2020 was a hell of year for many - heartbreaking, full of worry and anxious distraction. For others it gave a bit of mental space, time away from the stress of normal routine, a chance to reflect. My year was more like the former, although I’m pleased to have finally been able to release the digital Boy in the Book, and I’ve had some brilliant full on time with my daughter.
That’s all a way of saying there hasn’t been much time or head room for reading this year, my pile of ‘to be read’ is bigger than ever - mostly of more newly published books. I realise this is a somewhat eclectic list, but it reflects where my current interests lie.
Same as previous books of the year posts date of publication is not relevant for this list. So, these are the best books to find me in 2020.
#1 - Killing and Dying – Adrian Tomine (2015)
As far a away as possible from superheroes we are living in the golden age of graphic novels and comics. This book contains six of the best short stories you’ll read anywhere. Adrian has completely captured the contemporary – a combination of loss and longing, the constant yearning for purpose and the need to be needed.
#2 - Wise Guy – Mike Caveney (1993)
Harry Anderson. If you don’t know who that is - go and lose yourself for a couple of hours on YouTube and then pop back here. Aimed squarely at magicians, the book chronicles Harry’s rise from street performing, the creation of Harry the Hat, to his legendary Saturday Night Live performances. If you perform magic the how-to’s are great, but it’s the inspiration behind the tricks that struck a chord.
#3 - Tales from the loop & things from the flood – Simon Stålenhag
This is kind of a cheat, as yes, these are two separate books and The Electric State was in my Top 5 last year – but hey, it’s my list. Tales from the Loop was adapted into an Amazon series, but film somehow fails to capture the scale, the uneasy world building, the tension between a familiar past and one which is purely imaginary. The text fragments bristle with humour, melancholy, nostalgia, and emotion, which alongside the stunning illustrations make a whole great than its elements.
#4 – The Books of Wonder – Tommy Wonder and Stephen Minch (1996)
This two volume set is up there among the best books on magic ever written. Tommy Wonder was a master at his art, and went to extraordinary lengths to achieve the perfect effect in the eyes and minds of his audiences. His legacy is not only in incredible magic pieces and his thorough analysis of deception psychology, but in the lesson to continue thinking about your work. Everything can always be improved, and if it can't, you're not thinking hard enough.
#5 – The Crap Hound Big Book of Unhappiness – Sean Tejaratchi (2019)
The seminal zine Crap Hound has finally realised a long held goal, two decades in fact, and it’s a staggering achievement. Think 12,500 images staggering. For those of you who don’t know – Crap Hound is dedicated to reproducing line illustrations from vintage magazines and ephemera. Taken collectively the book “documents pop-culture’s never ending quest to nurture and exploit our collective anxieties” – and I can’t think of a better time than now for the need to confront the propaganda we face on a daily basis.
A couple of 'almost made the top 5' entries - The Dairy Restaurant by Ben Katchor (2020), The Darkest Corners by Ben Hart and Neil Kelso(2020), and Memoirs of a Book Thief by Alessandro Tota and Pierre Van Hove (2019).
And finally, the best/most read kids book of 2020:
Story Path by Madalena Matoso (2016)
As it’s a kind of Choose Your Own Adventure book we’ve had this in our house since my daughter was born. But now she’s four, it’s come into its own. The format is a smart idea – each page offers you a choice of location, or character, along its illustrated paths. It’s up to the child and grown-up to elaborate and improvise a story - as you can imagine it’s often absurd, silly, and adventurous – which means repeated, repeated reading.
