2020 Reading List
Well, this year was a real bastard, and I spent way too much time doom scrolling and did not log onto this ol’ blog even once until today, but I did manage to get in some great books still. I pretty much recommend them all, as I remain fairly intentional about selecting things I expect to like, but see the end of the list for some I particularly recommend.
In chronological order:
Space Struck, by Paige Lewis (P)
Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor (F)
Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie (F)
American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang (GN)
Sick, by Porochista Khapour (M)
The Big Smoke, by Adrian Matejka (P)
The Story of My Teeth, by Valerie Luiselli (F)
The Book of Dust, by Philip Pullman (F) *re-read
Nothing to See Here, by Kevin Wilson (F)
Homie, by Danez Smith (P)
We Cast a Shadow, by Maurice Carlos Ruffin (F)
The Water Dancer, by Ta-Nehisi Coates (F)
City of Thieves, by David Benioff (F) *re-read
The Crying Book, by Heather Christle (NF)
The Night Watchman, by Louise Erdrich (F)
An American Sunrise, by Joy Harjo (P)
Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo (F)
Meaty, by Samantha Irby (E)
Such a Fun Age, by Kelsey Reid (F)
Postcolonial Love Song, by Natalie Diaz (P)
The Stranger, by Albert Camus and Jacques Ferrandez (GN)
Three-Body Problem, by Cixin Liu (F)
The Immortalists, by Chloe Benjamin (F)
The Beadworkers, by Beth Piatote (F/NF)
How We Fight For Our Lives, by Saeed Jones (M)
Exit Wounds, by Ruta Modan (GN)
Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi (F)
Grass, by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim (GN)
The Milkman, by Anna Burns (F)
Stamped (Remix), by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds (NF)
Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler (F)
Queer: A Graphic History, by Meg-John Barker and Jules Scheele (GN)
Children of Virtue and Vengeance, by Tomi Adeyemi (F)
Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid (F)
We Ride Upon Sticks, by Quan Barry (F)
Men We Reaped, by Jesmyn Ward (M)
The Glass Hotel, by Emily St. John Mandel (F)
Burma Chronicles, by Guy Delisle (GN)
Night Angler, by Geffrey Davis (P)
Little Weirds, by Jenny Slate (E)
Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe (NF)
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins (F)
Brooklyn, by Colm Tobin (F)
Kindred, by Octavia Butler and John Jennings (GN)
Eyes Bottle Dark Mouth Full of Flowers, by Jake Skeets (P)
The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett (F)
They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei (M/GN)
Bestiary, by Donika Kelly (P)
We Are the Weather, by Jonathan Safran Foer (NF)
World of Wonders, by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (E)
Be Holding, by Ross Gay (P)
How To Be Anti-Racist, by Ibram X. Kendi (NF)
On the Small Backs of Children, by Lidia Yukuvitch (F)
Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann (NF)
Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer (NF)
IRL, by Tommy Pico (P)
New Poets of Native Nations, edited by Heid Erdrich (P)
Normal People, by Sally Rooney (F)
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, by David Treuer (NF)
Carry, by Toni Jensen (M)
Jerusalem, by Guy Delisle (GN)
1919, by Eve Ewing (P)
In the Dream House, by Carmen Maria Machado (M)
How To Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, by Kiese Laymon (E)
Hybrida, by Tina Chang (P)
Threshold, by Joseph O. Legaspi (P)
The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones (F)
Highlights
Fiction
Americanah, by Chimimanda Ngozie Adichie — (For a Great Nigerian Immigrant Narrative)
We Cast a Shadow, by Maurice Carlos Ruffin — (For Biting Satire on Race)
The Night Watchman, by Louise Erdrich — (Because You Always Read Louise)
Three-Body Problem, by Cixin Liu — (For Heavy Science Sci-Fi Alien End of Times Shit)
The Immortalists, by Chloe Benjamin — (For the Fate Debate and Family Dynamics)
The Milkman, by Anna Burns — (For Heady Irish Musings During The Troubles)
*Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid — (For That Fleetwood Mac Feeling)
We Ride Upon Sticks, by Quan Barry — (For When You Want 80’s Teens Worshipping an Estevez Brother)
The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett — (For When You Want a Different Identity)
The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones — (For the Creep Factor)
Nonfiction/Essay
*The Crying Book, by Heather Christle — (On the Natural History of Tears)
*Say Nothing, by Patrick Radden Keefe — (On the History and Mystery of the IRA)
We Are the Weather, by Jonathan Safran Foer — (On Climate Change and Eating Animals)
*World of Wonders, by Aimee Nezhukumatathil — (On Wonder and the Natural World)
How To Be Anti-Racist, by Ibram X. Kendi — (Self-Explanatory)
Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann — (On The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI)
*Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer — (On Plant Love and Indigenous Wisdom)
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, by David Treuer — (On How They Tried to Kill All Native People)
How To Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, by Kiese Laymon – (On Being a Black Man)
Memoir
*Men We Reaped, by Jesmyn Ward
Carry, by Toni Jensen
In the Dream House, by Carmen Maria Machado
Poetry
*Space Struck, by Paige Lewis
Homie, by Danez Smith
*Postcolonial Love Song, by Natalie Diaz
Night Angler, by Geffrey Davis
Bestiary, by Donika Kelly
*Be Holding, by Ross Gay
New Poets of Native Nations, edited by Heid Erdrich
Hybrida, by Tina Chang
Graphic Novels
*Grass, by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim
Burma Chronicles, by Guy Delisle
*Jerusalem, by Guy Delisle
