My 5 Best Reads of 2020
I have enjoyed many good books thanks to recommendations of others. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve purchased or checked out thanks to a post from a friend or someone I follow on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
So I thought that this year, I’d share a few recommendations of my own. Here are five of my best reads of 2020.
(As much as possible, try to support your local bookstores. I love Commonplace Books in OKC and Edmond. Also, make sure you have a library card so you can access Overdrive/Libby. I’m able to read a lot more because I check out e-books from my local library. They work great on my Kindle.)
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration | Isabel Wilkerson
Wilkerson deserves every award she and this book have won. Her book focuses on the migration of African-Americans north during the years of Jim Crow. She alternates between telling the story of a few specific people with describing the plight of African-Americans in general. The book is compelling and convicting.
Check out her newest book, Caste: The Origins of our Discontents.
Everything Isn’t Terrible: Conquer Your Insecurities, Interrupt Your Anxiety, and Finally Calm Down | Kathleen Smith
This book helped me become much more self-aware, and it gave me some good strategies to manage my heightened anxiety in a difficult year. Smith has essentially written a non-technical introduction to Bowen Family Systems Theory, which I’ve come to learn much about this past year. In summary, who can I control and take responsibility for? Me. I can’t control everyone and everything else, and trying to do so is a recipe for failure.
Other recommended reads in this area: Managing Leadership Anxiety by Steve Cuss
Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope | Esau McCaulley
Like many, I’ve done more reading in the area of racial justice in the past year than ever before. McCaulley, who studied under N.T. Wright, has written a book that’s part memoir, part biblical exposition, and part social commentary. For my personality and reading preferences, this book really hit the spot. His take on Romans 13 is worth the purchase itself.
Other recommended reads in this area: I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown.
Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism | Anne Applebaum
Applebaum, a Pulitzer Prize winner, begins with a description of Poland in recent years, where antidemocratic, conspiracy-theory ridden leaders are on the rise. Though released in 2020, the book is not an obvious response to events or leaders in the United States, but the descriptions she gives of authoritarian rulers and the power of conspiracies and lies are hard not to compare to current events.
Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America | Chris Arnade
Arnade sets out to chronicle life for American’s forgotten: those who have really been failed by the American political system. Spending much of his time headquartered in local McDonald’s locations, Arnade tells the story of people whose lives likely turned out differently than they’d hoped. If you’re looking to develop some empathy, or if you’re wondering why so many Americans distrust the political class, this is a good read.
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