Some books I read in 2020:
C.S. Lewis: The Abolition of Man (1946) – argues that some moral values can be proved to be right through reason, that they do not have to be based on religion, ethnocentrism, capitalism or personal feelings.
Jane Austen: Sense & Sensibility (1811) – two sisters want to get married. One follows her heart, the other follows her head. Their elders follow the money. No one gets it right.
Afua Hirsch: Brit(ish) (2018) – race and identity in Britain. She grew up mixed-race in the Whitest suburb of London (Wimbledon), went to Oxford, and lived for a while in West Africa. Read this as a side effect of my British media diet.
Michael Moorcock: The Warlord of the Air (1971) – an alternate universe where it is 1973 and the British Empire never fell. Anti-imperialistic science fiction. A book my father read.
Ross King: Leonardo and the Last Supper (2012) – My post on “The Last Supper” was based on this book.
Daniel Defoe: A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) – Defoe was just a boy during the Plague of 1665 in London, but wrote a fictional, you-are-there journal based on first-hand accounts.
H.G. Wells: The War of the Worlds (1898) – invasion of the Martians. Same plot as Defoe’s book. The root of all those post-apocalyptic science fiction stories, which unknowingly echo the Plague of 1665.
Sonia Shah: Pandemic (2016) – the single best book I have read so far on pandemics during the Pandemic of 2020.
Jules Verne: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870) – I would have absolutely adored this book when I was 11!!! Better late than never. My post on Captain Nemo’s library came from reading this. Tip: Read an unabridged version! And just let all the almost-poetic scientific names wash over you.
Isaac Asimov: The Land of Canaan (1971) – a history of the Jews and Phoenicians, who were divided more by religion than language. Includes Carthage. Asimov is an atheist Jew – he is proud of Jews but does not believe in their god. Still, he provides a good backgroud history for anyone who wants to better understand the Bible. Out of print, but still in some libraries and used-book stores. I read this while I was living like it was 1979.
Masha Gessen: Surviving Autocracy (2020) – her Autocracy: Rules for Survival article for the New Yorker made into a book.
Bob Woodward: Rage (2020) – Crazytown meets the pandemic. Woodward’s account of the what went on in the White House from 2018 to 2020, sequel to “Fear” (2018).
Roy Morris, Jr: Fraud of the Century (2003) – My post on the Election of 1876 was based on this book.
Heather Cox Richardson: To Make Men Free (2014) – a history of the Republican Party from 1854 to 2008, from the Party of Lincoln to the party of naked capitalism.
Sarah Kendzior: Hiding in Plain Sight (2020) – creeping autocracy in the US.
Isabel Wilkerson: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (2020) – the US race-based caste system. Wilkerson is best known for “The Warmth of Other Suns” (2010).
Virginia Woolf: A Room of One’s Own (1929) – what is required to become a woman writer in a sexist society.
Timeline:
- 1700s: 1
- 1800s: 3
- 1900s: 4
- 2000s: 9
– Abagond, 2020.
See also:
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Abagond 
If you’re interested, there is a book-length autobiography called The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave (1850), which she dictated to an editor.
It’s available free online at Gutenberg.org and at least a couple other digital libraries.
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@ Solitaire
Thanks. I might add that.
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Update:
Added to the to-read list:
Maya Angelou: All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986)
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Update:
Completed Afua Hirsch: Brit(ish) – and wrote a post on it:
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2020/03/31/afua-hirsch-british/
Added: Michael Moorcock: The Warlord of the Air
Now reading: Christian W. McMillen: Pandemic: A Very Short Introduction
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Update:
Removed (for reasons of space):
Christian W. McMillen: Pandemic: A Very Short Introduction
Added:
Ross King: Leonardo and the Last Supper (2012)
Daniel Defoe: A Journal of the Plague Year (1722)
H.G. Wells: The War of the Worlds (1898)
Sonia Shah: Pandemic (2016)
Jules Verne: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870)
Isaac Asimov: The Land of Canaan (1971)
Masha Gessen: Surviving Autocracy (2020)
Bob Woodward: Rage (2020)
Now reading:
Roy Morris, Jr: Fraud of the Century (2003)
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Rediscovered Toni Cade Bambara’s Gorrilla My Love. I enjoy Audible audiobooks and listened to Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country. I love short story anthologies Black Eyed Susans and Midnight Birds; Stories By And About Black Women. Children Of The Night The Best Short Stories By Black Writers1967 To The Present. I also am a huge horror fan. Read a wonderful short story anthology of Black women horror writers called Sycorax’s Daughters from the blog Graveyard Sisters and The Nightlight Horror podcast.
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Also read a wonderful book that enjoyed this past week Ring Shout by P. D Jeli Clark. I am with start Isabell Wilkerson’s Caste And Octavia Butler’s Parable Of The Sower sometime this week.
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@Abagond: You should check out Marlon James, A History Of Seven Killings.
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This post has changed so much over the year that I don’t remember why I suggested Sojourner Truth’s Autobiography. Presumably it was connected with something in the original to-read list?
Re: Fraud of the Century, the so-called “Compromise of 1876” is a good reminder that we’ve had contested election results and stolen elections in the past. That particular one had disastrous results for African Americans. I hope we get through this upcoming election with a better outcome for all.
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Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriett Beecher Stowe might be a read in the future. How did the term “Uncle Tom” become a pejorative word? From doing brief scans of the word, Uncle Tom is the hero of the story. Calling a Black person an Uncle Tom is incorrect if we compare it to the character in the story.
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I enjoyed Isabell Wilkerson’s The Warmth Of Other Suns about The Black Migration from the South because of the nightmare of Jim Crow. I am anticipating CasteThe Origins Of Our Discontent.
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Just received my used in good condition copy of Octavia Butler’s Parable Of The Sower it’s going to be a good weekend to read.
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@ Mary
Thanks for the recommendation.
I will be interested to know what you think of “Caste” as it is a book I am thinking of reading.
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@ Solitaire
Because on my to-read list I had Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?”
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@ Abagond
Oh, that’s right, and I think you mentioned it’s just a short speech, not a book. Thanks for the reminder! I was afraid I’d just blurted it out for no reason.
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“How did the term “Uncle Tom” become a pejorative word?”
From a series of essentially minstrel plays that portrayed the strong Black characters in a very subservient way. Racist whitewashing of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book.
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@ Mary Burrell
“Just received my …copy of Octavia Butler’s Parable Of The Sower “
That book is good. However, the sequel, Parable of the Talents is not for the faint of heart. Butler really packed a great deal of suffering, betrayal and brutality in that book. The overall story arc is inspiring, but her main character’s “hero’s journey” is emotionally tough to follow.
In an radio interview years ago, a journalist asked Butler how she guessed–correctly–that the USA would descend into fascism and chaos. She responded that she merely followed current trends to their logical conclusion.
I think of Octavia Butler when I read about climate change, the opioid epidemic, the Bush 2 presidency and Trump. The trends she discerned in 1980s and 1990s have nearly become our reality.
A 2017 review in the New Yorker magazine goes in deep on how much Butler’s vision of a future America (set in 2032, only twelve years from now) is unfolding before our eyes. It is worth a look-see.
https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/octavia-butlers-prescient-vision-of-a-zealot-elected-to-make-america-great-again
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@ Afrofem: Thanks for the link from the New Yorker. It is interesting how books like Orwell’s 1984 and Octavia Butler’s Parable series match the times we live in now. I like the word “prescient.” It’s like Orwell and Butler had some type of prophetic gift.
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Update: Now reading:
Isabel Wilkerson: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (2020)
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@Abagond: Will be starting Caste this week.
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Update:
Added: Heather Cox Richardson: To Make Men Free (2014)
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Update:
Update: Now reading:
Virginia Woolf: A Room of One’s Own (1929)
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Update:
Now reading:
Nicholas Carr: The Shallows (2010)
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Have you read:
Marlon James: A Brief History of Seven Killings (2014)
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@ gro jo
Wow. Two recommendations for the same book! Thanks. I have not read it yet, but clearly I should.
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Update: Finalized for 2020.
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