It’s the end of 2020. It’s finally giving up the ghost. In celebration, I figured I’d do an end of year special for the newsletter.
I set out to read 100 books this year (quantity vs. quality debate, hey?) – as of yet I’m 81% done… Not sure if I’ll make it, but here’s this weeks review of the first 25 books read in 2020.
1. Delicate Edible Birds / Lauren Groff
Stand out story in collection: L. Debard and Aliette because very nice mirroring!
#swimcoach #1918FluPandemic #forbiddenlove
2. Children Playing Before A Statue of
Hercules / David Sedaris (ed.)
Like when you wake up from a dream and you’re sure there was a lot going on but you can’t remember
#handpicked #shortstoryanthology #forgotsorry
3. Total Money Makeover / Dave Ramsey
Practical advice for surviving Late Stage Capitalism with “gazelle intensity”
#quicksand #predators #intensemetaphors
4. So Much Longing In So Little Space /
Karl Ove Knausgård
Biography on Edvard Munch by controversial Norwegian writer
#karlove #artprocess #livelaughlove
5. Theft By Finding / David Sedaris
Journal entries stitch together coming of age in 1980’s USA
#archive #americanhistory #northcarolina
6. The Jungle / Upton Sinclair
Everyone is screwed over and dies in the snow
#chicago #stockyards #workerexploitation
7. Art & Fear / David Bayles & Ted Orland
Annual relisten to advice I wish I’d gotten in art school
#howtoart #trusttheprocess #peptalk
8. Best American Comics 2019 /
Jillian Tamaki (ed)
Some gems: deep dive into Chinese soup; aliens by AI
#thoughtful #range #comicanthology
9. The Fifth Season / N. K. Jemisin
Hectic worldbuilding, hectic reveal…
#climatesurvival #mountains #secretcenter
10. Pretty in Ink / Trina Robbins
Now I know where Kewpies come from…!
#arthistory #comicindustry #newspaperheyday
12. Children of Bone and Blood /
Tomi Adeyemi
Surprized how much I enjoyed this adventure fantasy – I was entertained
#lovevsduty #bigcatsteeds #highstakes
13. A Job To Love /
School of Life (Alain de Botton)
How you spend your days is how you spend your life, hey?
#whatdoyoudo #selfhelp #UBI
14. Laurus / Eugene Vodolazkin
Russian teenager goes on redemption quest, becomes holy hermet
#travelingplaguehealer #piousholyman #carp
15. How To Think More About Sex /
The School of Life (Alain de Botton)
All I remember is the guy liking really sensible shoes as a kink
#non-fiction #psychoanalysis #iforgotalot
16. Status Anxiety / Alain de Botton
Really should have spaced out the de Botton – I don’t recall much about this one now
#comparison #context #dogsoncover
17. How To Think More Effectively /
The School of Life
Some nice habits to adopt
#notebooks #peaceandquiet #daydreammore
18. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing / Hank Green
Alien-robots-sculptures arrive on earth, social media ethics debate ensues
#entertaining #spec-fiction #unexpectedlyinevitable
It’d be a much simpler story if Borne was just Matt Damon.
#giantfloatingbear #scavengers #naturevsnurture
20. Because Internet / Gretchen McCulloch
Fun read on how language is changing under our fingers lol
#englishous #memes #grammar
21. Best of Enemies / Jean-Filliu & David B
Wild history of US and Middle Eastern relations in stark drawings
#whenyouhavehistory #longtermrelationships #oil
Graphic memoir navigating gender and early social dynamics
#middlegrade #puppydogtails #cartoonistmemoir
23. Ghost World / Daniel Clowes
Not about ghosts at all unfortunately
#comingofage #vintageyouthculture #scarlettjohanssonmovies
25. The Webcomics Handbook / Brad Guigar
Technical assistance, but probably outdated
#webcomics #practicaladvice #early2000’s
That’s it until next weekend.