Books of 2020

33 books read in 2020

Favorite reads of 2020:

  1. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

  2. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

  3. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

  4. On Fire by Naomi Klein

  5. Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari

  6. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

  7. The Big Short by Michael Lewis

  8. Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho

  9. This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate by Naomi Klein

  10. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

Books read in December 2020

Books read in November 2020

Books read in October 2020

  • Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays by David Sedaris, finished on the 14th

    • I usually love David Sedaris, but this collection didn’t connect with me that much. I started reading in the summertime, given to me by a friend. I thought I’d blow through it, but I surprised myself. I found that I semi-forced myself to open up this book and read it. Some made me laugh, though. 2/5

Books read in September 2020

  • The Plague by Albert Camus, finished on the 10th

    • Timely. 4/5

Books read in August 2020

  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, finished on the 23rd

    • Second time reading this. Enjoyed less and didn’t feel as much of a connection to the message due to the writing, which I realize I don’t like. 3.5/5

  • Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger, finished on the 19th

    • My favorites were A Perfect Day for Bananafish and Teddy, which happened to perfectly bookend this set of short stories. 4.5/5

  • Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, finished on the 1st

    • I know so many people who have read this, but somehow never became a to-read (probably because I thought it was going to be about “Americana” as in whatever the white-centric idea of America is…) (I was wrong!). This is a pretty heartbreaking story at times, but also very sweet and determined and powerful. I didn’t visually read this, instead opting for the audiobook narrated by Adjoa Andoh. 4.5/5

Books read in July 2020

  • On Fire by Naomi Klein, finished on the 17th

    • Klein does such a good job at taking an intersectional and holistic approach to our environmental issues, not forgetting how intertwined they are with social issues. 5/5

  • Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, finished on the 2nd

    • Maybe one of my favorite books. Asks and attempts to answer questions that historians and scientists (and for sure politicians) never really get to or never think to ask. I particularly resonated with Harari’s discussion of happiness and advancement. It seems like we are living in a weird era where we are creating an artificial, energy-intensive, distracting world at the cost of all other living beings on this planet, and many of our fellow Sapiens as well. There’s a lot more to this book that everyone can learn from. 5/5

Books read in June 2020

  • Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi, finished on the 26th

    • (Won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2016!) This is a thorough, analytical, deep-dive into racism in America, following five distinct periods and corresponding leaders of their time, from Cotton Mather to Angela Davis. Just read it. 5/5

  • An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, finished on the 20th

    • This book felt like slicing into what you think is a cake and it's not actually a cake at all, it's all the raw ingredients. I loved the three POVs, this would be a very different book if we only listened to Roy or Celestial or Andre. Marriage, relationships, love, they're all messy and sometimes some just aren't right. The characters are very human and very imperfect. I found myself projecting parts of relationships I’ve been in and even parts of myself within this larger story. As in life, every situation is more complex than we realize and it is hard to fathom feelings, genuine feelings, beyond our own. 5/5

  • Freedom Is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis, finished on the 2nd

    • This really opened my eyes to the state-sanctioned violence militarization of lives, particularly of marginalized people, from Palestinians, to Blacks, to women, trans folk, and others who are non-white, non-male, non-heterosexual, non-wealth holders. Many progressive Americans feel disappointed in our country, but because oppression is so woven into the framework of this country, it can be hard to see a quick way out, towards liberation, towards equity. We must redirect away from individual change, and work hard to dismantle the systems that encourage violence and oppression to begin with. This means institutions that have a “monopoly on violence” – the police, the prisons, the military – must go. The truly insane amounts of money they receive need to be redistributed to better our education, our healthcare, and our housing (to name a few). She points out that incarceration is increasingly used as a “strategy of deflection of the underlying social problems – racism, poverty, unemployment, lack of education, and so on. These issues are never seriously addressed.” (I may add: addiction, misogyny, glorification of violence, and mental health are underlying social problems that are connected to incarceration but are not addressed in a way that leads to resolution) 5/5

Books read in May 2020

  • Us Against You by Fredrik Backman, finished on the 27th

    • A sequel to Beartown. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. 3/5

  • Beartown by Fredrik Backman, finished on the 19th

    • 4.5/5

  • And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman, finished on the 13th

    • This is a novella, but filled with so much that the length is perfect. Deals with the pain of unwanted forgetting, family intricacies, love, and loss in general. 5/5

  • A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, finished on the 12th

    • A story well-told, honest and intimate in ways you don’t expect. This book made me a smile (and sometimes laugh) and for sure made me cry. One of my favorites. 5/5

  • Requiem for the American Dream by Noam Chomsky, finished on the 8th

    • All about income inequality as well as the concentration of wealth and power in America. 5/5

  • In Five Years by Rebecca Serle, finished on the 6th

    • 2/5

  • The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis, finished on the 4th

    • Centered around the lives and work of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, two Israeli psychologists who really opened the doors to systematic bias, as well as questioning the assumption of human rationality and decision making. Their research is particularly jarring to the assumptions of classical economics, of which is still being taught today (although thanks to the two, behavioral economics is more widely taught and adopted today). In all the many economics courses I have taken, as well as some city planning courses, the professor lays down some assumptions about how humans act rationally, within their self-interest, thereby maximizing their utility for any given transaction or decision. This is simply not true of humans, often due to distorted perceptions of time, safety, happiness, other people, and a multitude of other factors. Lewis did a great job on covering a wide range of ideas, although it would have been nice for a deeper-dive into some concepts. 4/5

Books read in April 2020:

  • The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, finished on the 29th

    • 4/5

  • This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate by Naomi Klein, finished on the 29th

    • It’s funny (read: not actually funny) to have studied economics, care about the environment, understand the mechanisms of economic policies, and observe lawmakers completely disregard economic theory and environmental science when enacting policies. Claiming something is “good for small business” or “the middle class” when it will actually hurt them in the long run… that’s bad policy-making and corporate influence. 5/5

  • The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster, finished on the 26th

    • 4/5

  • The Big Short by Michael Lewis, finished on the 24th

    • Somehow the story of how financial markets and Wall Street traders screwed middle and lower income Americans is riveting, devastating, and addicting(?) all at once. 5/5

  • The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, finished on the 21st

    • 5/5

  • Night by Elie Wiesel, finished on the 4th

    • 5/5

Books read in March 2020:

  • Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, finished on the 30th

    • This is a book by a man who seems to be trying to reveal we, humanity, is full of "darkness" - even portraying innocent "natives" /"savages" as such. Conrad seems to believe he's made such a revelation, it deserves of this metaphor-filled novella. And yet, through all this writing, all this descriptive, droning writing, he fails to see the larger picture, he fails to truly criticize the base of evil: the Othering of those unlike oneself.
      Conrad does not weave together a theme of universal humanity but rather unintentionally sheds a sharp light on the stubborn racism, white patriarchy, and xenophobia that has been the root of some of the most painful atrocities of recent history, from the colonization of the worlds of colored people, the Armenian Genocide, and the Holocaust.
      It seems that Conrad really doesn't get it. He thinks he's so enlightened, but he's not.
      For those of us who have always been on the bank of the river, we have always seen the evil of those on the ship. 1/5

  • Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, finished on the 21st

    • I thought I wouldn't like this book. Although it still reeks of boo-hoo-masculinity, there is great societal and cultural commentary. Palahniuk has a fantastic imagination. Entertaining and quick read. 4/5

Did not finish any books in February 2020

Books read in January 2020:

  • The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, finished on the 17th

    • My second time reading this gem. Kundera's philosophical ideas are much more illuminated the second time around. Incredible book, one of my favorites. 5/5

  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, finished on the 2nd

    • There are realities I cannot truly imagine living in, one of which is being a black boy in America. Coates lets us into his world, shares his pain and his love and his history, along with the stories of many others. It is hard to fully comprehend how horrible the world can be. I still don’t know. But I am thankful that Coates shed some light on it. 5/5