My 2020 reading list

 

 

It's time once again to share my list of books I've read in the past year. My list is a little shorter than usual this year; particularly during the early weeks of the pandemic I found it a challenge to focus on reading. But there is still a lot of good stuff here. 

As usual, I rate my books out of 5 stars.

 

FICTION:

The Difference - Marina Endicott. (This novel was published in the U.S. under the title The Voyage of the Morning Light.) I absolutely loved this novel and would rank it among my favourites of all time. It is about a young girl, Kay, who leaves Halifax in 1911 with her sister and brother-in-law on the ship he captains, to take a merchant voyage to the far east. Kay is angry and traumatized over what she and her sister experienced in western Canada where, we come to learn, her father ran a native residential school. As Kay encounters new places and the people who inhabit them -- foremost among them her friend/mentor Mr. Brimner and a young Tongan boy named Aren whom her sister purchases -- she starts to question what is or is not true about her past and the distinctions people create between themselves and others. (5 stars)

Five Wives - Joan Thomas. This novel is a fictionalized account of the true story of five missionary men (the most famous being Jim Elliot) killed by Auca (Waorani) tribespeople in Ecuador in the 1950s. It explores the conflicted motives of the men, their wives' struggle to understand and support their husbands' ambitions, and the decades-long fallout from the incident. The book -- which weaves together several characters' stories from different generations -- calls into question many of the myths surrounding Christian martyrdom, missions, and colonization. It's complex but riveting. (5 stars)

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke. I just finished this wonderful, highly-acclaimed novel, and I have a feeling it will stay with me for a very long time. Piranesi ("but I do not think that is my name") lives in The House, an infinite labyrinthine structure filled with statues. He spends his days contentedly writing in his journal, recording the tides, befriending the statues, and caring for the dead bones of the only other 13 human beings he believes have ever existed -- besides himself and The House's one other inabitant, whom he calls The Other and sees only occasionally. But Piranesi's loving relationship with the Beauty and Mercies of The House is disrupted when strange messages begin to appear, suggesting that a third person has entered The House. I loved the atmosphere Clarke creates, the page-turning suspense as the story gets going, and the humble goodness of the main character. (5 stars)

The Gown - Jennifer Robson. This is a lovely novel about two young embroiderers in post-WWII London, Ann and Miriam, who are tasked with working on Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress. The story is told from the perspectives of both women as well as that of Ann's granddaughter, who receives some pieces of embroidery when her grandmother dies and who goes to London to find out more about Ann's early life. (4 stars)

All the Living - C.E. Morgan. This short novel is about a lonely young woman who goes to live on an isolated farm with her boyfriend after his family dies in an accident. The writing is spare yet powerful, with echoes of writers like Elizabeth Strout or Marilynne Robinson. Really good. (4 stars)

The Book of Longings - Sue Monk Kidd. This is about a girl growing up in a wealthy family in Israel; she is a seeker who reads and writes about silenced women and longs to find a purpose worthy of her gifts. When she meets and befriends Jesus, they are drawn together and eventually marry. The premise is unique and interesting, and Kidd's level of research is (as always) admirable -- but this was just Too Much Book for me at the time I read it: too slow and too detailed. This may not be others' experience, of course, but I didn't really enjoy it that much. (3 stars)

In Five Years - Rebecca Serle. This novel is about a young woman who has her whole life neatly planned out: the job she knows she'll get, the man she knows she'll marry. But when a dream shows her five years in the future with an entirely different man, her life is thrown into disarray as she tries to figure out -- and hopefully control -- future events. This is quite a lite novel, but it does get you thinking about life choices and how expectations so often do not match reality. (2 stars)

 

NONFICTION:

One Long River of Song - Brian Doyle. This posthumously published collection of essays by Doyle, who died in 2017 at age 60, is just beautiful. Doyle found so much beauty and joy in life and was able to convey that to us with his long, lanky, playful sentences and poignant tone. (5 stars)

Miracles and Other Reasonable Things - Sarah Bessey. After a serious car accident, Bessey (author of Jesus Feminist and Out of Sorts) faced a long physical and spiritual recovery. This journey includes a trip to Rome to meet the Pope and a slow, difficult realization that miracles may occur in different ways than we expect. Bessey's writing is always so warm and companionable, and this book is no exception. (5 stars)

The Color of Compromise - Jemar Tisby. Historian Tisby gives a clear, detailed account of how the Christian church in the U.S. has been complicit with racism at every stage of America's history. An important book that any Christian, American or not, should read. (5 stars)

The Cross and the Lynching Tree - James Cone. If Tisby's book is like taking a history course, Cone's book is like listening to a lecture and sermon at the same time. He explores the connection between the cross and the lynching tree, showing how they symbolize both the worst man can do and the power of hope and salvation. He also shows just how much the church can learn from Black theology, music, and womanist teachings and the experiences of African-Americans. (5 stars)

The Skin We're In - Desmond Cole. This is a series of 12 interconnected essays by Canadian journalist Cole, in which he chronicles a year in the struggle against racism in Canada. He highlights 12 different incidents -- including his decision to stop writing for The Toronto Star when it criticized his journalistic "activism" -- and how each was handled by police, media, and government. Powerful and eye-opening. (4 stars)

Unafraid - Benjamin Corey. I really enjoyed this book, in which Corey talks about how he had to unlearn the fear-based Christian faith he grew up with and move into a more freeing, love-based one. (4 stars) 

How the Bible Actually Works - Pete Enns. Enns insists that far from being a static how-to manual for life, the Bible is an ancient, ambiguous and diverse library of books that unfolds God's wisdom rather than doling out simple answers. I always enjoy Enns' down-to-earth style and his obvious enjoyment of difficult questions. (4 stars)

Out of Istanbul - Bernard Ollivier. Very absorbing memoir about a French man in his 60s who decides to hike the Silk Road. He begins in Istanbul in hopes of making it to Tehran, encountering many external and internal obstacles along the way. (3 stars)

Too Much and Never Enough - Mary Trump. This book by Donald Trump's niece unpacks some of the unhealthy family dynamics that have made Donald Trump into the person he is. (3 stars)

The Naked Now - Richard Rohr. I haven't finished this one yet, so I won't star it. The subtitle is "Learning to See as the Mystics See," and it is about leaving behind dualism and egotism and learning to be present and accept paradox.

Thanks for reading this far! I hope my list has given you some ideas for books you'd like to read -- and if you've already read some of these and have opinions to share, please leave those in the comments! Happy reading in 2021.