I did a lot less of everything than I’d have liked to in 2020, but I did manage to do some things I enjoyed and I’d like to document them. I know it’s a few days late but better late than never I guess.

Books

This is all of the books I read in 2020. I started the year finishing reading the Harry Potter series for the first time (also better late than never). I have a few cocktail/recipe books in here that I’m not sure you would exactly call “reading”.

2020 Books

Of these my favorites are (in no particular order):

  • High-Rise by J.G. Ballard
  • Radicalized by Cory Doctorow
  • The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

All three of them were books I couldn’t put down and enjoyed tremendously. Additional books that I liked but didn’t find quite as enrapturing as these three were:

  • In House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt
  • The Boatman’s Daughter by Andy Davidson
  • Flowers of Mold by Ha Seong-nan
  • Mortals and Monsters by Lester del Rey

Overall I wish I had made more time for reading this year, as I fell quite behind my goal but I’m hopeful that I will be more successful this year.

Music

Usually I record what were my favorite albums released in the year but this year I’d like to also note records that I discovered or particularly enjoyed for the year. I think the obsession with “new” music is detrimental to the dsicovery of music and honestly, most of the music I listen to in a year wasn’t released that year so I might as well write about it.

Released in 2020

This was a quiet year for new music to me, without shows to go to I found myself slightly less drawn to discovering new released and instead explored lots of older released.

In no order, my favorite albums from 2020 were:

  • Live Forever - Bartees Strange
  • It Is What It Is - Thundercat
  • Melee - Dogleg
  • NO DREAM - Jeff Rosenstock
  • Printer’s Devil - Ratboys

Albums I discovered in 2020 that I like:

  • Lily-O - Sam Amidon
  • Time - Louis Cole
  • Somewhere City - Origami Angel
  • Worlds - Porter Robinson
  • Everything That Happens Will Happen Today - David Byrne & Brian Eno
  • The Big Freeze - Laura Stevenson

Albums that I had heard before 2020 but I especially liked this year:

  • Peripheral Vision - Turnover
  • Drunk - Thundercat
  • Weller - Weller

And as an honorable mention, these are the bands whose discographies found themselves frequently in my mind this year, and for many years prior:

  • Say Anything
  • Los Campesinos!
  • Jeff Rosentstock/Bomb the Music Industry!
  • Weatherbox
  • Motion City Soundtrack
  • Elliot Smith
  • Emperor X
  • Rozwell Kid
  • Joyce Manor
  • Motion City Soundtrack
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Talking Heads
  • Blink 182
  • Alkaline Trio
  • My Chemical Romance
  • Baths
  • Mewithoutyou
  • The Front Bottoms
  • The Menzingers
  • Free Throw
  • Why?

And probably even more that just aren’t fresh in my mind right now. Have a nice night, happy new year.