Best Books I Read in 2020

 

Collage of the best books I read in 2020.

I read 30 books in 2020, besting my Goodreads goal of 25. I’ve reviewed all the books I’ve read this year on this blog. Here is my list of the best books that I read this year. Links go to my full reviews of the books.

Books released in 2020:

Make Russia Great Again, by Christopher Buckley: Trump finally gets the satire he deserves, dished out by a master of political satire. I’ve started calling Lindsey Graham “Squigg Lee Biskitt,” the name Buckley gives him in Make Russia Great Again.

More than Love: An Intimate Portrait of My Mother, Natalie Wood, by Natasha Gregson Wagner: I’ve been a fan of Natalie Wood’s for a long time. More than Love and the documentary What Remains Behind both give us a glimpse of the woman behind her iconic performances in Miracle on 34^th Street, Rebel Without a Cause, West Side Story, and Splendor in the Grass. In More Than Love, Gregson Wagner also gives us a look at her own life, and how the pain of her mother’s death is ongoing.

The Answer Is…Reflections on My Life, by Alex Trebek: I’ll be honest, this isn’t the best-written book, but it’s as close as we’ll get to knowing the iconic and beloved Jeopardy! host. And because I’ve loved Jeopardy! since I was a little kid, it makes this list.

Books released before 2020:

Addicted to Americana, by Charles Phoenix (2017): This is a light title for a “Best Book,” but gosh darn it, 2020 was hard, and this coffee table book cheered me up! Charles Phoenix is a devotee of mid-century pop culture and kitsch, and his obvious affection for, and deep knowledge of Americana make him a delight. As Charles would say, “I knowwww!” If you like Tiki bars and cars with tailfins, this is the book for you.

Good Morning, Midnight, by Jean Rhys (1939): Jean Rhys is the opposite of Charles Phoenix. Her quartet of bleak modernist novels of the 1920’s and 1930’s ended with Good Morning, Midnight, a haunting book that was my first exposure to Rhys. I re-read it this year, and it’s bleak and depressing, but Jean Rhys wrote beautifully.

Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys (1966): This was Jean Rhys’ next novel after Good Morning, Midnight. A 27-year gap between books? That’s so long! I knowwww! Wide Sargasso Sea tells the story of Rochester’s first wife from Jane Eyre. It’s beautiful and haunting and tragic.

A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota, edited by Sun Yung Shin (2016): A fascinating collection of essays from my home state. It’s uncomfortable reading for liberal white folks like myself, who want to believe that everything’s hunky dory for everyone in Minnesota. Every white person in Minnesota needs to read this book.

President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime, by Lou Cannon (1991, updated in 2000): A 750-plus page doorstop, this is an in-depth look at Ronald Reagan’s Presidency. Cannon makes a compelling case that Reagan was a poor manager of people. Reagan was great at giving speeches, but he was extremely averse to conflict. A fascinating look at a charismatic man who remained an enigma to everyone around him.

The Basil and Josephine Stories, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (written between 1928-1931, this collection first published in 1973): It wouldn’t be a best of the year without some Fitzgerald, would it? Fitzgerald’s fiction was always closely informed by his own personal life, and one of the fictional characters that was most similar to him was Basil Duke Lee. Fitzgerald wrote 9 short stories that followed Basil throughout his adolescence. They’re some of Fitzgerald’s best work. The Basil stories are coupled with 5 stories Fitzgerald wrote about Josephine Perry, a character based on his first love, Ginevra King. Lots of sparkling prose in this book.