Looking Back: The Books of 2020

Reading

Book on Table: photo by Cliff Hutson

Reading has long been the first thing that I turn when I have leisure time. And, last year I had a lot more idle hours than I had before as an adult. But, surprisingly, my total of 65 books was the the greatest number I have read in any year since I have been keeping records, it is only eight more than my average for the previous four years.

This might be due to a difficulty to concentrate, to which others have alluded.  This led me to watching more TV and movies (at home) than I usually do. Not to mention the hours that I spent doomsurfing.

But, still I put up a passible record, here is the complete list:

1. “Residue,” Michael McGarrity

2. “The Fallen,” Ace Atkins

3. “The Boat Man,” Dustin Stevens

4. “The Dark Wind,” Tony Hillerman 

5. “Coyote Waits,” Tony Hillerman

6. “Y is for Yesterday,” Sue Grafton

7. “A Thief of Time,” Tony Hillerman

8. “Skeleton Man,” Tony Hillerman

9. “Talking God,” Tony Hillerman

10. “The Good Son,” Dustin Stevens

11. “The Ranger,” Ace Atkins

12. “The Greatest Books You’ll Never Read,” Bernard Richards

13. “The Western Star,” Craig Johnson

14. “Darkest Hour,” Anthony McCarten

15. “Cover Fire,” Dustin Stevens

16. “The Partnership,” Dustin Stevens

17. “The Return of Jeeves,” P. G. Wodehouse

18. “Justice,” Dustin Stevens

19. “The Scorekeeper,”  Dustin Stevens

20. “The Shape Shifter,” Tony Hillerman

21. “The Bear,” Dustin Stevens

22. “Heart of Barkness,” Spencer Quinn

23. “The Harlem Hellfighters,” Max Brooks

24. "The End is Always Near,” Dan Carlin

25. “50 Things to Do with a Penknife,” Matt Collins

26. "Stuff White People Like,” Christian Lander

27. “Sixkill,” Robert B. Parker

28. “Saturn Run,” John Sanford and Ctein

29. “Iced in Paradise,” Naomi Hirahara

30. “Stalking the Angel,” Robert Crais

31. “The End of October,” Lawrence Wright

32. “L.A. Requiem,” Robert Crais

33. “Fair Warning,” Michael Connelly

34. “The Dreamt Land,” Mark Arax 

35. “On Tyranny,” Timothy Snyder

36. “Devolution,” Max Brooks

37. “The Driver,” Dustin Stevens

38. “No Country for Old Men,” Cormac McCarthy

39. “To Have and Have Another,” Philip Greene

40. “The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook,” Joanie Zisk

41. “Cooking Through Trader Joe’s Cookbook,” Kelsey Lynch

42. “Alton’ Brown’s Gear For Your Kitchen,” Alton Brown

43. “Annihilation,” Jeff VanderMeer

44. “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” B. Traven

45. “Station Eleven,” Emily St. John Mandel

46. “One Bowl Meals Cookbook,” Williams Sonoma

47. “The Lola Quartet,” Emily St. John Mandel

48. “Alton Brown’s Good Eats: The Early Years,” Alton Brown

49. “The Science of Good Cooking,” the Editors of “Cook’s Illustrated

50. "Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food," Paul Greenberg

51. “Good Eats 2: The Middle Years,” Alton Brown

52. “Good Eats 3: The Later Years,” Alton Brown

53. “Matty Matheson,” Matty Matheson 

54. “Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean,” Edward Kritzler

55. “Cooking for One,” America’s Test Kitchen

56. "The Silence," Don DeLillo

57. "The Law of Innocence," Michael Connelly

58. "The Drunken Botanist: the Plants that Create the World's Great Drinks," Amy Stewart

59. "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man," Emmanuel Acho 

60. "Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist," Tim Federle

61. "Black Sun," Rebecca Roanhorse  

62. "Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America," Ijeoma Oluo

63. "East of East: The Making of Greater El Monte," edited by Romeo Guzman, Carribean Fragoza, Alex Saye Cummings and Ryan Reft

64. "American Tacos: A History and Guide,' José R. Ralat 

65. "Desert Oracle: Volume 1," Ken Layne 

Looking over the list this afternoon, I am  amused as I observe the trend from mysteries at the start of the year to cooking and drinking toward the end of it.

Highlights

I always find it difficult to pick a  ranked "best of list".  But, certainly, “Saturn Run," John Sanford and Ctein was one of my best reads of the year. “Station Eleven,” Emily St. John Mandel would also be a contender. 

Two that rank as most useful, but not necessarily best reads, are “The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook,” Joanie Zisk and “Cooking for One,” America’s Test Kitchen. The latter alone can rate just for its tip on how to fry eggs. 

Biggest Disappointment 

There is no doubt at all as to which was the most disappointing of them all - “One Bowl Meals Cookbook,” Williams Sonoma.

One Bowl Meal: photo by Cliff Hutson

The book can be easily summed up: cook almost any meal that you would ordinarily prepare for yourself or your family and serve it a bowl instead of on a plate. Still, I would rate it two out of four stars as it does not require one to go on a spiritual quest for the perfect bowl as so many of the books of this ilk ask you to do.

Looking Ahead

With only one book finished so far in 2021, I seem to be behind the curve. It will be interesting (to me anyway) to see how the year finishes.