My Books of 2020
Tags: 2020, Books, Journal

My Books of 2020

For Women Only (11/14/19 — 1/21/20)

Finally finished this book that my friend Frances had bought me years ago. Fresh from a rough breakup and still feeling incredibly uncertain as to what went wrong, I think I wanted some answers as to what I was missing to see regarding men and relationships. This book didn’t really help.

Fabio’s American Home Kitchen (1/3/20 — 1/25/20)

One of my new year’s resolutions was to cook a new dish every week. To that avail, I resolved to read cookbooks cover to cover, starting with this one. I love Fabio. I appreciated how he would talk in this book about what were the things you could pass with little to no effort on and expand on why doing certain things was important (like not rinsing your mushrooms and brushing them instead because water exposure doesn’t let them not brown properly).

Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus (1/31/20)

Read this book in one sitting at the Long Beach Airport, waiting for my flight to Las Vegas. My friend Jane had gifted it to me and had it sent to my office where I got it just in time for a trip I was slightly dreading.

Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family by Mitch Albom (2/4/20)

I was scrolling through Facebook late one evening and came upon Mitch Albom’s post about his daughter, which led me to rent his book from Libby and read through the night. I love Mitch’s simple and conversational yet emotionally-rich writing style that so easily has me tearing up at times. I had read Tuesdays with Morrie religiously in my last few years of high school (probably well over 50 times) and I recalled Mitch expressing to Morrie that he had been reluctant to have children for a myriad of reasons. It made me happy to see that he and his wife were great parents to Chika and that he grew and found answers since those years of doubt long ago. It reminded me that people’s feelings change, that opportunities sometimes come in unexpected times, and of my desire to have an adoptive family someday.

If They Come for Us by Fatimah Asghar (2/9/20)

I read this at the Amazon Bookstore at the Century City Westfield mall. Little did I know that this would be my last time at this mall all year, as Covid would come in a month’s time and shrink my living radius to the 5 mile perimeter of Long Beach.

Have a Little Faith: A True Story by Mitch Albom (2/13/20)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (2/25/20)

While Lauren was visiting the Palais Garnier, I took a break at a nearby cafe as it started to pour rain. The cafe was clean and small, brightly lit with white modern chairs and a polished light wood counter. I ordered a beautiful raspberry tart and journaled as I read through the Wizard of Oz for the first time. As the best children’s stories are, this story was poetic and proverbial in all the profound and wise ways. I loved it.

How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell (2/21/20–3/1/20)

Reading this during a leisurely European vacation where I wanted to do nothing capitalistically productive was so timely. This was the only physical copy book I had brought, and a library book no less. The first forty pages were exceptional. The idea that has stuck with me the most was about how we (society) often view productivity as producing something new, while we don’t see maintenance and upkeep as productive in the same respect.

The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton (4/7/20)

I read all 272 pages in one night, going to bed at 5am on a work night. I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down. Incredible story and an even more incredible human who went through unimaginable darkness. After months of sinking depression and hopelessness in my own life, reading this true story of Anthony’s life woke me up to the smallness of my problems and the hope that could be found in it if it could be found in the even darker place that Anthony was in. Nothing like distracting from your problems by immersing yourself in someone else’s story that is so much bigger than your own.

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (4/21/20–4/23/20)

This was one of those rare books that had me laughing as I was reading. And also learning — I knew nothing of South Africa’s apartheid and damn, Trevor is so knowledgeable about history and articulate in his explanations. In these early months of the pandemic, I was watching Trevor Noah’s Daily Show on Instagram to get supplemental news updates on the US’s political quarantine situation. April and May were heavy Trevor Noah times.

The Tradition by Jericho Brown (4/25/20–4/27–20)

Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver (4/25/20–5/5/20)

I don’t remember what influenced me to give Mary Oliver a try but wow this book launched me into the flood gates of wanting to read ALL the Mary Oliver I could get my hands on. ALL OF IT. I could not get enough. She wrote mostly about being in nature and its quiet beauty and wisdom, and at this point in time, that’s all I wanted to hear. It brought me such peace. Sometimes reading or listening to someone else’s voice can be very draining and upsetting, especially if you’re in a very delicate mental state. With Mary, I felt like I found a kindred spirit who I wanted to walk with and listen to her observe life. In such little words, she made profound connections to the human soul. Her thoughts were cursive, artful and fluid in their communication.

Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver (5/14/20)

Here Comes This Dreamer by Micah Bournes (5/16/20)

I had a two and a half hour long phone conversation with Micah early in this pandemic about creativity, Christianity, purpose, fear, racism and environmentalism. I love his mind and his convictions always open my mind to new perspectives and stir me up to do something with what I have to offer.

Blue Horses: Poems by Mary Oliver (5/19/20)

The Carrying: Poems by Ada Limon (5/16/20 — 5/20/20)

The Borrowers by Mary Norton (5/27/20 — 5/29/20)

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, Illustrated by Michael Pollan and Maira Kalman (5/28/20 — 5/30/20)

Swan: Poems and Prose Poems by Mary Oliver (6/9/20)

Educated by Tara Westover (6/17/20 — 6/22/20)

Broke my streak of short books to read Educated alongside my friend Tammy. It was NOT at all what I thought it was going to be about (i.e. a nonfiction book about America’s education system). Rather it turned out to be a memoir that reminded me of The Glass Castle but made The Glass Castle seem like a Disney movie in comparison. This book hit on one of my biggest triggers — people who use religion and God to justify their asinine ways and keep themselves ignorant while hurting others — and boy, it had me passionately texting my fury to a few friends about my incredulousness at Tara’s life situations. Afterwards, I became obsessed with hearing more from Tara and listened to many of her interviews, all of them interesting and wise and insightful.

Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown (7/2/20 — 7/13/20)

Still feeling pained and insecure about my ability to fully accept others, I listened to this audiobook per the recommendation of my therapist. Listening to Brene Brown read this felt like getting advice from a smart and loving aunt.

A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver (7/7/20–7/16/20)

I spent many summer afternoons laying underneath a massive leafy tree at the Colorado Lagoon. It was my favorite spot to read Mary Oliver and amidst the herons, stingrays, ducks and squirrels, I imagined that I was living what she was telling me about.

Bright Dead Things by Ada Limon (7/22/20)

The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz (7/4/20 — 8/2/20)

For six months this year, I was a part of a weekly small group that was started by one of my favorite bands, United Pursuit. It was a beautiful online space where about 33 of us from all over the world would share life with one another and become a big virtual family. Many of us were grappling with a Christian faith that looked different than what we’ve experienced at our Sunday churches while others had left the faith due to hurts that they’ve experienced along the way, but still wanted community. This led a few of us to organically organize a book club on this book by psychoanalyst Grosz. It was my first book club experience but I could not think of a better read that would have allowed five strangers to dive into such deep, vulnerable, and fascinating conversations so quickly. For five weeks, we shared our own stories of how we related one of the clients in the book and we joked near the end about how we knew each other’s attachment styles but didn’t even know our job titles or other shallower things that you would usually use to define a stranger.

The Art of Up by Tim Hauser (8/4/20)

The Art of Wall-E by Tim Hauser (8/4/20)

The Art of The Incredibles by Mark Cotta Vez (8/7/20)

August was an intensive animation month where I was attending multiple virtual workshops and panels by various animation studios every week. I bought an iPad so I could play around with Procreate and borrowed every Pixar art book from the library that I could get my hands on. This book about the Incredibles art was one of my favorites — the creativity that went into every collage was incredible and inspiring. Which led me to sign up for a perfectly timed character design workshop with Teddy Newton, one of the main concept artists for the film.

The Art of Pixar by Amid Amidi (8/15/20)

The Art of Wreck It Ralph by Jennifer Lee (8/16/20)

The Color of Pixar by Tim Kratter (8/17/20)

Momo by Michael Ende (8/23/20–8/24/20)

My friend Caro and I finally got this book around the same time after months of being on the waitlist. We had both loved this book when we had read it over a decade ago and were wondering if it would still resonate with us as an adult. To our delight, we found that we still loved it and the timeless wisdom it gave, reminding us of the importance of relationships, community, and life choices that don’t revolve around efficiency, climbing a social hierarchy, or making money.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (book #7) by J.K. Rowling (8/26/20–8/29/20)

After LOVING this season of the Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast, I borrowed my friend’s copy and read the book in three days. The last time I had read it was when the book had come out and I had powered through the book with the sole desire to know how the series ended. This time, I was blown away by how complex the characters and their emotions were and especially by the examples of bravery and cowardice that I identified with. I was inspired by how Harry expressed his anger, felt the gravity of Ron’s desertion of the group, empathized with Kreacher’s story and his change of spirit toward the trio, felt awed at Hermione’s preparation and brilliant strategic mind, and understood Harry’s grappling with the flaws of his late mentor. Mostly, I resonated with all of the uncertainties and fears that come with wanting to choose the path of your values towards what is right. I read this book three times in the span of a month and it gave me different insights depending on what I was going through at the time (friendship, relationship, family, decision-making, etc). I also attempted to start an email-thread book club on it, which worked to inspire some friends to read the book but didn’t really work in getting them to share with each other about it (only with me, ha).

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (book #6) by J.K. Rowling (8/31/20–9/2/20)

After obsessing over the 7th book, I decided to read backwards in the series. The sixth book was also satisfyingly rich in story, but I didn’t make it through the fifth book. Too much internal drama and not enough adventure in the plot.

The Way of the Heart: Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers by Henri J.M. Nouwen (9/16/20–9/19/20)

After a year of pain and confusion with my faith, I finally picked up a Christian book to read. This one was excellent — well-organized, firm, unapologetic and almost extreme in its convictions regarding silence, solitude, and prayer, which was refreshing in a time of lukewarm and politically-correct stances.

Sister Mother Husband Dog: Etc by Delia Ephron (9/24/20–9/25/20)

Loved all of these lighthearted personal essays from Delia. How do people learn to write like this, where they connect two disparate trains of thought together so seamlessly and conversationally?

Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman (10/3/20)

Picked this up because Delia said she liked it. This simple book inspired me to document my most worn outfits of this mostly stay-at-home, non-social pandemic.

Fred’s Big Feelings by Laura Renauld (11/6/20)

Read this aloud to my brother in a hotel room in Berkeley. I called 911 a few hours later.

Humans by Brandon Stanton (11/12/20–11/15/20)

Read this in three visits to a Barnes and Nobles across the street from the hotel we stayed at. It brought me immeasurable comfort during one of the hardest weeks of my life.

A Glorious Freedom by Lisa Congdon (11/18/20–12/5/20)

Altar Ego by Craig Groeschel (10/11/20–12/8/20)

The Push by Tommy Caldwell (12/8/20–12/9/20)

Another read that reminded me that movies are not real life. I was so surprised to find that Tommy’s biography was so different from how his documentary portrayed the journeys in his life. Life, especially success, is never quite as simple as it seems to be when summarized into media format.

A Most Beautiful Thing by Arshay Cooper (12/20/20)

So inspired by Arshay and his leadership. I found this book at a time when I was feeling convicted about the need to push myself more, physically and mentally, as a way to build discipline and ascend to a next level of maturity. It also reminded me of the importance of community and how that begins by showing up for each other and being brave enough to start a conversation.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy (12/17/20–12/20/20)