Ever since reading Stephen King’s Memoir “On Writing” several years ago, I’ve made it a goal to read daily. And in previous years, I would read at least 40 pages a day.

But 2020 wasn’t like previous years. And even though I, like so many others, had the goal of reading even more than normal, my anxiety over the pandemic and all the other foolishness happening, really sent me into a spiral. I found it so much harder to concentrate or focus for any real period of time and reading made me really sleepy. So instead of achieving my 40 book goal, I read less than half of that.

I’m gearing up to approach 2021’s reading list a little different than I have in the past. Instead of going with themes like reading black authors in February and Indigenous authors in November, I’m just going to read whatever I want to read, whenever I want to read it. I think maybe that way I won’t feel pressured to get books done by a certain time, and it can start being fun again.

With that said, here are the books that stood out to me in 2020…for better or for worse.

Best Sci-Fi

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

I found N.K.’s book such an interesting approach to taking on a Lovecraftian monster. H.P. Lovecraft, genius to some, bigoted asshole to others, is arguably one of the godfathers of sci-fi. That said, his themes are often problematic at best and down right racist at worst. N.K. takes his Cthulhu mythology, something created by Lovecraft…then does it better than him. BRILLIANT!

Best Book by an International Author

Stay With Me By Ayobami Adebayo

I boo-hoo’d reading this book…like the whole way through. Watching what this family went through just broke my heart. I know first hand what it is to lose a child. And this book illustrates how the loss and grief can cause people to act so counter to their nature that they engage in all types of foolishness and fuckery. I’m so thankful to my friend G for lending me this book to read.

Best Non-Fiction

Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston

Cudjoe Lewis was one of the last surviving slaves of the middle passage. He shared his story through a series of interviews with writer Zora Neale Hurston and it took years after his death and hers for us to hear about his life from his own lips. I found reading about his life in his own words to be a bit haunting and uncomfortable. But you know what’s more uncomfortable than reading about slavery? Being a slave! So I pushed through the discomfort and I’m so happy I did because this uncomfortable story needed to be heard.

Most Difficult to Get Through

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

In short, this book is a Christian based 12-step program to help artist recover from creative blocks. There are several good notes in here. However, I found the Christian sermonizing very heavy handed. What if the artist reading the book is of a different faith? What if the artist reading the book is of no faith?

I also took issue with any questioning or resistance to the process laid out in this book being turned around on the reader. That is, if you disagree with the process, then there is clearly something wrong with YOU. Coming from an upbringing where questioning spiritual doctrine was a huge no-no, I started to have issues with this 12 week program in week 2. By week 5 I ceased to find anything helpful and by week 8 I had ceased to do any of the tasks or exercises because I couldn’t find joy in it.

The one positive note is that the morning pages were helpful. But I’ve journaled my whole life. I didn’t need a book to tell me to do that. And just to be defiant, I wrote at night. Take that Julia Cameron!

Most Enlightening Book

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama is one of the realest famous people I know. Okay, so I don’t know her, BUT I feel like I do…and that’s because she is so incredibly relatable. She tells her story, simply stated and without any of the flowery stuff that Barack likes to do in his writing.

I loved it through and through and would recommend to anyone looking for an easy read.

Best Costume or Fashion Book

Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style by Shantrelle P. Lewis

Dandy Lion, which looks at dandyism through black culture, is the perfect combination of informational and aesthetically pleasing. It made me realize that I’ve been surrounded by black dandies my whole damn life…that older cousin who was always suited and booted, that brotha in the congregation who all the ladies lusted after because his threads were so tight, yep, he was a dandy too. It also reinforced how fly we make legitimately everything we touch. If you’re looking for a good coffee table book, this is it my friends.

Best Overall

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

I related to this book on so many levels. I think because the author takes a look at motherhood from several different perspectives. What is the mother daughter relationship like from both the mother’s and daughter’s perspective? What is it like for a child to lose a mother. What is it like for a mother to lose a child? How does it feel for a would be mother to make the choice to not be a mother? This book is serving bloomin’ onion realness because it’s action packed with layers.

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2020 Book Review