My Hindsight of 2020 in Reviews

To put it gently, 2020 has been… a year. Even without the earth-shattering coronavirus pandemic, 2020 was going to be a time of major change for me. I graduated from Columbia University (Roar, Lions! Roar!) and joined the illustrious order of published authors with my debut novel, The We and the They. Now, I’m vaguely trying to grasp at the straws of “adulting,” whatever that even means in the uniquely blurred landscape of this era in history. As the queen of puns, all throughout college, I would talk about how my classmates and I all had “2020 vision.” Needless to say, 2020 hasn’t been anything like I had envisioned, but I’ve still gleaned some positive things from it. In the midst of so much not making any sense, I’ve developed  a more profound appreciation of books and stories than ever before. I was more intentional in setting aside time to read for fun and documenting my thoughts as narratives unfolded. This was the first year I really leaned into using Goodreads, reveling in book challenges, digital shelves, giveaways, recommendations, and of course, reviews. Here’s a curated list of 10 reviews of books I read in 2020: 

Nut Jobs: Cracking the Case by Marc Fennell

 (4.5/5 stars, rounded up to 5 on Goodreads) 

As a loyal consumer of almonds and almond milk, I was immediately drawn by the surprising idea that such an extreme crime could involve something so mundane. Stealing $10 million worth of almonds? Seriously? Yes, seriously in ways and on levels I didn't even think to anticipate. Was this an audiobook about an unusual heist? Yes, but I really appreciated how it became more than that, emphasizing how many lives are intertwined with the food we consume. I'll be more intentional in not taking that for granted.

Once Upon A Time I Lived on Mars: Space, Exploration, and Life on Earth by Kate Greene

(4.8/5 stars, rounded to 5 on Goodreads) 

I absolutely LOVE this book.  As I read Once Upon A Time I Lived on Mars, I was completely in awe of Kate Greene's narrative dexterity, seamlessly interweaving pertinent stories from a variety of sources with her own insights and memories to create a stream-like and cohesive arc. I'd recommend this book to pretty much anyone, but especially people who are also considering their place in the narrative of humanity, Earth, Mars, and beyond…

Crimson Time by Emily VanderBent 

(4.8/5 stars, rounded  to 5 on Goodreads) 

Crimson Time is an absolutely stunning book. VanderBent's impeccable attention to historical detail, while still rendering the complexities of accessible emotions for her modern characters, is absolutely awe-inspiring. I love how seamlessly she utilizes anachronisms to reveal deeper truths surrounding the story she wants to tell. I look forward to following Adelaide's adventure in the next book of the series.

**Also, this book could inspire an entire fashion line. There were some outfits described that I would really like to have in my closet, please and thank you.

Beyond the Halls: An Insider’s Guide to Loving Museums

by Mackenzie Finklea 

(4.8/5 stars, rounded  to 5 on Goodreads) 

As an avid museum lover myself, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the thoughtful and nuanced way in which Finklea engaged with the subject matter. The book was immensely informative, but also conversational. I didn’t feel like Finklea was talking at me, but with me to navigate my interests and concerns. I also really appreciated the personal stories throughout Beyond the Halls too. These narratives really fortified the fact that museums are not purely localized in physical or digital locations. Rather, they carry lessons that are integral to multiple facets of our lives, quite literally beyond the halls. (I couldn’t resist making the title reference...)

Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang 

(3.9/5 stars, rounded  to 4 on Goodreads) 

First and foremost, I want to preface this by saying that if this review were solely based on writing quality, it would be a clear 5 stars for me. But another part of reviewing a text is honoring personal preferences and coming to embrace what I enjoy as a reader. Sour Heart is one of the most compelling and engaging short story collections that I've read in a long time, but there were elements of the tone and style that placed me in uncanny valley.

The narration throughout the stories came from the perspectives of children/young adults that know way too much and nothing at all, which made processing the depicted events a bit destabilizing. Also, because there were so many details to contextualize the scenes, it was hard to comb through which ones were pertinent to the plot and which ones were there more for imagery's sake. While trying to navigate which details were important, I often felt like I stumbled into reading somewhat graphic scenes that I could no longer opt out of imagining. On the one hand, when those kinds of scenes happen in the real world, people usually don't have the choice over whether or not they are exposed to them. They are swallowed by the reality of it. That's how this book made me feel, which is an incredible feat in writing. As a reader, I like being able to choose my distance from the scene, and Sour Heart is unapologetically in your face. If you like being completely immersed, Sour Heart is for you. 

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff 

(4.2/5 stars, rounded to 4 on Goodreads) 

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. The imagery was precise and compelling. The pacing was charged, but not overwhelming. And of course, I love how Matt Ruff subversively made Black protagonists the center of Lovecraft-inspired narratives, undermining Lovecraft's legacy of white supremacy. I hope that Lovecraft is writhing in his grave somewhere.

With all of that being said, all throughout the novel, I couldn't help but think that Lovecraft Country was supposed to be a TV show. I mean, I know that it is a TV show on HBO now, but I intentionally didn't watch any of the episodes until I finished the book. Though I enjoy the structure of episodic writing, I couldn't shake the notion that the stories in Lovecraft Country were being presented in the wrong medium. Maybe I'd be less inclined to think this if the TV show didn't already exist. After doing some research, I discovered that Matt Ruff actually meant for Lovecraft Country to be a TV pitch before writing the novel. I felt this tension of the stories reaching for the TV medium throughout reading the book, which was unsettling. Perhaps there is a new genre emerging of books being shaped by TV reciprocating the ways that TV is shaped by books. My opinion may change as I read more books directly inspired by TV, but right now, I think I prefer it when stories make the most of the mediums that they are in, making the feats of adaptation all the more intriguing.

A good friend of mine put it best when he said that the book felt like a first draft for the show. Is Lovecraft Country a good book? Yes, it's a great book, but it seems to not be content with itself within the novel form, stretching to self-actualize on TV screens.

Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

by Madeleine L’Engle

(5/5 stars) 

I have been a fan of L’Engle’s work for a long time. I may have even read this book before, but at a point in my life where I consumed words just for the sake of consumption, savoring nothing. This book means so much more to me now that I dare to be an artist in my own way. I feel encouraged to be faithful, relinquish control, and know through admitting that I don’t know.

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

(5/5 stars) 

This book was definitely the best possible way for me to close out my 40-book reading goal this year. It also helped me confirm my preference for audiobooks when experiencing a memoir because the actual voice of the author profoundly shapes the story. I have always admired President Obama, but A Promised Land granted even greater insight into his confidence and humility. Also, it made it all the more abundantly clear that being the president is actually hard work when the job is taken seriously... I could go on with the minutiae of the specific moments I liked in A Promised Land, but I think it is ultimately best for me to recommend experiencing the narrative arch of the whole thing to pretty much anyone. Read it, listen to it, do whatever you need to, but the questions, topics, and themes addressed throughout this excellent text will spark and continue much-needed conversation at the heart of the American spirit.

Fauci by Michael Specter 

(4/5 stars) 

Overall, I would say that I really enjoyed this book. If my rating only addressed the rendering of Dr. Fauci's life and impact, it would easily get 5 stars. Though I've always had respect for Dr. Fauci, I admire him all the more for his resolve, compassion, and tenacity amidst difficult (and often unnecessarily politically mired) circumstances. I also appreciated the direct and simple explanations of zoonotic diseases and evolving gene-editing technologies. I went through a phase in high school of reading all the books on zoonotic diseases I could find, and this book can join that bookshelf in more of a tangential way .

I docked a star for a book that I otherwise really loved because some of Specter's language seemed to reinforce dichotomies that don't really exist. In one place in particular, he asserts that after the Enlightenment, "Science replaced magic. Knowledge replaced faith." Language like this often presses into the somewhat exhausting notion that science and religion are somehow mutually exclusive, which couldn't be further from the truth. It's much more complicated than that.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor 

(5 /5 stars) 

This book is SO beautiful. My incredible friend who recommended this book to me didn't tell me about what happened in it before I read it. She only said that it was beautiful in an all-encompassing way. She was right. So, I'll do you all the same favor of not telling you what this book is about. Just be prepared to orient yourself to a new world quickly, to be so caught up in the swell of the narrative that you don't even question what's happening or you know you have too many questions to begin asking without succumbing to the gravity of the next word. So just read it. You won't regret it in the slightest if you're also a dreamer.