So, here we are again, with another book review ish, more like my top books of this past year. You on one screen and me on another. I know I never finished my book reviews but that’ll be in my next blog post so stay tuned for that, I have like 40+ books to jam into it…but I’ll give like 1 sentence reviews haha
These reviews are books I’ve read in 2020, not books that have come out in 2020, unless they have then that’s a coincidence. They’re in no particular order! Feel free to let me know of any recommendations you have 🙂
Best Biography-Asian-American-Experience-Book-That-Encompasses-How-I-Feel
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong. Okay so this did come out in 2020 and I’m so glad it did. I have yet to read a memoir or biography that I personally resonated with to this extent. It’s as if Cathy Park Hong went inside my brain and went “yep same here” and wrote about not only her life but about Korean history, American history, the immigrant experience, the English language, racism, and sexism. She’s a poet so obviously she’s going to write exquisitely. Hong was spitting fire and I’m in awe that she’s able to capture how Asians are perceived as the invisible minority who are also simultaneously considered to be the “best successful minority”. All this to say, I was not expecting her work to be so powerful, articulated, and awesome.
Best Series
Scythe, Thunderhead, & The Toll by Neal Shusterman. I mentioned this series in a previous book review blog post but wow, this was good. I read 9 different series or prequels or spin offs (didn’t finish all of them though) and this one definitely was the most unique. The sci-fi elements were complicated to understand at times but the fantasy aspects were the most intriguing to me. During 2020 where death is imminent with the pandemic, what would it be like to live during a time where death doesn’t occur at all.
Book that Made Me Laugh Aloud the Most
This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay. This book was absolutely hilarious which was surprising because it’s a biography, diary type novel. And it’s about a doctor’s life, I genuinely thought this was going to be super boring and provide me insight into the medical field. As we all know, I’m not a doctor and will never be one much to the disappointment of my parents. However, Kay writes about his experience being a doctor in the UK from residency to being a junior doctor to a senior doctor (I don’t even know if that’s the right term) in the baby delivery sector…geez, I don’t even know anything hospital-wise. He dives into crazy patients, the hilarity of awkward situations both medical and non-medical, and the lack of mental health and financial affluence doctors have contrary to popular belief. I’ve never laughed aloud this many times while reading a book and yes, I read many books by comedians and naturally funny people. Perhaps it’s the British humour and wit, but this book brought so many laughs but also it sucker punched me near the end, like in a good way.
Best Mythological Magic that Felt Real
Circe by Madeline Miller. I’m pretty sure I mentioned this in a previous blog post but it’s really no surprise that Miller’s book is on this list. I personally found Circe better than her previous book but it’s only slightly better because both are fantastic. She’s able to retell a famous tale of ancient Greek mythology in a way that feels like I’m reading an ancient manuscript. It’s fun and witty and intense and great for escaping quarantine. I totally recommend this one, it’s such an epic.
Best Historical Fiction
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert Yes, I had a historical fiction phase and this one won! I loved everything about this novel, maybe it’s the theater aspect in the 1940s in NYC but I thought it was hilarious, so wild, and out there. It’s like going to a party as an introvert, you obviously don’t want to go but then you go and it’s actually not that bad? In fact, you’re having fun and it’s a blast and you feel comfortable because you see a friend and then you make more friends and then it’s over before you know it.
Best Mystery
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides uhhh wow, okay so I read a lot of thrillers and mysteries this year and majority of them were amazing with great plot twists. However, this book stands out for several reasons. Michaelides is a great writer, fine-tuning details and providing great anecdotes that come in handy throughout the plot. The plot actually makes sense because I find with some thrillers it’s just way too out there and illogical, it can ruin the book but this one is interesting and nerve-wracking at the same time.
Best Black-Canadian Experiences and Educate Yourself Basically
The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole lives up to the hype! This book was published in 2020 which I find timely; however, if you’re unfamiliar to Cole, he actually wrote a cover story in 2015 for Toronto Life which is where I first read his work for school. I’m so glad that I was able to read about Cole’s journey since 2015 to now. I’ve read different books on Black lives and experiences but most books were on the American experience. I recommend this one instead because Cole not only talks about Black experiences of racism, discrimination, and police brutality in Canada but also the history of them from people he knew and strangers. Cole’s way to breaking down institutional racism from the TDSB to colonialism with residential schools to even racism in the Toronto Star was perfect to understand. Thank you to Miruna for recommending this book! If you’re considering to read more books on Black lives, perspective-shifting, and thought-provoking books in a Canadian perspective, I also recommend They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life, and Growing Up by Eternity Martis who writes about her experience at Western University and the complex nature of being one of the only Black students.
Best Poetry
The Tradition by Jericho Brown was mentioned in my Instagram stories but wow, this book deserves all the accolades which it has, winning the Pulitzer this year. Brown writes with such a soft subtle touch with each line meaning so much. He doesn’t even need to say much but each poem is so powerful. He writes about identity, being black, America as a whole, being a father, being queer, being traumatized, and more. I definitely need to dissect and re-read his work but his poems are so strong and witty, incredibly well-written.
Guilty Pleasure Read
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black Yes, I read the trilogy in like a few days, yes, I also enjoyed it. This book and trilogy as a whole, is about fairies…yeah that’s as far as I’ll go. It’s a YA fiction novel and I read it during a time where I was super burnt out and exhausted of working and going through the graduate school application process. I’m reminded that reading should be fun and although I’ve read a variety of different novels both fiction and non-fiction, I think I became tired of reading only “professional” or award-winning or whatever set of books I was reading. So, even though this book wasn’t even written amazingly or super good, I enjoyed the series nonetheless.
Basically the GOAT
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. Um possibly the best book I’ve read all year. I laughed and cried after reading this book, but mainly because I found out the author’s mother passed away last year. If you’ve read this book, you’ll understand why I ended up crying but if you haven’t, I won’t spoil it. Vuong’s book is technically a fiction I think but it’s really an autobiographical book about his life as a Vietnamese queer refugee. His difficulty with race, gender, family, identity, and speaking English was written in a powerful way. Perhaps it’s because the author is a poet but he everything he wrote was incredibly witty. For example, his mom’s name is Rose as in the flower (noun) also as in she rose (verb) from the dead, from the ground, from being a refugee. I definitely didn’t do his book justice but there’s so many times where something he brought up in chapter 1 is eloquently referenced later and his entire novel is so cohesive which isn’t common in novels now. You can clearly tell that this book was made with so much love and care and I can’t wait to read more of his work. Also, fun fact, the book is being adapted to the big screen!
Well there’s my top 10 books of 2020. They’re not necessarily my top favourites, but they’re all my top 10 in the category I gave them. I had difficulty choosing between so many books I read and honestly, there were also a lot of books I read that was incredibly disappointing and did not live up to the hype. Perhaps I’ll write about that later. Anyway, I found a lot of solace and joy reading this year with everything that happened and I’m looking forward to the new year!
Gloria's Scribbles and Thoughts 