Best Books of 2020

As much of a roller coaster as 2020 was, there was no stopping the publishing of great books. The following are the ones that I would definitely recommend. This link on Bookshop will give you purchase links for these books. Without further ado, in no particular order:

Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

Memorial by Bryan Washington

Network Effect by Martha Wells

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrel

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel 

The Awkward Black Man by Walter Mosley

Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

A Peculiar Peril by Jeff VanderMeer

Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay

Beowulf by Maria Dahvana Headley

Reading Recos (October 2020)

Currently Reading:

Cory Doctorow, Attack Surface

Currently Listening To:

Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher

Hello, and welcome back to what seems to be a once-a-month helping of scatterbrained writing by yours truly. I thought I’d share a couple of books that I’ve read recently and have taken up space in my brainhole:

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab — This book took me by the heart and did not let go. Come for the beautiful prose, stay for a story that can only come from a master of craft and fancy coats.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow — I’ve read a handful of books by Doctorow now (Radicalized, Walkaway, Homeland) but Little Brother lands at the top. He is an expert on writing in such a way that makes complicated topics—in this case, much “computer-speak”—without making it boring. Recommended for any and all, especially those interested in all things cyberpunk.

Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson — Sanderson is a beast when it comes to the fantasy and world-building. Already blown away by the Mistborn trilogy, I was surprised that Way of Kings could top it. Such a dense universe with characters that jump off the page. Daunting in size but such a rewarding read. Also reco its followup, Words of Radiance.

Awkward Black Man by Walter Mosley — This collection of stories by Mosley, known for his detective fiction, took me off guard. I admit I have only read the first in his “Easy” Rawlins series, Devil in a Blue Dress, and came to this collection with limited knowledge. How Mosley could weave such stories with such alive characters baffled and inspired me. Awkward Black Man made me want to look more closely at my own stories and how I could write such complex characters.

Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark — I am a sucker for Tor.com’s novellas. Not only are they always beautiful to look at and hold they always pack a punch. This was my first foray into a Clark novel, after only reading a short story on Fantasy Magazine’s site (“The Things My Mother Left Me”). Ring Shout left me wanting more, but not in a bad way. Clark created a lush world that I wanted to spend more time in. This novella takes topics of race and the evils of white supremacy and uses it to make a “fun” revenge story. As fun as it may be, however, it is packed with commentary that is important in today’s dialogue.

I’ll try and do this a little more often, maybe as monthly write-ups. The more I blog—and the less I blog, in this instance—I realize that there isn’t a whole lot to say. But I do spend a lot of time reading when I am not writing, so why not recommend?