Upping the ante from 2019's 36 books and 12,329 pages, I used quasi-quarantine to bump those numbers to 41 books and 13,943 pages in 2020.
Not shying away from difficult novels or tending toward feel-good stories, I tackled challenging, staggering works that ask as many questions of the reader as the answers they provide. Emotion was prevalent (as were books related to New York City), which feels apropos for the year we all faced.
Without further ado ...
#1. "The Nickel Boys," by Colson Whitehead
What I Say Now:
This novel represents perhaps the zenith of Whitehead's almost infathomable talent. His depiction of the sadistic workings of a boys' school and the slow destruction and eventual redemption of Elwood Curtis goes somewhere beyond unforgettable, with the tale adhering itself to you for weeks. In a year with so many memorable contenders, "The Nickel Boys" separated itself by a small but impossible-to-ignore margin.
Passage to Remember:
"It was bigger than Arkansas and its backward wickedness, it was America. A mechanism of justice set in movement by a woman sitting down on a bus where she was told not to sit, a man ordering ham on rye at a forbidden counter."
"Ishmael was a man of secret menace who stored up violence like a battery; Turner learned to recognize these men from then on."
"Most of those who know the story of the rings in the trees are dead by now. The iron is still there. Rusty. Deep in the heartwood. Testifying to anyone who cares to listen."
#2. "The Plot Against America," by Philip Roth
What I Say Now:
Hitting almost too close to home, this novel was eerily prescient, almost predicting the impossible scenario in which the United States has found itself. Roth finds a believable rhythm, a cadence that almost lulls you to sleep -- again, much like our country itself. "The Plot Against America" may now spark PTSD, but it's an important read and a compelling mirror we cannot look away from.
Passages to Remember:
"I'd never before had to grow up at a pace like this.
"Never before -- the great refrain of 1942."
" ... So his nomination by the Republicans to run against Roosevelt in 1940 assaulted, as nothing ever had before, that huge endowment of personal security that I had taken for granted as an American child of American parents in an American school in an American city in an America at peace with the world."
" ... across the cliffs, the woods, the rivers, the peaks, the geyser, the gorges, the granite coastline, across the deep blue water and the high waterfalls, across everything in America that was the bluest and the greenest and the whitest and to be preserved forever in these pristine reservations, was printed a black swastika."
#3. "Memory Police," by Yoko Ogawa
What I Say Now:
This haunting, understated novel clings to you, wrapping you inside its minutely rendered world until the horror takes you by storm. Ogawa masterfully paces this tale, balancing anonymity and detail, reserve and heart-pounding fright. "Memory Police" silently claws its way into the ranks of the very finest dystopian fiction.
Passages to Remember:
"The first duty of the Memory Police was to enforce the disappearances."
"'I thought I could hear the sound of my memory burning that night.'"
"'How does it feel to remember everything? To have everything that the rest of us have lost saved up in your heart?'"
#4. "Underground Railroad," by Colson Whitehead
What I Say Now:
This immensely affecting novel is under-ranked due to the presence of my top book, but "Underground Railroad" is at least as gut-punching. Whitehead spares no emotion in this heart-wrenching tale of Cora, surrounded by metaphors that never quit. This staggering work humbles every writer, crumbles every reader, and challenges every citizen.
Passages to Remember:
"When black blood was money, the savvy businessman knew to open the vein."
"George sawed with his fiddle, the notes swirling up into the night like sparks gusted from a fire."
"Poetry and prayer put ideas in people's heads that got them killed, distracted them from the ruthless mechanism of the world."
#5. "Night," by Elie Wiesel
What I Say Now:
Ranking a book like "Night" feels both unfair and impossible, as such an exercise feels mundane in the face of its sheer power. All I know is that no list of books read in a given year would be complete without added mention of Wiesel's nightmarish, otherworldly memoir of life in a circle of hell. His book exists above and apart from any other, and should be required reading for any serious citizen of the world.
Passages to Remember:
"Gaping doors and windows looked out into the void. It all belonged to everyone since it no longer belonged to anyone. It was there for the taking. An open tomb.
"A summer sun."
"I pinched myself: Was I still alive? Was I awake? How was it possible that men, women, and children were being burned and that the world kept silent? ... Not a sound of distress, not a plaintive cry, nothing but mass agony and silence. Nobody asked anyone for help. One died because one had to. No point in making trouble."
"A violin in a dark barrack where the dead were piled on top of the living? Who was this madman who played the violin here, at the edge of his own grave? Or was it a hallucination?"
Honorable Mention (in 10 words or less):
"Between the World and Me," by Ta-Nehesi Coates: Unflinching memoir of the Black journey in a hostile world.
"Imagine Me Gone," by Adam Haslett: Stirring account of the descent of depression and mental health.
"Ogilvy on Advertising," by David Ogilvy: The father of marketing opines beautifully from the office minibar.
"If It Bleeds," by Stephen King: The short story King holds court in mighty fine fettle.
"Straight Man," by Richard Russo: Polished author surprises with hysterical take on New England academia.
"End of October," by Lawrence Wright: Prescient voice rings alarm bells as future arrives on doorstep.
"Quiet," by Susan Cain: Important depiction of introversion and extraversion in the modern workplace.
"Uncanny Valley," by Anna Weiner: Revealing book can't quite decide what it wants to be.
"Free Fall," by William Golding: Deep-thinking, hard-hitting missive from icon and Scooter favorite.
"The Illustrated Man," by Ray Bradbury: Wide-ranging, metaphor-packed cosmos exploration in short-story form.
"Salvage the Bones," by Jesmyn Ward: Examination of Hurricane Katrina ripple effects on poverty-stricken family.
"Sea Monsters," by Chloe Aridjis: Dreamy coming-of-age tale set to music and location.
"Notes of a Dirty Old Man," by Charles Bukowski: Irrepressible, irascible commentary on life and love in the gutters.
"Blacktop Wasteland," by S.A. Cosby: A tale of mercenary life with undertones of racism, poverty.
"Juneteenth," by Ralph Ellison: Unfinished novel by a master, beset by gaps but powerful.
"The Glass Hotel," by Emily St. John Mandel: Haunting, hypnotic tale that bite offs more than it chews.
"City on Fire," by Garth Risk Hallberg: Endless, memorable prose smothers a story that can't quite match.
"The Imperfectionists," by Tom Rachman: Love and pain complemented by undercurrent of dying newspaper business.
"The Annotated H.P. Lovecraft," by H.P. Lovecraft: Master of the macabre at his best in crushing tome.
"The Yellow House," by Sarah M. Broom: An exploration of what happens when nostalgia meets unvarnished truth.
Notable (in 7 words or less):
"Utopia Avenue," by David Mitchell: Counterculture look at great music, meandering writing.
"Fleishman is in Trouble," by Taffy Brodesser-Akner: Divorce, dating, angst, and midlife crises.
"Gwendy's Magic Feather," by Richard Chizmar: Stephen King knockoff never quite finds center.
"Story," by Robert McKee: Informative screenwriting tome suffers from ego trips.
"The Lost City of Z," by David Grann: Incredible story rivets, but eventually peters out.
"Brown Girl Dreaming," by Jacqueline Woodson: Beautifully rendered poems capture search for identity.
"Citizen," by Claudia Rankine: Lightning-paced work that asks important questions.
"Esperanza Rising," by Pam Munoz Ryan: Striking young-adult work that tackles immigration.
"Calypso," by David Sedaris: Light chuckles sprinkle dark look at mortality.
"Ball Four," by Jim Bouton: Cringe-y, hysterical book reveals baseball's seamy side.
The Rest (in 5 words or less):
"Welcome to the Show," by Frank Nappi: Stiff treacle best for youngsters.
"Seinfeldia," by Jennifer Kieshin Thomas: Overwhelms even biggest Seinfeld fans.
"Normal," by Magdalena & Nathaniel Newman: Great message for young adults.
"Fablehaven," by Brandon Mull: Otherworldly tale great for kids.
"Contagious," by Jonah Berger: Marketing advice dated on arrival.
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