With 2020 finally over with, we wanted to provide a quick review of the year’s best books. These books were named the ten best books of the year by the New York Times. We follow the New York Times book reviews, but we don’t always agree with them. Were these really the best books of the year? Or is the New York Times a bit pretentious? We read the free Kindle sample of each one to find out!
The Children’s Bible: This is a weird one. The story is told from the point of view of children, left to their own devices at their parents’ summer-long reunion. The writing style perfectly captures the languid “adventures” of a childhood summer vacation, but I worry that the voice would get tiresome over the course of the full novel.
Deacon King Kong: Full disclosure, I haven’t read any of James McBride’s other works, so I can’t tell you how this compares. Unfortunately, I struggled to finish the sample, and I probably wouldn’t pick up the full novel. The writing felt cluttered in a way, too occupied with exposition for every new character to focus on one cohesive plot arc, leaving me confused and a little exhausted.
Hamnet: I really enjoyed the sample for this one, and I fully intend to get the full copy. It’s certainly not an exhilarating read, and with a premise centered on the death of Shakespeare’s child, it’s not going to be jolly either. Still, I found the writing thoughtful and delicate, the kind of novel that feels a bit like being wrapped in a blanket—which might be exactly what we need this year.
Homeland Elegies: A collection of semi-autobiographical vignettes, I found myself wondering throughout the sample how much of it had really happened (especially regarding the author’s father in the first chapter). The beautiful prose and insight into the less-than-rosy perspective of a first generation American make it, in my opinion, worth picking up.
The Vanishing Half: The premise of this book felt like a timely comment on race - twin sisters, one of whom lives life as a black woman and the other who passes as white. Unfortunately, the writing didn’t do it for me. It was a slow moving book that felt more like a way to pass the time than a call to conversation and activism.
Hidden Valley Road: This book is such a good example of my new favorite trend in nonfiction, the microhistory. By studying one family in depth, the author is able to trace a much larger history of the development of mental health treatment. I loved this book so much.
A Promised Land: Of course Obama’s book is going to be amazing. Did we even need to review this? What a relief to read thoughtful, heartfelt words by a former Commander-in-Chief.
Shakespeare in a Divided America: This book is a deep dive on Americans’ relationship with Shakespeare’s plays in eight different moments in history. To be frank, if you’re not a Shakespeare nerd, a US history buff, and love both of those things to commit to 300 pages on their intersection, you’ll probably find this one a slog. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the sample and would highly recommend it.
Uncanny Valley: This memoir seems to have an identity problem. It can’t seem to decide if it is a business history, describing the rise of the Silicon Valley and technology, or if it is a personal tale of one woman’s work in the industry.
War: This one appears to be a pretty straightforward nonfiction work, generally appealing to most readers. I wouldn’t call it boring though - it seems to blend history and sociology approaches to explain both how and why the act of war is so central to humanity. It’s an ambitious question, and I’m curious to see if she pulls it off in the full book.
Our Favorite Books of the Year that the New York Times neglected:
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
The Southern Book Club Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
Let us know which of your favorites should have made the list!
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