to me, both personally and professionally. This book is a guide for how individuals can incorporate mindfulness into their running routine in order to improve overall well-being. What I most liked about this book is that it is written from a foundation of scientific research, offers anecdotal contributions from professional runners, and has a number of practical strategies that can be applied during runs. 

Land Wayland:

China’s Good War: How World War II Is Shaping a New Nationalism by Rana Mitter (NF). This Oxford Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China writes well and very deeply about the changing ways that China’s war with Japan from 1931 to 1945 has been viewed, and used, by Chinese scholars and the government to shape China’s perception about its rightful place in the history of the world and of Asia in particular. If you want to have any possibility of understand what China is trying to do on many fronts, the way it sees its role during this period is crucial. 

Invisible China: How the Urban-Rural Divide Threatens China’s Rise by Scott Roselle and Natale Hell (NF). The focus is on the huge educational divide between the (relatively few) students in Chinese urban areas (who are being educated to high standards) and the majority of the country’s students who live in rural areas (70% of the country) who are hopelessly not prepared to participate in China’s future economy. Based on REAPs work in China for the past two decades, as China’s economy changes to embrace computers and technology and sophisticated manufacturing and as it engages in direct competition with the economies of the growing countries in Asia, this lack of basic education of 2/3 of its population will gravely affect China’s efforts to raise its economy into the top rank. A failure would have a major international impact. China is aware of the problem but is uncertain how to deal with it.

The Emperor’s New Road: China and the Project of the Century by Jonathan E. Hillman (NF). China has undertaken an enormous program of expanding its trade routes into Europe, the Middle East and Africa by high speed train and very large container-carrying freighters, and they are doing this in ways that are clearly designed to give them control of this trade, its ports and rail-lines and, by extension, the economies of its “partners”.  A careful study of the many ways this is playing out and the many reasons that it is a very difficult stumbling gamble for China.  

Garner’s Quotations: A Modern Miscellany by Dwight Garner (Ref.), former Senior Editor of the NYT’s Book Review and a person in love with writers and their skill at putting words together to generate memorable lines or phrases. He collected them for years and one day decided to shake the bag, dump everything out, and found that it was filled with gorgeous nuggets of wisdom, wit, sorrow, wonder, scorn, humor, and all of the other reasons for writing. A book of quotations for the perceptive reader who enjoys one-sentence perfect summaries of many, many topics. Pleasant to open to any page and get lost.

Larry Makinson:

The Perfect Weapon by David Sanger (NF). Fascinating survey of the development, usage, and future of cyber warfare, by the NY Times’ top national security reporter. Even beyond today’s headlines, the future is frightening. 

Facebook by Steven Levy (NF). The inside story of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. If you haven’t already dumped Facebook, you probably will after reading this. 

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (F). Lovely story about an elderly Polish woman who loves animals more than humans. Extremely so.

Miss Iceland by Audur Ava Olafsdottir (F). A delightful little book about a young Icelandic woman in the early 1960s who wants to be a novelist, and her unconventional relationships with a gay man and a poet. Straightforward and charming – an excellent literary sorbet to offset a terrible year.

Linda Rothenberg:

How It All Began by Penelope Lively (F). A wry, wise story about the surprising ways lives intersect. An easy, but thoughtful, read.

The Storyteller’s Secret by Sejal Badani (F). Nothing prepares Jaya, a New York journalist, for the heartbreak of her third miscarriage and the slow unraveling of her marriage in its wake. Desperate to assuage her deep anguish, she decides to go to India to uncover answers to her family’s past.

Dutch House by Ann Patchett (F). The story explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go. “‘Do you think it’s possible to ever see the past as it actually was?’ Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. 

American Prison by Shane Bauer (NF). In 2014, Shane Bauer was hired for $9 an hour to work as an entry-level prison guard at a private prison in Winnfield, Louisiana. An award-winning investigative journalist, he used his real name; there was no meaningful background check. Four months later, his employment came to an abrupt end. But he had seen enough, and in short order he wrote an expose about his experiences and the history of American prisons.

Lucy Conboy:

Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East by Kim Ghattis (NF).

The New York Times book review said it was “fascinating. A sweeping and authoritative history,” and named it one of its notable books of 2020.

Ghattis seamlessly weaves together history, geopolitics and culture to deliver a gripping read of the largely unexplored story of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, born from the sparks of the 1979 Iranian revolution and fueled by American policy. She explores how Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shea Iran, once allies and twin pillars of US strategy in the region, became mortal enemies after  1979. Ghattis dispels accepted truths about a region she calls home.

Lydia Hill Slaby:

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (F) and The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss (F), both of which I talked about in one of your previous posts, still haunt.)

The Story of B by Daniel Quinn (F). Daniel Quinn has a recipe for his books, starting with Ishmael, that generally involves a teacher and a student, teaching and learning about a different perspective on the evolution of humanity, why we are so convinced of our own superiority, and how that perspective is driving us to extinction. The wonderful thing about B is that the teachings are all summarized in a series of “speeches” in the back of the book, so the reader doesn’t need to be dragged through the Socratic aspects of Ishmael to get the point. And quite a point it is.

The Woods by Tana French (F). The entire series of crime novels set in and about Dublin by Tana French are extraordinary. (The Woods is simply the first — reading them in order is not necessary.) Beautifully written with a wry perspective on humanity, they are complex, well-plotted, and entirely consuming.

Maria Lerner-Sexton:

The Paris Hours by Alex George (F). Set in 1927, this short novel feels like taking a walking tour through Paris. One encounters familiar residents of the time along with a cast of very different characters who tell engaging stories. I couldn’t put it down.

Mary Bardone*:

I did not read much this year…but I did read and really enjoyed:

The Captured by Scott Zesche (NF), a rather obscure book as it is an example of a slice of US History that I knew nothing about. It is a true story of abduction by the Indians on the Texas frontier. It was fascinating on several levels: the life of those settles in N Texas after the Civil War, the  inside view of the life of the Indians during that time period, and the experience the white kids who were abducted had and what happened to them when they were returned to their families.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (F).  It is based on history in 1936 in the hollers of Kentucky and illustrates the plight of coal miners, poverty, and the Blue People. It is well written, well researched, and gave me an insight into that area and Blue People with just the right amount of intrigue.

Anonymous:

I only read books. However, because DC Public Schools is only on-line, and I had to read The Other Wes Moore and The Narrative of the Life of a Slave to help the students @ McKinley Tech, I read them on my computer. Hated every minute of that, though the books were good.

The four best books I’ve read in 2020:

The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison (F) I’ve read a couple of her later books, but I’d never read this one. The DC Schools kids who I tutor read it in maybe 9th grade. I work w/ 10-12, but it helps if I’ve read what they’ve read. NOBODY does what Morrison does—emotional & cerebral at the same time.

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens (F). I read it because I’m going to read “all of Dickens.” By 1855, when publication started, he had serialization nailed, so the book is longer than it ought to be (b/c that’s good for sales—he kept it going for two years—he would’ve loved writing for TV). What’s interesting is watching his female characters evolve and become more three-dimensional as his career moved forward.

No One is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg (NF). It’s just a slender collection of her speeches. She repeats herself in them (fortunately), but that is not a negative. It’s exciting that a young lady on the spectrum has such a voice and now reaches such a wide audience. Our planet depends on people like her.

A Writer’s House in Wales by Jan Morris (NF). I’ve been on a Wales kick since visiting there in 2018. When I read this, she wasn’t yet The Late Jan Morris. She writes about place the way Simon Schama writes about the intersections of culture and the way Mark Helprin writes about people and the way Lewis Thomas writes about biology and the way Annie Dillard writes about, um, everything. Jan Morris was a “travel writer,” but she was also a poet.

Matt Rechler*:

White Too Long by Robert P Jones (NF). This short book documents the link between White Christianity and White Supremacy in the US.  The author grew up in Georgia, Texas and Mississippi, and was fully involved as a child in church activities.  At a seminar at age 20 he become aware of the white supremacist roots of his family’s Christianity.  He now is the CEO and founder of Public Religion Research Institute that focuses on religion, culture and politics.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (F). Marina works in a pharmaceutical company in Minnesota. The company learned from Dr. Swenson that Marina’s research partner died in a fever in remote Brazil where he was working. Marina was sent to Brazil to find out why he died, and to understand the status of Dr. Swenson’s project. Dr. Swenson is trying to develop a drug to simulate the ability of the women of the Lakashi tribe who are able to have children even when they are quite old.  Ironically, Dr. Swenson was a medical school professor of Marina’s who was so cruel and demanding to her that Marina left medical school. The story develops in the remote Amazon, with multiple complex personal interactions. I found it a great read.  Each step opens new exciting hypotheses.

Max Shapira:

Here are a few books.  All of these were nonfiction, three were hardbacks, and one was on an iPad.

Herbert Hoover: A Life by Glen Jeansone (NF). During his life span from 1874 to 1964, Hoover saw and was intimately involved  in a broad spectrum of changes in the world and the US. Perhaps the most qualified person ever to be involved in government, the range of his accomplishments reveal insights that have long been obscured.

The Last Kings of Shanghai by Jonathan Kaufman (NF). A fascinating history of two competitive Jewish families who helped shape modern China with influence extending to this day. 

The Jewish Confederates by Robert N. Rosen (NF). Who knew about the deep involvement of Jewish Americans in the Civil War? This book explains in great detail who they were and what roles they played from Senior members of the Confederate Government to soldiers on the front line.

The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James Baker by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser (NF). A look at how our Federal Government actually runs and how policy is developed and implemented through the maze of  government bureaucracy. Over several decades, James Baker held many senior roles from Chief of Staff to several presidents to cabinet positions, all the while affecting major domestic and international initiatives.

Meg Gage:

I have had a hard time focusing on reading since this horrible plague started but nonetheless have read several recommendable books. I’ve found fiction easier to get into these days which is what I’m reporting on.  Hard to choose only four. 

Sula by Toni Morrison (F). Morrison’s second novel, short and brilliant, about black women, sexuality and resistance. Morrison was such a gifted writer, and I hope to work my way back through reading and rereading all of her writing. Sula tells the story of two black girls, and then women, living in a small, segregated Ohio town just after WW I, who choose different paths. Sula escapes, goes to college, rejects a future as a mother and wife and lives 10 years in a series of mysterious tristes. She returns to the Ohio hometown, and is seen as rakish and a profligate. Morrison writes: “Outlaw women are fascinating – not always for their behavior, but because historically women are seen as naturally disruptive and their status is an illegal one from birth if it is not under the rule of men.” I loved this book!  Much more to say, but Richard requested only a few sentences. Toni Morrison was a genius writer.

(Walking around the bookshelves, trying to decide what’s next…)

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (F). Everisto shared the Booker with Margaret Atwood, which I thought was the Booker folks not quite ready to award what is arguably the most prestigious literary award to a little-known black author’s first novel  Sigh …  This energetic novel follows the adventures of 12 people, mostly women, all Black and British, many artists and performers, as they work their way through the late 20^th Century. The characters are fabulous and hilarious. The novel gives the reader a terrific picture of the dynamic theater and arts scene in London and the emerging role of Black artists. It was a bit challenging to move from one character to another because I wanted to read more about each,  but worth the effort.

(And now… what’s next … hmmm)

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (F).

It’s the 50^th anniversary of the publishing of Bulgakov’s radical novel, although it should be the 70^th anniversary because it was unpublishable during the Stalin regime when Bulgakov wrote it. This is a tough book to get into until you realize that it’s satire about Stalin and the Soviet Union and fantastic along the lines of magical realism. It retells the stories of Faust and Pontius Pilate in order to present a ferocious accounting of the Stalin period. The Devil is a hilarious character who appears here and there, often with his enormous black cat, screwing things up and making things right. Bulgakov demonstrates the deep intellectual underground resistance culture in the Soviet Union. I didn’t read the Burgin-O’Connor translation that is recommended, but I thought my translation (Pevear and Volokhonsky) was very good. My description here doesn’t do this novel justice. It’s a complicated and surreal novel. Also very funny.

(Hmmm … only one to go …. Dang …)

Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (F). (Because Ann Patchett newest doesn’t need promotion although I loved it – such fun to read – how’s that for introducing a 5^th recommendation?)

Crawdads is a riveting novel about a ‘swamp girl’ who (unbelievably) raises herself from age six when her father abandons her, after her mother has also left the shabby South Carolina coastal cabin. Nonetheless, unlikely as it is, this novel weaves a compelling story about her life living by her wits, ostracized by the established community but in sync with nature and the giving and taking ocean. There’s lots of South Carolina nature, drama, and a surprise ending. Great distracting read during a pandemic.

Meggie Herrlinger: