I'm not blogging much anymore, but here is the list of books I read in 2020. My list this year is far smaller than years past, largely owing to the fact that libraries were closed for months and I had to <gasp> buy books for the first time in as long as I can remember. It made me more judicious in what I read and, by extension, more satisfied overall with the content. When the pandemic hit, I had two books out from the library, The Splendid and the Vile and 1774, The Long Year of Revolution. That turned out to be good luck as I was not rushed through either book, each of which was long and were enjoyed without feeling like I had to race through either one. The list after that is made up of books I bought and (mostly) enjoyed. The Hardhat Riot took an interesting counter take to the image of the late 60s as a time of hippie love and popular support for ending the war in Vietnam, arguing instead that the Silent Majority was both not-so-silent and also the more traditional view at the time - that America should see through its obligation in Vietnam and also cleaved the Democratic Party, beginning to hive off the white, ethnic, working class voters who would ultimately become so-called Reagan Democrats. I was less impressed with The Biggest Bluff, a book about Maria Konnikova's transition to being a high stakes Texas No Limit Hold 'Em poker player. The book felt dated as the poker rush has now crested and unrealistic in that a novice would not have the benefit of what is akin to a grandmaster at the game (in her case a guy named Erik Seidel) to coach them. Also absent was Konnikova's sharp eye in her prior books (both of which I LOVED) for the grift, the hustle, the way psychology is leveraged against people. There were some empty calories too, like the oral history of The Office and Lindy West's pithy Shit, Actually, where she skewers movies with her acerbic wit. I think we all needed some empty calories in 2020, so, no shame in my game.
1. The End Is Always Near, Dan Carlin
2. Have You Eaten Grandma?, Gyles Brandreth
3. Medallion Status, John Hodgman
4. The Death of Truth, Michiko Kakutani
5. Disney’s Land, Richard Snow
6. Blowout, Rachel Maddow
7. The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson
8. 1774, The Long Year of Revolution, Mary Beth Norton
9. The British Are Coming, Rick Atkinson
10. The Office, The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s, Andy Greene
11. The Big Goodbye, Sam Wasson
12. The Hardhat Riot, David Kuhn
13. Rome 1960, David Marinass
14. Reaganland, Rick Perlstein
15. The Biggest Bluff, Maria Konnikova
16. This Isn’t Happening, Steven Hyden
17. Shit, Actually, Lindy West
18. The 99% Invisible City, Roman Mars
19. Countdown 1945, Chris Wallace
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