the best books of the worst year
h e l l o from t h e o
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Last year I read over 80 books in an attempt to escape reality by whatever means possible. Here’s the best of the best and the worst of the worst.
Best memoir:
Sarah M. Broom’s memoir The Yellow House about growing up in New Orleans should be required reading for writers and travelers.
Best food book:
Kitchen Confidential is probably one of my favorite restaurant books of all time, but I’ll never stop thinking about the feasts in Lord of the Rings and Crazy Rich Asians.
Best LGBTQ book:
When Katie Met Cassidy is the lesbian rom-com the world needs right now.
Best nature book:
The Overstory is a must-read for tree-huggers and When Women Were Birds is a book of beautiful essays.
Best non-fiction book:
Both of my favorite non-fiction books this year are about racial justice: Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race and White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind.
Best indulgent book:
Some might call it a beach read, but I like to think of it as a gossipy look into the lives of strangers.
Such a Fun Age
Crazy Rich Asians
Best apocalypse book:
Reading Severance in April was a very strange parallel to the state of the world.
Best wanderlust book:
This year I really needed an extra dose of wanderlust-inspired escapism. These were the books that made me feel like traveling, even if it was just a glimpse of somewhere beyond my backyard.
The God of Small Things - Kerala
The Guest List - A castle on an uninhabited island in Ireland
Invisible Circus - Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, and Lucca in the 1970s
Land of Love and Drowning - The Virgin Islands
The Expatriates - Hong Kong
The Wet and the Dry - The Middle East
Sex and Vanity - Capri
Crazy Rich Asians- Singapore, Southeast Asia, Paris, Shanghai
Shantaram - Mumbai
Book that took the longest to read:
I feel like I was reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy for months. The books aren’t actually that long, but it still felt like a (very enjoyable) slog.
Book that took the shortest to read:
I started The Guest List in the morning and finished it before it got dark out.
Book I most want to see as a movie:
With the right cast and the right director and writer, actually think French Exit would be way better in movie form. I know it’s sacrilege to say that the movie was better than the book, but sometimes it’s true! Also, this book was just objectively bad! Lucky for me, a reader tipped me off that it is, indeed, already a movie that’s set to be released this winter.
Book that was a way better movie:
This is a controversial take, but I hated The English Patient (book) and loved The English Patient (movie).
Book with the best love story:
The short and sweet Jamilia feels like something out of fable, but the relationship I was rooting for the most was in The Underground Railroad.
Book I hated that people I love really loved:
Book with the best gossip:
No One Asked for This - Cazzie David recounts life with her famous father and the wild saga of her breakup with Pete Davidson.
White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind - Koa Beck reflects on her experiences working in women’s media and the bad behavior of white feminists.
How to Murder Your Life - Cat Marnell dishes about her messy life amongst the downtown set.
Scariest book:
The Nickel Boys is literally a horror film. It’s certain to keep you up at night and give you nightmares when you finally fall asleep.
Sexiest book:
Orgies, murders, sex parties, and heists are the highlights of the x-rated Maestra, Domina, & Ultima
Stupidest book:
The People We Hate at the Wedding is so inane that it’s infuriating. It’s ostensibly about a dysfunctional family preparing for a wedding but it’s clear this writer does not have a family and has never attended a wedding.
Most devastating book:
I haven’t stopped thinking about Jesmyn Ward’s Men We Reaped, especially in light of the incredibly tragic year she had (and wrote about for Vanity Fair).
Most beautiful book:
The language in The God of Small Things is unparalleled.
Most haunting book:
The God of Small Things is one of those books you keep thinking about long after you’ve finished it.
Most WTF book:
I still have no idea what the point of Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls is. You guys, this book is so weird. Have you read this book? Please let me know so we can go "WHY?!" together.
Most overrated award-winning book:
Interior Chinatown - National Book Award 2020
The English Patient - Booker Prize 1992
White Tiger - Booker Prize 2008
Night Boat to Tangier - NYT 10 Best Books of 2019
(If you want more context about why these books aren't as good as critics pretend they are, you can browse my newsletter archives.)
Most overrated bestseller:
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Where the Crawdads Sing is dumb as hell and people who think it’s good need to read more books.
Writer I most want to be friends with:
I’d really like to go shopping for beauty products in a foreign country with Cat Marnell (How to Murder Your Life).
Character I most want to be friends with:
I’d really like to visit Astrid’s private island in the Philippines (Crazy Rich Asians).
The 10 best books I read in 2020:
4.Pachinko