2020: Reading Year in Review

This past year challenged my reading like no other. What was once an enjoyable escape and past time became an intense struggle. There were several weeks-long periods where I kept picking up books trying to read and giving up after 20 minutes went by and I could barely finish a few pages. Focus often alluded me in the time of doom scrolling. Somehow, I managed to read 54 books. Although several of them were on the shorter side.

Historically, the vast majority of the books I choose to read are non-fiction. This year, I tried to mix it up a little (especially to try to read more graphic novels and fiction) and I’m so glad that I did. Getting out of my nonfiction box afforded the opportunity to read the best book I read all year (and one of the best books I’ve read in my lifetime), a book that changed my mind/ideas about what a book could be. It holds the top spot in my “Top 5 Reads of 2020” list. I won’t say much else about it other than to read it if you haven’t already!

Top 5 Reads of 2020

1. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong (fiction)

2. Geography of the Heart, by Fenton Johnson (nonfiction)

3. Counting Descent, by Clint Smith (poetry collection)

4. Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates (nonfiction)

5. Beyond the Gender Binary, by Alok Vaid-Menon (nonfiction)

Because I am also a spreadsheet nerd, I made some year end graphs:

This coming year I hope to plan out a little more what I’d like to read (and also take a healthy chunk of books off of my TBR shelf).

Here is the full list of books I read in 2020. The bolded/italicized ones were books I either really liked or ones that especially stuck with me:

1. Deep Creek, by Pam Houston

2. Homo Deus, by Yuval Noah Harari

3. How We Fight For Our Lives, by Saeed Jones

4. The Lost Words, by Robert Macfarlan and Jackie Morris

5. The Weight of Shadows, by José Orduña

6. This is Water, by David Foster Wallace

7. Range, by David Epstein

8. Pain Woman Takes Your Keys, and Other Essays from a Nervous System, by Sonya Huber

9. The Hidden Life of Trees, by Peter Wohlleben

10. Start With Why, by Simon Sinek

11. Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better, by Pema Chödrön

12. Geography of the Heart, by Fenton Johnson

13. The Inevitable, by Kevin Kelly

14. 21 Lesson for the 21st Century, by Yuval Noah Harari

15. Peace is Every Breath, by Thich Nhat Hanh

16. Beyond the Gender Binary, by Alok Vaid-Menon

17. When Things Fall Apart, by Pema Chödrön

18. Dare to Lead, by Brené Brown

19. Rising Strong, by Brené Brown

20. The Dip, by Seth Godin

21. Stray, by Stephanie Danler

22. Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

23. Why We Swim, by Bonnie Tsui

24. Stamped: racism, antiracism, and you, by Jason Reyonds, Ibram X. Kendi

25. Me and White Supremacy, by Layla F. Saad

26. Recollections of My Nonexistence, by Rebecca Solnit

27. How to Do Nothing, by Jenny Odell

28. Better Than Before, by Gretchen Rubin

29. Self-Reliance, by Ralph Waldo Emerson

30. The Motivation Myth, by Jeff Haden

31. The Hatred of Poetry, by Ben Lerner

32. Fiction:

33. Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer

34. The Deep, by Rivers Solomon

35. Cinderella Liberator, by Rebecca Solnit

36. Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch

37. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong

    Poetry Collections:

38. Pioneers in the Study of Motion, by Susan Briante

39. Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, by Ross Gay

40. Be With, by Forrest Gander

41. Cast Away: poems for our time, by Naomi Shibah Nye

42. Counting Descent, by Clint Smith

43. Good Bones, by Maggie Smith

44. Don’t Call Us Dead, by Danez Smith

45. The Essential Emily Dickinson, by Emily Dickinson, Joyce Carol Oates

46. Night Sky with Exit Wounds, by Ocean Vuong

47. The Book of Light, by Lucille Clifton

    Graphic Novels:

48. They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei

49. Gender Queer, by Maia Kobabe

50. The Arrival, by Shaun Tan

51. El Deafo, by Cece Bell

52. Kindred: a graphic novel adaptation, by Octavia Butler (adapted by Damian Duffy)

53. A Fire Story, by Brian Fies

54. Queer: a graphic history, by Meg-John Barker, Julia Scheele

55. Gender: a graphic guide, by Meg-John Barker, Julia Scheele

What were the best books you read in 2020?

Another Day Hike on the AT

Last weekend I re-visited to the Appalachian Trail in an attempt to hike double-digits on a day hike (a feat I have yet to accomplish and one of my 2019 goals). Unfortunately, I miscalculated the start date of daylight savings and was only able to eke out 9 miles before sunset.

My reward for trying (other than soreness, strength, and the satisfaction of a whole four and half hours in the woods by myself) was getting out of the woods in the magical time of around a half hour after sunset. The autumn leaves lit up in a show as the fiery sky allowed its last traces of light on the day. It was breathtaking.

I chose the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown to listen to on the hour-long drive to the trail. Mindfully choosing audiobooks in order to ponder new thoughts and ideas in the silence of my solo hikes is a ritual I have written about before. However, the day prior, I also got the lucky chance to meet one of the legends of rock climbing, Alex Honnold, who has greatly inspired my thinking and approach to life. Alex made a whirlwind trip from El Capitan to my climbing gym and back again in order to give a talk on the impact of giving, to share some cool new stories, and to sign autographs.

Over those 4.5 hours on the hike, there was a lot of time to think. The gratitude I felt from manifesting the dream I had to meet Alex (and more specifically to shake his hand) was palpable and a feeling I carried with me the entire hike. But, more importantly, his words stuck with me. During the talk, he spoke about the privilege of being born into the comfort and relative safety of a developed country and the moral imperative that drives his own philanthropy. He approaches life with gratitude, not only because he is living his dream, but also because it is what allows him to make the biggest impact.

Essentialism echos these sentiments in its own way. It is a book about mindfully curating a life that fires you up. McKeown emphasizes the importance of creating time to think, something that Alex had plenty of time for on one of his deep water soloing expeditions, which he told us ultimately inspired him to create the Honnold Foundation. McKeown advocates focusing our energy, time, and efforts on the tasks and ideas that allow us to make the highest possible contribution to the world. In a capitalist meritocracy of “more, more, more” where burnout is a badge of honor, he asks us whether busy is the enemy of true productivity. In pursuing fulfillment there is another path. It is to define what is essential and to relentlessly focus on only those things, saying “no” to everything else.

So, my hike became an opportunity to further refine my intentions and to let go… I resolve to continue to use my time to write, to teach, and to protect the natural world and its inhabitants, aiming to always lead with gratitude. I will also remember the necessity of carving out time to think, to ponder, to enjoy nature and the gifts of being alive.