My 2020 End of Year Lists

As 2020 comes to a close, I wanted to share my annual lists of favorites. I’ll start by sharing my favorite books this year, deliberately omitting what I think is a pretty good book — A Promised Land — by a certain 44th president. I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I did.
Image for post
Homeland Elegies — Ayad Akhtar
Jack — Marilynne Robinson
Caste — Isabel Wilkerson
The Splendid and the Vile — Erik Larson
Luster — Raven Leilani
How Much Of These Hills Is Gold — C Pam Zhang
Long Bright River — Liz Moore
Memorial Drive — Natasha Trethewey
Twilight of Democracy — Anne Applebaum
Deacon King Kong — James McBride
The Undocumented Americans — Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
The Vanishing Half — Brit Bennett
The Glass Hotel — Emmy St. John Mandel
Hidden Valley Road — Robert Kolker
The Ministry for the Future — Kim Stanley Robinson
Sharks in the Time of Saviors — Kawai Strong Washburn
Missionaries — Phil Klay
Image for post
Like everyone else, we were stuck inside a lot this year, and with streaming further blurring the lines between theatrical movies and television features, I’ve expanded the list to include visual storytelling that I’ve enjoyed this year, regardless of format.
Movies:
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Beanpole
Bacurau
Nomadland
Soul
Lovers Rock
Collective
Mank
Martin Eden
Let Him Go
Crip Camp *A Higher Ground Production
Time
Boys State
Selah and the Spades
Television Series:
Better Call Saul
The Queen’s Gambit
I May Destroy You
The Boys
The Good Lord Bird
Devs
The Last Dance
Mrs. America
The Good Place
City So Real
Image for post
Here are some of my favorite songs of the year. As usual, I had some valuable consultation from our family music guru, Sasha, to put this together. I hope you find a new song or two to listen to.
Love Is The King — Jeff Tweedy
Savage Remix — Megan Thee Stallion ft. Beyoncé
FRANCHISE — Travis Scott ft. Young Thug & M.I.A.
Nada — Lido Pimienta ft. Li Saumet
Can’t Do Much — Waxahatchee
The Bigger Picture — Lil Baby
Ghosts — Bruce Springsteen
Levitating — Dua Lipa ft. DaBaby
The Climb Back — J. Cole
Repeat — J Hus ft. Koffee
Damage — H.E.R.
Summer 2020 — Jhené Aiko
Brave — Ruston Kelly
Uwrongo (Edit) — Prince Kaybee, Shimza, Black Motion & Ami Faku
Better Distractions — Faye Webster
Lemonade — Internet Money ft. Don Toliver, Gunna & NAV
Blue World — Mac Miller
CUT EM IN — Anderson .Paak ft. Rick Ross
Starting Over — Chris Stapleton
Mecca — Spillage Village, Jid & EARTHGANG
La Difícil — Bad Bunny
Essence — WizKid ft. Tems
All My Girls Like To Fight — Hope Tala
Kyoto — Phoebe Bridgers
SUN CAME OUT — Gunna
Remember Where You Are — Jessie Ware
4 My Ppl — Goodie Mob
Distance — Yebba
one life, might live — Little Simz

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .