As a reader, I have always been a book finisher. No matter if I enjoyed the book or not, I stuck with it until the bitter end, which in some cases was many years. More recently, though, my view switched and on occasion I will stop reading a book that I’m not enjoy and never finish it. The old adage about so much to read and so little time must be settling in. However, this year I “shelved” many more books than usual.
While 2020 has been an odd year for many reasons, my reading mindset was to explore more authors, especially those well-known or with beloved, famous novels. For the most part, I enjoy fiction and that didn’t change this year, although I read non-fiction crossword histories (another post for another day) and a book about Whitey Bulger by Casey Sherman (having heard the author on an art heist podcast). This year was a sampling, but considering that I set down half as many books as I finished this year, I have clear preferences. We live in a world with lots of technology and demands for our time. By the same token, distractions seem at their height as well–video games, Internet, apps, shows and movies. There’s also more to learn, more easily, while goods are also more readily and quickly available than every before. With so much to possibly to do and consume, I fully support spending meaningful time on the most enjoyable, or sometimes necessary, which now for me extends to reading, or not reading in some cases.
So what did I enjoy this year? More of my favorite authors, both ones that I’ve read for years and others that are newer to me. This includes Aravind Adiga who lead me to a new favorite, Diksha Basu with her novel The Windfall. Getting into crosswords this year, one cruciverbalist mentioned a classic among them, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin which truly was a fun, quick whodunit read. Aside from those, the past couple of years I have begun murder mysteries, which given just how many crime podcasts I used to consume, it’s truly amazing that I never read that genre soon. The original series that I picked up was Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone alphabet murder mysteries in California. However, I intersperse that with my aunt’s favorite Louise Penny’s Inspector Armand Gamache, which are set in Quebec. Both are very different but enjoyable in their own ways so I enjoy switching between them. Of course I caught up on some Brock Clarke, whom I first read in college for a creative writing assignment and was captivated by his Thanksgiving short story; he’s able to capture life in such a succinct, evocative manner that few authors pull off. Writing that makes the reader really think while at the same time nod in agreement of the realness for the details and feelings captured on the page is, for me, a example of the very best authors. Very few can achieve that, although as I read more authors from various backgrounds from around the world, I enjoy finding more authors to add to that list.
One genre that I’ve returned to more this year is my childhood favorite of sci-fi. I used to read quite a bit but it trailed off for some reason. Last year, the Expanse series captivated me for a while until the writing got in the way of the ideas behind it and I just wasn’t enjoying the third novel (of eight I believe) as much as the first; part of that were the storyline decisions and focus on certain characters rather than others so I’ve been slow to start the next in the series, but I digress. So this year I tried a couple of other sci-fi authors, with hits and misses. Although, I finally read an author that I had been intimated by growing up and then just forgot about as I read less of sci-fi over the years–Isaac Asimov. His Foundation series is phenomenal. While I’ve been setting down many other books, I keep coming back to his novel over all others. The upcoming Apple TV show based on it, prompted me to finally pick it up. Having seen the trailers, it seems that there will be at least some chronology so I began with Prelude to Foundation, which is sixth in publication order, and am throughly enjoying it. The novel is about how Hari Seldon, a mathematics professor, struggled to figure out if his future-predicting theory of psychohistory could be made practical and, if so, what the ramifications of his discover meant for him, those in power, and the entire galaxy. What amazes me the most is that this particular Asimov novel was written in 1988.
In Goodreads, I had set a goal of 30 books read this year and have only finished 20. That somehow feels appropriate for 2020 itself. Oddly, I have 10 books that I shelved and chose not to finish, as well as many that I’m currently reading but won’t complete in the next few days. Growing up, I never had more than one book going at a time, now it’s easily several if not more, when I’m in a sampling mood or all my library requests arrive at once. Sometimes it’s distracting but for the most part it’s good to have some options to go between. The Asimov novel is on my e-reader, although I still prefer print mostly, so my habits for reading e-books differ than print and they mainly become bedtime reads since it’s easier to hold and adjust lighting for reading in bed. Who knows what 2021 will bring? Rather than setting a number goal, I think I’ll do more of the same for this year–trying out authors and genres, reading books that I’ve always wanted to but just haven’t yet, and of course enjoying my favorites and, when possible, learning something along the way. Everyone can use more enjoyment in their lives, whatever that may be to each person.
As 2020 comes to a close, stay safe and healthy. Happy holidays!
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