20 Books from 2020
I love the question, “What’s saving your life right now?” It causes important pause and examination into what is giving you joy, what is sustaining you. For me and I’m sure many others, throughout most of 2020 I would’ve said “books!” Here are 20 that saved my life over this wild year of 2020. Okay, fine, 28. Too many gems!
Love In Action by Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day lived a life of love and service. She helped found the Catholic Worker Movement in 1933 and is probably the most well-known political activist and radical in the modern Catholic church. What struck me most was her choice to live in voluntary poverty. I think we can all learn a lot about neighborliness from her life.
Don’t Put Me In, Coach by Mark Titus
I laughed my way through this entire book. Mark Titus, the infamous walk-on basketball player for the OSU Buckeyes in the early 2000s, has such a way with storytelling. I’m a die-hard buckeye hoops fan, so I loved this one so much. It was a treat, and I recommend it to any sports fans.
So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
In a year where everyone picked up racial justice books, this one was a great place to start. Oluo walks readers through questions and helpful, practical advice for navigating conversations around race. If you haven’t yet, add this to your 2021 list! Short, easy, helpful read.
Return Of The King by Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin
No, not Lord of the Rings. LeBron with the rings! This was such a treat for me last winter. This is a deep-dive into LeBron’s return to Cleveland, and ultimately bringing a championship trophy to the city that needed it. Their king delivered, and so did this book! Again, sports fans… grab this in 2021.
Glory Happening by Kaitlin Curtice
Simply said, this is a guiding light on experiencing God in mundane, everyday life. Curtice’s writing is so, so beautiful. This book is one long invitation to live every moment with your eyes more open. It is quick stories you can pick up as a meditative, morning read and keep on your coffee table year round. Can’t recommend highly enough for any reader, thinker, searcher, life-seeker.
Comedy Sex God by Pete Holmes
Typo? Nope. This book was a treasure for me last year. It’s one where I remember exactly where I was when I finished listening to it (audiobook). I was at the gym… woah, remember those? Anyway, it’s so incredibly funny and thoughtful. For anyone who has gone through an evolution of faith, or can enjoy being critical of your own faith tradition, this is the book for you. Pete Holmes is equal parts funny and wise; I loved this book.
The Tattooist Of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
A novel! Woo! Well, it is based on a true story, and an incredible one at that. I found my heart pounding at various times reading this book. The story was so captivating and jaw-dropping; highly recommend this and the follow-up, Cilka’s Journey.
Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr
It wouldn’t be a year-end book review without something by Rohr. Another guiding light for me, this book is from 1999 and is about having a contemplative mind. Rohr is a wonderful thinker, writer, and helpful voice for anyone who is “theologically greedy” like me. I heard someone describe themselves that way once and it resonated, as you can probably tell by my wide array of authors and topics around faith. I know it was important for me because I read it in February and still revisit it in my mind often. Another good coffee table book!
Stamped From The Beginning/ Stamped by Ibram Kendi / Jason Reynolds
Doing a 2 for 1 special here. You’ve certainly heard about and likely read Stamped by Kendi and Reynolds by now, the young adult “remix” of Stamped From The Beginning. In Stamped From The Beginning by Kendi, which I read in March, he chronicles the origins of racist ideas. It is long, dense, and IMPORTANT. Truly, it is the one history book we never had but desperately need. Stamped, the remix, is more accessible for young readers and an easier page-turner, but I would venture to say the original is more profound and important. Please, add to your 2021 list and settle in. It’s a journey.
Passionate For Justice: Ida B. Wells as Prophet for Our Time by Catherine Meeks and Nibs Stroupe
This one blew my mind. Ida B. Wells is one of the most powerful women in history. I kept finding myself crushed by the weight of imagined suffering, and deeply moved by her ability to still leave us with so much to learn. I guess that is the making of a prophet, and Ida B. Wells most certainly was one. I have a few more books on her on the 2021 list. Add this one to yours.
Between the Dark and the Daylight: Embracing the Contradictions of Life by Joan Chittister
Sister Joan! Her name popped up a few times in my Masters of Educational Leadership program I completed last December, and I’m so glad to have discovered her. She is a wise, wise soul. This book is so helpful in navigating the tensions and contradictions of life. She explores these tensions in a way that isn’t about finding answers for everything, but living through the contradictions in healthy, whole-hearted ways. So, so beautiful.
The Disappearing Man by Doug Peterson
Another jaw-dropper. A true story of Henry “Box” Brown who escaped slavery in a box. Yes, in a box. Again, the unimaginable suffering folks have endured in our country is brought to light here in this book for all ages. I couldn’t put it down. A painful and beautiful book.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
I mean, who didn’t read this in 2020? This book isn’t just for women, and I loved reading it after my wife did. I could often hear her praise-shouting downstairs as she read it. I’ve followed Glennon Doyle’s work for years now and am always blown away at her ability to name things and write her way through them. It’s no wonder this was on the top of every list in 2020.
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
Oh. My. Goodness. I loved this book… no, I adored it. I felt like I was in 4th grade again, the year this book was released, zipping my way through a new treasure. I can’t believe I had never read it before, and it very well may have been my favorite book of the year, one of my favorites of all time. Such a touching and fun story. I bought it immediately after reading, and can’t wait to read her other books!
All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
A Pulitzer Prize winner, unsurprisingly. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I am going to read it again, maybe in 2021, because I listened to it on audiobook and inevitably missed some details. The writing is breathtaking, and the story is gut-wrenching. An unparalleled work of art.
How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram Kendi
Another guiding light for 2020. Ibram Kendi’s voice is profound because he constantly reminds us an anti-racist American future is possible but will take constant work and examination. He contends that denial is the heartbeat of racism, and we have certainly see that play out repeatedly in our country. He has some helpful ways of defining important words and concepts around race, but doesn’t leave us there. He gives us ways to continue our personal journeys with anti-racism, and we’re all better for it… if we choose the work. It’s on us.
A Question of Freedom by Dwayne Betts
This is a really interesting look into incarceration. Betts is a great poet and writer and offers us a vulnerable diary of sorts into his 8 years in prison he served, starting as a teenager. He is a helpful voice in navigating the layers that make up our criminal injustice system in America.
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
Okay, c’mon! How is this my first Sue Monk Kidd book? This is an AMAZING novel about an imagined wife for Jesus. Huh? Yes, she went there… and it was such an incredible read. Two things. First, for those thinking she is a heretic or somehow “out of bounds” for this content, then, well, you’ll miss out on the beauty of her imagination. I have seen and heard criticism like this and it is baffling. Release yourself from those chains, friends, and enjoy this book.
Second, it isn’t a spiritual self-help book for those uninterested in religious content. She spend a considerable amount of time in the Holy Land, and almost didn’t finish the book because she was so caught up in the history and culture she immersed herself in. That says it all! It is in no ways cheesy or instructional, just a wonderful story that’ll make you fascinated by the Jesus she describes, and marvel at his wife, however you may find yourselves entering the story. 5/5 stars!
Too Much and Never Enough by Mary Trump
Lord. A sobering, sobering, read. What captured me most here was the inevitability of Donald Trump’s deficits. It helped me empathize with him because of the cyclical nature of family abuse and behavior. It also made me equally disturbed that we could ever, ever possibly elect someone like him, regardless of how corrupt American politics may be. It made me so sad; it was like reliving a nightmare again, just in time for it to come to a close. Read it, so we don’t make the same catastrophic mistakes we’ve made in the past few years. Also, Mary Trump is an amazing writer and incredibly smart, which is obvious in this book.
Tigerland by Wil Haygood
BOOK OF THE YEAR! So rich with Columbus history. An absolute treasure. I plan to buy every other book of his this year. An amazing look at the Columbus East High School’s back to back championships in the late 1960’s, as well as the events happening around them. Incredible.
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
This was timely. I’ve always struggled with stirring at night, and this was an informational, helpful read on sleep. It gave me some great tips on sleeping better and longer, and why we should. Highly recommend!
Caste: The Origin of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Oh, my. Just when I thought I’d read the most gripping and helpful books on racial inequality in America, I came across this. It goes much deeper than others have. Oprah said it was easily the most important book she ever put on her list, going further: “Caste provides a new way of seeing racial inequality, giving rise to countless aha moments and helping us truly understand America as it is now and how we hope it will be.”
This book should be on everyone’s reading list in 2021. More than that, it should be on everyone’s group book discussion list. So, so important.
Desk 88 by Sherrod Brown
This was such a joy. I listened to it during election season, and it made me appreciate Senator Brown even more than I already did. There is some fun and interesting U.S. history in it, as well as a deep dive into the mind of an Ohio Senator many admire. I highly recommend it.
Call Me American by Abdi Nor Iftin
Another possible book of the year. If I tried 100 times, I’d never be able to capture what this book meant to me. I’ve never had to put a book down as much as this due to the intensity of the content. Abdi Nor Iftin is an American hero, a refugee who fled war from Somalia and made his way to the U.S., not long before the Muslim travel ban in 2017. His story makes me wonder how many others like him we could be graced by, but are no longer welcomed in America. Hopefully, this changes soon. If it doesn’t, I hope our outrage and pressure is just as strong as it was during the past 4 years.
His memoir is so gripping, so powerful, so painful… I can’t recommend it enough. He was featured on This American Life where I first heard his story. Beautiful, amazing… can’t say enough about it. Here’s that episode: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/560/abdi-and-the-golden-ticket
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
I just… wow. This is a fascinating, jaw-dropping, historical deep-dive into white evangelicalism in the U.S. It is a profound examination into a group that wanted power more than love, control more than freedom, and exclusivity more than justice. It traces the origins of this “movement” and takes us to present day. So powerful, important, and non-threatening… if we allow ourselves to be open to the tragedy of it.
Grateful by Dianna Butler Bass
One of the last books I read in 2020, and one of the best. It is simple, honest, and inspiring. It helped me redefine gratitude and incorporate it as a practice into daily life. This book was a warm hug on a cold day.
Prison by any Other Name by Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law
A sobering end to the reading list. This book examines the pitfalls of progressive sentiments and policies around justice and incarceration. I would rank it up there with Caste, as it navigates new angles into injustice with brutal honesty and reflection. I found myself nodding along and placing myself in the book, in a sobering but important way. Add to 2021 list!
Honorable Mentions:
How to Fly by Barbara Kingsolver, The World According to Mr. Rogers by Fred Rogers, American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins, The Great Spiritual Migration by Brian McLaren, When They Call you a Terrorist by Asha Bandele and Patrisse Cullors
Finishing 2020 with:
Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis, Boom Town by Sam Anderson, Love is The Way by Bishop Michael Curry
Things I noticed in 2020:
I set a lofty reading goal, so it made me less attentive to what I was reading and too focused on the goal. This is something I’m going to avoid in 2021, so I’m not setting a number goal. That’s not the point, after all!
Looking Forward to in 2021:
The Life we Bury by Allen Eskens, A Nun on the Bus by Sister Simone Campbell, Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue, Charged by Emily Bazelon, A Promised Land by Barack Obama, Like Brothers by Mark & Jay Duplass, If I Get to 5 by Fred Epstein and Josh Horwitz, Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith, This is How it Always is by Laurie Frankel, Hate, Inc. by Matt Taibbi… and much more!
Some fun stats:
I read the most books in January (17), the least in September (3). I read 107 books total. If I had to guess, I listened to about 50% on audiobook, read about 50% of them in hard copy.
My whole list: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/20021464?utm_source=twitter.com
