Team OTB's Best of 2020
Happy New Year from Team OTB! With one heck of a year behind us, we’re looking forward to bigger and brighter things: new releases, read-a-thons, and our new bookstore location (stay tuned for more info, coming soon!). If you’re looking to kick off your 2021 reading goals with some highly recommended reads, look no further. We checked in with our amazing team of booksellers and staff to find out some of their top book picks from 2020.
Angie,
Social Media Coordinator
Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin - I know this is technically three books, but this series brought me so much comfort by means of escape during the beginning of the pandemic that it would just be rude to separate them. Jemisin created such a vivid, cruel world with the most amazing characters to make up for it. Hands down my top pick of the year!
Luster by Raven Leilani - I still can't believe this book is a debut! This slice of life novel is a wild ride from the first page, following our far-from-perfect, but extremely likable, protagonist as she starts dating an older guy in an open relationship. I found myself rereading Leilani's sentences over and over again. A perfect book.
How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America by Kiese Laymon - I'm not usually one for essays, but Laymon's revised collection blew me away. He beautifully dissects so much about the American South, from OutKast to the confederate flag to Ole Miss football, in a way that made it impossible for me to put this down until I finished it in one sitting.
Shannon,
Bookseller
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green - A witty and diverse cast of characters lends a relatable (and oftentimes hilarious) voice to Green’s first duology. Engaging language, a modern landscape (complete with Twitter battles), and a mind-bending examination of the role of technology in our lives make this series an amazing first journey into sci-fi for a hesitant reader.
A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney - Though this backlist pick didn’t come out in 2020, I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in this YA fantasy series and cannot wait for the next installment to come out in November of 2021. In this modern retelling of Alice in Wonderland, Alice trains to battle dark creatures called Nightmares while balancing school, friendships, young love, and the grief of a family. I flew through both of these novels because the world building is so excellent and the kooky cast drew me in.
Persuasion by Jane Austen - While far from a new release, in 2020 I got to experience the magic of reading through a classic untainted by any existing movie, TV, or retelling adaptations. The quiet yearning of Anne and Captain Wentworth’s (abandoned? forgotten?) love story was such a balm to me in the midst of last year’s chaos. I was so inspired, in fact, that I’ve taken up collecting copies of the novel that I discover in used and indie bookstores!
Abby,
Floor Manager
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld - I read Sittenfeld’s most recent book, Rodham, earlier this year and that was my first foray into her work. And, in a way, American Wife feels like a precursor to Rodham. It follows the life of Alice, from her childhood in the 1940s, to a tragic accident that twists her life apart when she’s a teenager, to her marriage in the ‘70s to a charismatic Republican up-and-comer. Sittenfeld’s plot meanders with the typical twists and turns but never feels unplanned. She writes her characters in such a pure human way, where they themselves drive the story in their mistakes and misconceptions and worries and dreams. It’s a perfect book to pick up and put down as needed and exactly what I needed last year.
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth - A gorgeously twisted tale spanning from 1920s New England to modern-day LA, Danforth’s novel is beautifully told! Part campus novel, part lesbian love story and part modern mystery, it alternates between the headmistress at an all-girls boarding school in the wake of a mysterious death, and the modern-day filmmakers attempting to tell said headmistress’ story a hundred or so years later.
Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker - A truly stranger-than-fiction story of the Galvin family, where 6 of their 10 sons are diagnosed with schizophrenia, in an age where it’s even more misunderstood than it is now! Heartbreaking and engrossing, this study will not leave you anytime soon!
Jen,
Book Buyer
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall - A hilarious LGBTQ rom-com. When Luc O’Donnell is in the tabloids again, he needs an image makeover to keep his job. His friend-of-a-friend Oliver Blackwood is a buttoned-up, vegetarian barrister (lawyer). They agree to fake date, and gradually and delightfully progress to real boyfriends. One of my favorite 2020 comfort reads!
Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert - This novel is a road-trip romance between two rivals, set against the backdrop of a card game tournament and convention. You really don’t need to know anything about gaming to enjoy this romance, though. Conrad is easygoing, popular, and confident, seemingly without a care in the world. But for almost a year, he’s been in a precarious financial situation, dealing with the fallout from being outed to his parents. Alden is a control freak and perfectionist, brilliant at planning and strategy, but uncomfortable with most of his peers, which he covers up by acting bossy and superior. His medical school goals haven’t panned out, leaving him uncertain what to do next. He, too, is running out of time. I was moved by their efforts to understand each other while also moving towards more self-acceptance and self-realization.
The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall - If you like smart, humorous fantasy, this novel might be for you. If I had to summarize it in an elevator pitch, it’s the love child of Terry Pratchett and Sherlock Holmes. It’s got wildly fun, over-the-top worldbuilding; the character interactions are also delightful.
Amanda,
Events Coordinator
Fathoms by Rebecca Giggs - Fathoms is a beautiful yet haunting ode to our oceans and the many different whales within them. What starts as an encounter the author has with a stranded humpback whale on the shores of Australia delves into a poetic discussion on whale culture, and how we as humans interact and change their lives. You’ll meet whales so rare they have no name, learn what happens to a dead whale as it sinks to the ocean floor, and all about whale song. This book is a must-read if you’re interested in the future of our ocean, and our whale friends that call it home.
If It Bleeds by Stephen King - I grew up in Maine and while Stephen King is a household name throughout the state, I actually never read his books until I was in graduate school. I know, it’s embarrassing! King is a master storyteller, and that is never more evident than in the fact he can create an entirely mesmerizing world in massive books just as well as he can in a short story. If It Bleeds consists of four novellas. As always, his stories have a way of sticking with me, and I find myself pondering the themes and imagery long after I’ve closed the book. Also, if you’re interested in a King book but are unsure if you can handle the horror, If It Bleeds is a great entry point since it is light on the scary stuff. No people-eating clowns included, I promise!
The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert - With such an important election last fall, this YA book was definitely a timely read. The book tackles many facets of voter suppression and pitfalls that first-time voters (and many long-time voters) face - plus racism, police brutality, gun violence, and figuring out how to be your authentic self. All in one day. Oh, and it’s a love story and includes an extensive search party turned #gotv campaign for an “Insta famous” cat named Selma. What’s not to love?
Laura,
Bookseller (2020)
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler - This novel is one of the most important books that I’ve ever read. Don’t let the “sci-fi” label scare you off - it’s science fiction in the way that The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is science fiction. And while that book has clear analogies to our world, Parable of the Sower is even more spot on. Set in California in the early 2020s, Butler writes of a world devastated by global climate change, economic crisis, racism, and social chaos. Reading this has motivated me to become more involved and more vocal in local and national issues, ensured that I vote, and motivated me to think about the long-term implications of my actions. It sounds grim but it really is true - now is the time to make the changes, before it’s too late.
Real Life by Brandon Taylor - This book enthralled me immediately with its prose. It was the first book that I’ve read in a long time where I folded down pages of passages that I wanted to revisit. It follows Wallace, a bio-chem graduate student in an unnamed (but clearly Madison, WI) university town, over one weekend - his struggles with his lab mates and research, and his interactions with friends. What struck me most was the narrative of a Black queer man, and the microaggressions and racism he encounters: seemingly small incidents that are clearly racist, yet none of his friends willing to speak up, and the observation that they will be able to forget them easily. The way these build up and wear on him, and the description of always being made to feel less than but being required to work harder without complaint was something of which we should all become more aware. It was a beautiful and fast read.
Ally & Scout,
Owner & Shop Dog
Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price - This is the Viking book you didn’t know you needed. Lose yourself in a 500+ page history of one of the most popular, yet misunderstood, people. Just trust me; it’s great.
The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature by Sue Stuart-Smith - Losing reading, my main hobby and comfort, went hand in hand with the challenge of running a small business during a pandemic, working while parenting a toddler without steady childcare, and being super pregnant. I just couldn’t read. So I turned to the garden, and things started looking up. I’ve always loved growing things, but my connection to the garden lately has been a life saver. This book is about just that - the psychology of gardening and how it works on our brain. The approachable and research-based writing is so interesting and inspiring.
Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs by Andrew Cotter - Woof woof. Bork. Snuffle snuffle. (Thanks, Scout!)
Photos contributed by Old Town Books staff. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.