Skip to main content

My Top 4 Books in 2020 (plus all the rest)

Amazingly, I managed to hit half of my reading goal for the year! Between a new baby and a global pandemic, I am firmly in camp "making it through each day is a success." I somehow wound up with MORE books on my TBR shelf than I started with, thanks in no small part to discovering BookOutlet, plus the library's super-convenient website ordering and curbside pickup. I still adore browsing through the stacks, but between email list and Bookstagram recs, and having the entire NC Cardinal system at my fingertips, it's too easy to get the exact book I'm looking for. I can't wait to be able to be pleasantly surprised again, though.

My Four Favorite Books: 


1. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. "Beyond race, class, or other factors, a powerful caste system influences people's lives and behavior and the nation's fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations... [and] shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day." This book made me so righteously angry that I wanted to vomit. And I say that as highest praise: this is a book that every white person needs to read. I thought I understood "racism", but I didn't get the nefarious ways those in power use race (and class and other delineations) to divide us in order to maintain power. Is there a way to get rid of caste on a country-wide scale without simply burning it all down and starting over? I don't know. That's what had to happen in Germany to stop the inhumanity. 

Also in the category of Black Lives Matter reading: Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi, Dean Smith, Charlie Scott, and the Era That Transformed a Southern College Town by Art Chansky, Raising White Kids by Jennifer Harvey, Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis, and Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum. 

2. Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression - and the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari. "Once Hari had uncovered nine real causes of these problems, they led him to scientists who are discovering very different solutions--ones that work." I believe mental health is a multifaceted thing, made up of neurochemicals, physical pathways, gut health, AND the connections Hari talks about in this book. Only using one of these facets to gain good mental health leaves a lot of potential on the table. I also believe the medical establishment wants to sell the quick fixes of pills and a lot of people would benefit from therapy, meaningful work, a better network of acquaintances, neighbors, and friends, and finding ways to be of service. My own journey with therapy, medication, functional medicine, and connection certainly bears that out. Knowing my own history, I sought a therapist for immediately post-partum, to talk through and hopefully alleviate issues that could have led to a postpartum depression or anxiety episode. Hari's book is worth reading even if only to check through your own connections and see what you can make stronger. 

Also in Getting Better reading: What You Do is Who You Are, Smart People Should Build Things by Andrew Yang The Disappearing Spoon, Cribsheet, 7 Secrets of the Newborn, Untamed by Glennon Doyle, The 7 Laws of Enough, Courage by Osho, In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore, Meaning of the Library, Off the Clock and Juliet's School of Possibilities both by Laura Vanderkam, and See You at the Campground by RVAtlas. 

3. The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker. "At a time when coming together is more important than ever, Parker sets forth a human-centered approach to gathering that will help everyone create meaningful, memorable experiences, large and small, for work and for play." I loved this one so much that after I returned it to the library, I bought myself a copy. Total game changer for theater and other live performance events. The way Parker describes asking "what is the purpose of this event?" made me rethink every theater show I have put on. Being able to think through her precepts for gathering will make any theater better connect with their ideal audience, which of course leads to raving fans and successful operations. 

Also in When I Have a Job Again reading: This is Marketing and The Practice, both by Seth Godin (these actually bookended the year!), Profit First by Mike Michalowicz, Setting the Table by Danny Meyer, and Building A Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire. 

4. In fiction: The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd. (Fun fact: Kidd lives in our old home Chapel Hill! Did I know this when we lived there? No, I did not.) I CANNOT stop thinking about this story about Ana, wife of Jesus of Nazareth. "Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. It is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers." Kidd's storytelling made me weep. 

Also in fiction: The Library of the Unwritten, Mysterious Benedict Society: Riddle of the Ages, The Secret Chapter, and The Satapur Moonstone. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

High Art vs Low Art

“The masses seek distraction whereas art demands concentration from the spectator.” - -The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Walter Benjamin, 1936 Is there any more contentious question in the art world than the concept of “high” versus “low” I like venn diagrams. And shouldn't art really be in the middle?  art? Who gets to judge? What are the parameters in which to judge? There is no standard definition for either concept and personal explanations range from simple to incredibly complex. One common theory about how to explain the difference is high art is “popular” and low art is “unpopular”, that is, appealing (or not) to many people. This also links to another version of the difference: that high art fosters the widest connection between people while a smaller subsection enjoys low art. This is in direct contradiction, though, to the idea of low art being part of mass culture (raising yet another question of “is art culture” or merely a com...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pass the Collection Plate, Please.

Various sizes of buildings, with some sort of seating arranged in rows, facing a slightly raised platform. may have curtains around the platform. people --primarily men-- take the platform to orate to the audience seated before them. A plea for donations is made at some point, either before or after the show, which may have music and will definitely have directives masked as stories on how to be a human in this day-and-age. children will be seen, maybe, but definitely not heard. the men in charge will believe they have been given a special gift for leading this particular group of people. and the people, for whatever reason, will also believe this. and this group of people will believe that their building and person and each other are completely different and somehow better than all the other exact same groups around their town/city/county/state/nation. If theater wants to be treated as church and church as theater, then both are getting exactly what they have been setting up for the p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Death & The Theater

I was listening to a recent episode of the Tim Ferris podcast and the guest, happiness scholar Arthur C. Brooks, was discussing death meditations. And the little lightbulb in my brain turned on with the thought, "We need to talk more about death in theaters." I know, I know, that seems like an illogical statement because it feels like we're always talking about the death of theater. This whole summer has been filled with articles and op-eds from across the country about how large regional theaters are dying in major cities. But that's not the kind of death Brooks was talking about, and in reality, it isn't death these articles are complaining about, either: they are trying to stay alive in a “E’s just resting” fashion, to find some kind of life-support for the theaters, to keep them going, receive new money from new audiences or donors, new shows, new gimmicks to draw more or different people in the door. Anything to keep from dying. We don't talk about death...
Post a Comment
Read more