Yay for me! Patting myself on the shoulder here because I managed to post my 2020 Reading Listover on my book blog before January was done. I had debated folding the two blogs together, but I’m going to maintain the other for another year, at least, and then re-evaluate. Meanwhile, though, rather than send those of you interested in my reading proclivities off to another site, I’ve decided that I will duplicate my book posts here — and, again, see how this works over the next year.
And in case you’ve already visited that Materfamilias Reads post, I’ll throw in a What I Wore photo for some “value added” here. . .
This was what I wore a few weeks ago to meet Paul for lunch at an outdoor patio overlooking the water. . . jeans would have been dressy enough, but these days, I’m looking for excuses to dress up a bit. This leather skirt was fun to wear for a change, and I think it works well with my metallic slip-on oxfords (MOMA) — shoes determine the OOTD when the outing includes nine kilometres of Shank’s Mare (my grandfather’s expression for walking). Looking back to see if I’ve shared photos of this skirt here before, I see that I bought and posted about it back in December 2016— four years ago. And in that post, I see that I recognized the skirt — even if leather, pencil, black — as part of a consistent uniform I’ve unconsciously adopted based on that long-ago Catholic schoolgirl uniform. Just as I wrote about a few weeks ago with a skirt of a different shape and fabric. . .
And now, here’s the post I published on Materfamilias Reads. I hope you enjoy it!
2020 will be remembered by most of us as a year of many challenges, but primarily as The Year of Covid-19, of lockdowns, of physical distancing and mask-wearing and cancelled travel plans. Not being able to see loved ones in person. Snuggles missed as grandkids grew a year older. More seriously, for far too many, as a year of illness and bereavement. . . We have all looked forward to 2021 with heightened expectations, and so far it’s delivering slowly. . .
Slowly enough that we might draw on the lessons that 2020 has been trying to teach us: Just Slow Down, Stay Home, and Read!
Because for all its faults, to me at least, 2020 was also a Year of Very Good Reading.
In 2020, I followed the book-blogging practice I changed to for 2019: that is, I continued to post photos of hand-written pages from my Reading Journal, generally with added commentary and with links to posts from my Instagram Book account. By March, I had settled into one monthly post — usually posted ten days or so into the next month — and I’ll probably continue that way for 2021. (and I’d better hurry to get this 2020 Reading list posted, because it’s almost time to put together my January 2021 summary).
I’ve highlighted in yellow a few of the literary fiction and memoir titles I particularly enjoyed this year. If you enjoy mysteries/thrillers, I’d also point to Mick Herron’s Slough House series and Christobel Kent’s Sandro Cellini series set in Florence. . . and I’m looking forward to more of Attica Locke’s series about African-American Texas ranger Darren Matthews. . . And I enjoyed Brit Bennett’s novels and Abi Daré’s and Oyinkan Braithwaite’s as well. But since it would be counter-productive to highlight too many, I’ve used my yellow sparingly. . .
If you’re curious about a book and you’d like to see my response to any of these titles, click on the link within that month’s grouping . . .
And perhaps after scrolling through this list, you’ll take a moment to let me know if you’ve read any of these, tell us which you especially liked or disliked, or share a book you’d recommend from your reading last year. . . .
January
1. Elif Shafak, 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in This Strange World, literary fiction, Turkey, feminist,
2. Bernardine Evaristo. Girl, Woman, Other feminist, literary fiction, Britain, BLM
I posted about those two titles here
3. Oyinkan Braithwaite. My Sister the Serial Killer, thriller/mystery, Nigeria, feminist, BLM
4. Melissa Harrison, Clay, literary fiction, nature writing, Britain
5. Kate Hamer, The Doll Funeral, thriller/mystery, supernatural
Post about 3, 4, and 5 here
6. Tessa Hadley, Late in the Day, literary fiction, Britain, aging, adultery
7. Val McDermid, How the Dead Speak, thriller/mystery
My post about 6 and 7
8. Flynn Berry, A Double Life, thriller/mystery
February
9. Pico Iyer, The Lady and the Monk, travel, memoir, Japan, Buddhism
10. Pico Iyer, Autumn Light: Season of Fire and Farewells, travel, memoir, Japan, Buddhism
Posted here about 8, 9, and 10
11. Lee Child, Blue Moon, thriller
12. Kathleen Jamie, Surfacing, memoir, natural history, archaeology, travel
13. Ann Patchett, The Dutch House, literary fiction, coming-of-age
14. Katherine Gilbert Murdock, The Book of Boy, children/YA novel, historical fiction, fantasy
15. Marlena de Blasi, That Summer in Sicily, memoir, travel writing, Sicily
16. Felicity Cloake, One More Croissant for the Road, memoir, travel writing, cycling in France, food
My notes about titles 11-16 here
March
17. Mick Herron, Spook Street, thriller, spy novel
18. Jesmyn Ward, Sing, Unburied, Sing, literary fiction, BLM, testimony, poverty
19. Ann Patchett, The Patron Saint of Liars, literary fiction, American
20. Jean-Christophe Rufin, Le Collier Rouge, literary fiction, WWI, French history, dog, military, French
21. Mark Lamprell, One Summer Day in Rome, contemporary fiction, love story, armchair travel, aging
22. Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones, literary fiction, American history, Hurricane Katrina, BLM, poverty, family, dog
23. Ali Smith, Spring, literary fiction, Britain, socio-political, refugees, immigration
All my March reading was gathered into this post
April
24. Cara Hunter, Close to Home, mystery/thriller
25. Mick Herron, London Rules, thriller, spy novel
26. Jesmyn Ward, Men We Reaped, memoir, BLM, social justice, contemporary USA
27. Siri Hustvedt, What I Loved, literary novel, love, aging, loss, art, New York, friendship, parenting
28. Ibram X Kendi, How to Be an AntiRacist, memoir + manifesto, anti-racism, BLM, politics, social justice
29. Elif Shafak, The Bastard of Istanbul, literary fiction, Turkey, folklore/story, family, history
More about my April reading in this post
May post here
30. Donna Leon, The Waters of Eternal Youth, mystery, Venice/Italy
31. Shin, Kyung-Sook, Please Look After Mom, (trans. Chi-Young Kim), literary novel in translation, Korean, mother-daughter, aging
32. Shari Lapena. The Couple Next Door, mystery/thriller
33. Cherie Dimaline, The Marrow Thieves, YA, First Nations/indigenous, dystopian, Canadian
34. Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Fleishman Is in Trouble, literary fiction, marriage, comedy of manners, American contemporary
35. Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, historical fiction, literary fiction, British history
36. Emma Healey, Whistle in the Dark, mystery, mother/teen daughter,
37. Donna Leon, Earthly Remains, mystery, Venice/Italy
38. Cherie Dimaline, Empire of Wild, literary fiction, FirstNations/indigenous,Canadian
39. Hélène Cixous, 1938, nuits, memoir/autofiction, Holocaust, refugees, French
July
40. Denise Mina, Conviction, mystery/thriller
41. Jess Kidd, Things in Jars, Gothic mystery/thriller, Victorian, strong female detective
42. Elif Shafak, Three Daughters of Eve, literary fiction, Turkey, women’s lives
43. Maria Semple, Today Will Be Different, literary fiction, creative life, parenting, marriage, women’s lives
44. Mick Herron, Joe Country, spy thriller, British
45. Alice Hoffman, The World That We Knew, literary fiction, historical fiction, WWII, supernatural elements
46. Donna Leon, The Temptation of Forgiveness, mystery, Venice/Italy
47. Carmen Machado, In the Dream House, memoir, LGBTQ, women’s lives, love, trauma
48. Jess Kidd, Mr. Flood’s Last Resort, mystery/thriller, supernatural elements/fantasy,
49. Susie Steiner, Remain Silent, mystery/police procedural, female detective
50. Emily St. John Mandel, The Glass Hotel, literary fiction, Canadian,
51. J.T. Ellison, Lie to Me, mystery/thriller
52. Gaël Faye, Petit Pays, French, literary fiction, coming-of-age, Burundi, Africa, war, refugee, BLM
53. Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half, literary fiction, BLM, American, women’s lives, mystery
54. Melissa Harrison, At Hawthorn Time, literary fiction, environmental fiction, community, Britain
55. Don Gillmor, To the River: Losing My Brother, memoir, bereavement, men’s lives, Canadian
56. Peter Robinson, Careless Love, mystery/police procedural
57. Aysegül Savas, Walking on the Ceiling (can’t seem to make an S cedilla for first and last s here), literary fiction, Paris, Turkey, women’s lives, mourning
58. Christobel Kent, A Time of Mourning, mystery, Florence/Italy
59. Attica Locke Bluebird Bluebird, mystery/police procedural, Texas, BLM
60. Alan Bennett, The Uncommon Reader, literary fiction, humour, Royalty, reading
61. Brit Bennett, The Mothers, literary fiction, coming-of-age, women’s lives, BLM, American
62. Alessandro Baricco, Senza sangue, Italian, literary fiction, repercussions of violence, mythical
63. Ann Cleeves, The Crow Trap, mystery/police procedural, Britain
64. Ann Cleeves, Telling Tales, mystery/police procedural, Britain
65. Magda Szabó, Iza’s Ballad, literary fiction in translation, Hungary, post-war transformation, mother-daughter, aging
66. Marc Agronin, The End of Old Age: Living a Longer, More Purposeful Life, creative non-fiction, case studies, aging, self-help
67. John Farrow, Ball Park, mystery/police procedural, set in ’70s Montreal, Canadian
68. Kwame Owuachi and Joshua David Stein, Notes from a Young Black Chef, memoir, BLM, American, food and restaurant culture
Began but didn’t finish Terry Hayes’ I Am Pilgrim
69. Elif Batuman, The Idiot, literary fiction, American contemporary, women’s lives, academe, coming-of-age
70. Elizabeth Acevedo, The Poet X, YA, Coming-of-Age, BLM, Slam Poetry, Novel in Verse
71. Abi Daré, The Girl with the Louding Voice, Literary Novel, Coming-of-Age, Trauma, Africa, BLM, Women’s Lives, Nigerian-British writer
72. Edna O’Brien, Girl, Literary Novel, Coming-of-Age, Trauma, Africa, 20th-century history, Women’s Lives
73. Thomas Perry, Small Town, thriller, female detective
74. Christobel Kent, A Murder in Tuscany, mystery/police procedural, Tuscany/Italy, aging/longstanding marriage
75. Emma Donoghue, Akin, literary novel, road trip, France, New York, aging, retirement, old-meets-young
76. Louise Erdrich, The Night Watchman, literary novel, American history, indigenous history, BIPOC history
77. Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, graphic novel, book-to-film, children’s novel, film history
78, Erin Morgenstern, The Starless Sea, fantasy, LGBTQ
79. Ali Smith, Summer, literary novel, volume in series, British, feminist, refugee/immigration, Brexit, youth and age, environment
80. Jess Kidd, Himself, Mystery, Gothic, Comedy-of-Manners, Small-town Ireland
81. Andre Leon Talley, The Chiffon Trenches, memoir, fashion/style, BLM
82. Clare Beams, The Illness Lesson, literary novel, feminist, Gothic, American, science, medicine, education
83. John Banville, Snow, mystery/police procedural (but also a literary novel, sly) Ireland, Irish politics, Church
84. Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, auto-fiction, literary novel, LGBTQ, immigration, coming-of-age, trauma, American, Vietnamese
85. Stephanie Butland, The Lost for Words Bookshop, contemporary fiction, romance, mystery, book culture, set in York
86. Anthony Horowitz, The Magpie Murders, mystery, book culture, story-within-a-story, English country house/small town, London
Comments, as always, welcome. . . I’ve always enjoyed the conversations about books over at Materfamilias Reads, which often give me great recommendations for books to add to my To Be Read list, and I’ll admit that I have some misgivings about posting in both places. I’ll be watching to see if the conversation becomes too diluted on either blog and trying to think of the best solutions. Feel free to visit back and forth if it suits you, or even post your comment both here and there.
Hi Frances. I’m in the middle of Bride of the Sea, by Saudi-American debut novelist Eman Quotah. Per your summary style I’d call it feminist, Muslim, literary fiction, Midwestern/Middle Eastern family saga. The author is a good friend — I read an early draft and somehow the published book is even better though I wouldn’t have thought it possible.
That's a list, and no mistake. Here's a suggestion that might lighten the load and help to combine both blogs – you could have a monthly reading blog here on Materfamilias Knits, like a Reading Room Wednesday (or something of that ilk) where you share what you read and perhaps we wade in with our recommendations/shares/comments. Like a Bring-and-Buy sale of work. That's my three-pennorth (I don't know what has happened to me today, I sound like a 1930s Cockney…)and love the skirt. Knees up, Muvver Braahnn.
I've commented on "the other Boleyn girl/blog post" about book list
So,there is a black leather skirt-I like it and have a similar one (unfortunately,I get it taken in a couple of years ago,so,we are not in the same size any more,the skirt and me. Yesterday evening was one of the eartquakes-there are so many that it is old news and I don't write about it any more- it changed the position of my coffee machine,so it wasn't the bad dream,but I had to eat a couple of cookies to calm down…and day by day….)
It was a great outfit for lunch!
Dottoressa
P. S.
I've read somewhere: "I will be soooo overdressed for my first coffee after lockdown that nobody will recognize me"……me too indeed
No erudition here for the moment. Annie's comment sent me down memory lane with Knees Up, Muvver Braahnn. Remember dancing and singing it with my (Cockney) aunties and cousins back in the 1950s and all of us laughing ourselves silly. Good times.
Oh, and my Brit mother used a variation of your grandfather's term for walking. She always said we were going by Shank's Pony.
Hello Materfamilias
Have you read Cara Black series of murders in Paris? First one is Murder in the Marais, then each book follows. Each book takes place in a different arrondissement. Cara lives in San Francisco but does all of her own research in Paris. I have heard her speak many times at a bookstore in San Francisco and once at a café in Paris.
Jennie, San Francisco
Anonymous at 9:21: I've just looked up and read an excerpt from Bride of the Sea — and made a note for future reading. I suspect it would appeal to many readers here as well. Thanks for the recommendation . . . For future comments, consider using the Anonymous option, just as you have, but sign off with a pseudonym — as Dottoressa has, just a few comments below yours. Or even just use your first name.
Annie: Thanks! (used to be a ha'pennyworth at one point, no? Damned Inflation!!) The Reading Room event you suggest happens somewhat regularly at my other blog, but tends to be monthly. We're a small crew there, but keen enough that I've drawn many reading suggestions from the comments over the years. I'll keep your suggestion in mind depending on the level of interest I see here over the next year. (but once a week unlikely as it would rob too much reading time and squeeze out too many other topics. Oh, to be more single-minded and have more focus!
Dottoressa: Ha! The other Boleyn blogger indeed! (you're cheeky 😉
I'm sorry to hear the earthquakes continue. You must all be stressed and on edge. So glad to know that at least there were cookies at hand and your coffee machine hadn't been shifted too far away (I would be a wreck, I must admit.). . . And yes, I know about those garments that have stubbornly remained a size that I am no longer — my daughters have benefited. . . As for your last comment, is this really possible, though, in Zagreb? Can one really be overdressed for špica? (of course, I'm #jokingnotjoking)
Well,no :),but it will be a completely another level indeed (like Bridgerton or lady Gaga or…..:))
D.
Mary: I had the same response to Annie's mention of that song. My dad (from NE Yorkshire) had a circle of English ex-pats, and I have happy memories of gatherings with rousing renditions of Knees Up . . . and, too often, On Ilkley Moor Baht'at. . . Shank's Mare seems to be the North American version, Shank's Pony in UK and Australia, and apparently the earliest examples of the concept were the Scottish "shank's nag." All of which I've only just discovered thanks to the wonders of a search engine 😉
Jennie: I've read and enjoyed a few of Cara Black's Paris mysteries, although I haven't kept up. Perhaps I should check them out again — thanks for the reminder!
I like the combined blog idea! Keep it going, please!
I have read a fair few of the books you have listed: Evaristo, Hadley, one of the Ali Smith novels, Alan Bennett, Mantel, Machado, Patchett, Brodesser-Akner, St John Mandel, Horowitz, and Iyer. I haven't been reading much in the mystery genre except the Horowitz and the new Tara French. Something about the genre isn't speaking to me at the moment, although I am certain my enjoyment of it will return. It's funny how all this time on my hands has made me somewhat resistant to reading certain things I gave my brother Michael Crummey's (remember him?) "The Innocents" for Christmas in 2019; he brought it to me in late February to read, and it has sat on my bedside table ever since. However, I have chosen to re-read George Orwell's "Coming up for Air," easily my favourite of his novels. Why do I turn to this and not that? I don't know.
I like the idea of combining your blogs. Oh and thank you for recommending "Call My Agent," what a treat! And so we go on during this long winter, waiting for spring, summer, or fall, that moment we can unfurl our wings and step into the sun! Brenda
très chic!
and thanks for the reading list–a treasure trove
Maggie: I'm going to try for this year, at least.
Brenda: If you ever read Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, I'd be curious to see if you find some of the connections I do with Machado's memoir (which, of course, I read because of your recommendation). And ah yes, the phenomenology of when and what we want to read. I remember after my dissertation defence I could not tolerate literary fiction (I couldn't bear to have my wrung-out analytical faculties triggered, I think, so popular/genre fiction was equally impossible if it hadn't been edited impeccably). I
I do remember Michael Crummey. Our last Gustafson gig together 😉
Orwell, eh? I've only read the obvious. . . now I'm intrigued. But probably won't add to the overly long list. . . . Yes! Isn't Call My Agent fun? Glad you're enjoying it.
Alison, Merci! et aussi, de rien 😉