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Michael’s Top Books Read in 2020, #4 & 3

My #4 book of the year, hasn’t technically even been released yet. I got an advanced reader’s copy of it from Random House, and it should be released in early March of 2019. I devoured my #3 book in a few days… just the type of book to feed my fandom, bringing my love of books and geekiness about music together. Technically not as well written as many of the other books around it, but for sheer enjoyment, it earns its slot.

How Beautiful We Were#4 – How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

Imbolo Mbue follows up her magnificent debut, Behold the Dreamers (#12 on my list of Best Books Read in 2016) with a hard-hitting tale of corporate destruction and governmental greed from the perspective of the community in a small African Village whose way of life faces destruction. When an American corporation begins drilling for oil under the fictional village of Kosawa, the effects are felt for generations to come. Crops shrivel, water becomes tainted, and children begin to die. Over the course of three generations, various attempts are made to stop the destruction of their way of life, from pleading with the corporate interests, to violence, to radical organizing, uncovering layers of opposition.

Mbue follows one family in particular, which centers around Thula, a young woman who gains the incredible educational opportunity to go to college in New York, where she encounters others like herself, willing to take on the man in the hopes for a better future. She gives up everything for her community, while it hangs on by a thread back home, her cohort of age-mates struggling between subterfuge and out and out revolution to repay the violence and injustice suffered through the years.

With a keen eye and heart examining responses from villagers across educational and generational lines, Mbue uses an impartial eye, even while breaking our hearts for this communities suffering. Her writing is powerful and pulls no punches as the reader is taken on a harrowing journey as a tiny village tries to overcome insurmountable odds for a better life.

Get Tusked!#3 – Get Tusked: The Inside Story of Fleetwood Mac’s Most Anticipated Album by Ken Caillat and Hernan Rojas

For a rabid Fleetwood Mac fan who’s been listening to the albums for over 45 years, saw them in concert a handful of times, find their music to be incomparably amazing, and am endlessly fascinated by the individuals who make up this messy, emotional trainwreck of a band, this book is like crack. I haven’t finished a book this quickly in years. Tusk was the band’s 12th album, but it was the follow-up to the mega-monster smash, Rumours. The anticipation around this album was stratospheric, and the 13-month recording session nearly tore the already fragile band apart.

Authors Ken Caillat, producer and engineer who worked on Rumours, Tusk, Live, Mirage, and The Chain box set and Tusk recording engineer Hernan Rojas, give a detailed behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating what at the time was one of the industry’s biggest disappointments, and in hindsight, is lauded by many as a bold, creative step forward by a multi-talented band.

It was the late-70’s, and Fleetwood Mac were mega-stars. Every excess was their for the taking, and the took a lot. Already known for their intense, soap opera-like personal relationships that were devoured by millions through Rumours, and just coming off a year+ long concert tour, the band immediately began the grueling process of creating the follow-up album in a state-of-the-art recording studio with enough food, alcohol, and drugs to keep an army happy. The band’s history with drugs, particularly cocaine, is well-documented, and it just boggles my mind that they were able to operate at all under the influence of so many mind-altering substances. I wish they reach out to Pacific Ridge – a reliable rehab center. Add to that singer/songwriter/guitarist Lindsey Buckingham’s creative evolution, that while perceptive and brilliant, was housed in the mind of a rich and successful, spoiled, damage, emotionally-stunted musical genius. While the rest of the band, and the crew that surrounded them arrived at the studio ready to make another album that met and surpassed the exquisite pop-rock Rumours, Lindsey had other ideas. Latching on to the burgeoning punk/new wave sounds that were starting to herald the coming of the 80’s, Lindsey want something entirely different, and he threatened to walk if he didn’t get it. Caillat and Rojas alternate in telling the tales of this process, which works well because they experienced the same scenarios, but came at them from different perspectives and temperaments.

What makes this book so delightful for me, is the fact the two authors are first and foremost, recording engineers, who go into rich, geeky detail about each song on the album: how it was recorded, the instrumentation, how they were created. I found that endless fascinating, and thrilled the long-buried musician in me. After each song was worked on and discussed in the book, I found I had to go listen to it and note the details and anecdotes that were revealed in the book.

The detailed aspect of the creation and recording of the album lifted it out of what could have been just a sensationalistic celebrity tell-all. Not that it didn’t occasionally slip into that territory, and not to say I didn’t occasionally enjoy that aspect, the film did lag a little when the boys would veer off into their sexual escapades and dalliances. Rojas did spend the latter months of the recording of Tusk in a passionate affair with Stevie Nicks, who, I might add, just ended her affair with drummer Mick Fleetwood months before, and who, two years prior, ended a 7-year relationship with guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. It made for some interesting personal dynamics. I am pleased to say that this book only served to make me love Christine McVie even more.

To sum up, as a massive admirer of Fleetwood Mac and their music, and quite specifically, the Tusk album, this book was nearly everything I’d hoped for. It certainly provided a glimpse into the working and personal lives of world-famous musicians during a very particular time in history that was fun and rewarding.

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Michael’s Top Books Read in 2020, #’s 6 & 5

A couple of big literary names are featured in this entry. David Mitchell is an English author of nine novels. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Lana Wachowski, of the movie adaptation of his book, Cloud Atlas. The only book by him, that I have read, other than this year, is the dark fantasy/sci fi The Bone Clocks, which was my #2 read for 2014. Jane Smiley is an American novelist who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1991 for her work The Thousand Acres a best seller that was based on William Shakespeare’s King Lear. I don’t know if I would have ever read one of Smiley’s novels if I hadn’t heard her being interviewed on NPR about her latest release and it intrigued me.

Utopia Avenue#6 – Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

With David Mitchell’s exploration of a fictional, psychedelic/folk/rock British band from who gained modest success in the late 60’s, he mines deeply into the music industry, while exploring the state of the world and society at the time, and even brings in some of his speculative, secret society theme into play. He, at once, creates well-drawn, relatable characters, a slice of historical fiction, and an examination of schizophrenia that dips into the metaphysical all the while creating a dense, yet highly-readable novel. All the things you might expect, sex, drugs, industry back-stabbing, family drama, are in evidence, as well as a whole bunch of name-dripping as he charts the origins, success, and demise of Utopia Avenue and they encounter Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin, David Bowie, Francis Bacon, Leonard Cohen, Cass Elliot, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and many more.

For me, it’s his characters that really bring the novel to its glorious heights. There’s lead guitarist, Jasper de Zoet, whose fractured psyche is balanced by his psychedelic guitar genius. Elf Holloway is a folk singer, one-half of a faltering duo who attained minor success, then joins a pack of blokes to add her keyboard virtuosity, and songwriting chops to raise the band to a new level. Dean Moss is the down-on-his luck bass-playing songwriter whose roots are steeped in the blues, is unofficially the bad-boy sex symbol, and is moments away from pawning his bass before his break arrives. And anchoring any good band is Griff, the foul-mouthed, Northern lad who pounds the drums and keeps his feet firmly on the ground. Their untested, Canadian manager, Levon Frankland, is convinced the band he has assembled has what it takes to make the big-time, and intends to help them do so without the typical, double-crossing that rock & roll managers are known for. Beyond that, even the minor players make an impact. Most notably, Mecca, a German photographer who shares a few blissful days with Jasper, remains a presence even after hundreds of pages go by.

I loved Mitchell’s Bone Clocks, and he earned lots of points with me for his work on Kate Bush’s programme book, and spoken dialog on stage as part of her ‘Before The Dawn’ concert in 2014. He’s become a must-read author for me, and this wasn’t doesn’t let me down at all.

Perestroika in Paris#5 – Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley

Perfect book for the times, a magical little tale about Perestroika, a race horse who spends the winter in Paris befriending a dog named Frida, a raven called Raoul, a couple of mallards named Sid & Nancy, a rat named Kurt, and a select assortment of humans. This gentle story explores the city of Paris surrounding the Eiffel Tower, highlighting the bakeries and butcher shops as well as the lovely parks as they explored by Perestroika and Frida.

Smiley has a soothing, gentle way of writing, describing the neighborhood by the smells and sounds heard by the animals, and creating a lovely portrait that humans possibly miss out on. The handful of humans that the animals interact with are all solitary souls, who share a connection with Perestroika. The magic of Paris is enhanced by the magic of an elusive horse wandering the city at night. Her characters are unique and full of personality. Smiley is a well-known author with over twenty books in her canon, including, I was surprised to discover, a series of young adult novels about horses! I’m glad she brought her interest in horses to an adult novel. Truly a delightful read.

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Michael’s Top Books Read in 2020, #’s 8 & 7

In an effort to read more science fiction, which I hadn’t really done for a while, I asked for recommendations, and got Becky Chambers. Fun, character-driven space opera; a little different from me, but the emphasis on character really drew me in. I’m always up for a book by Peter Cameron. His 2012 novel, Coral Glynn came in at #6 for that year’s list. I really loved the stylized manner in which he wrote this newest dark, surreal novel.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet#8 – The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The plot of Becky Chambers’ science fiction novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is fairly thin, but that’s not really the point. Instead, Chambers creates a thoroughly entertaining story about a ragtag, interspecies crew of The Wayfarer, a space ship that bores tunnels through space to allow for interstellar travel. Our entry into this tight knit merry band is Rosemary, a young woman hired to be the clerk, and keep their paperwork in order. Rosemary has a family secret in her past that she keeps from the crew, but as they welcome into their family, and we learn about each of the diverse characters, she gradually lets her guard down and secrets are revealed. Yet while Rosemary is terrified that her secret will turn her newfound colleagues against her, instead she learns what real family is.

I love the way Chambers explores each member of the crew, sprinkling in just enough tension and danger to keep the book engaging, all the while creating a beautifully moving character study of disparate characters who prove to each other, and the reader, that family isn’t about who you’re related to by blood, but by who you choose to spend your lives with. I could definitely read more books about this fascinating batch of characters, all of whom come from fascinating and imaginative backgrounds. 

What Happens At Night#7 – What Happens at Night by Peter Cameron

Mysterious and inscrutable… much like life. Peter Cameron’s What Happens at Night tells the story of a couple traveling to a far off European city in order to adopt a baby. The woman is dying of cancer, and this will most likely be their last act together… the retrieval of a child for the man to continue on with as a family. They arrive at this tiny, northern European town as a dark, forbidding winter descends and every day that passes seems like part of one long, endless night. Things happen that are unexplainable, aggravating, wondrous, perplexing, hateful… things that neither would do during the light of day, but what happens at night… well that’s another matter.

Cameron writes with stylish grace, creating a mood from the very first page that establishes everything you need to know about setting, time, tone, which is not a whole lot. Yet, the journey taken by the reader, while not as harrowing personally, is the one taken by these two lost people, and our hope is only that when morning comes again, they will no longer be lost. It’s beautiful and unsettling, and unique. Filled with bizarre supporting characters, and a simple story that is complicated by the things that make us human, What Happens at Night is a journey worth taking.

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Michael’s Top Books Read in 2020 – #’s 10 & 9

As we enter the Top 10 books read for 2020, we’ve got an season writer, and a newcomer for me. Jo Walton has impressed me with her unique takes on science fiction, fantasy, and the creative process in general. In 2015, Walton appeared on my Top Books list at #5 with The Just City; in 2014, she came in at #6 with My Real Children; and in 2012, the first book of hers I read, Among Others came in at #5. So, while this year is a slight dip for her, all the books of hers that I’ve read has ended up in my Top 10 for the respective year!

Sam J Miller was a new author for me, and I read his 2018 novel, Blackfish City totally randomly. The ARC had been on my bookshelf at work for a couple of years, and when I was looking for something to read, the cover art featuring Inuit-style artwork, caught my eye, so I gave it a chance. And now, preparing to write this blog entry, I noticed that Sam has a new book that just came out, so I will be reading that soon as well. Love finding new, intriguing authors, and thanks to Virginia Stanley and the fun-loving crew at HarperCollins for keeping me up-to-date on the publishing world and making me laugh!

Or What You Will#10 – Or What You Will by Jo Walton

Jo Walton is a writer’s writer, and her latest book, Or What You Will is more so than most. Exploring the creative spark, and how a writer creates the worlds and characters that they populate their books with, turns into a whole fantasy meta-novel in Walton’s hands. Along the way, she deconstructs works by Shakespeare, mothers who withhold love, modern-day and pre-renaissance Florence, domestic abuse and more. Most fascinating for me, was her exploration of grief in the context of a world that has abolished death. It’s not the main point of the novel, but a beautiful and fascinating diversion that Walton does so beautifully.

Not all of Walton’s diversions work for me however. A detailed, and overwrought chapter describing an actual restaurant in Florence that serves food that is so sublime it cannot be described (although there is an entire chapter trying to do just that) that seems a pretty unnecessary bit.

Still, that’s a minor quibble when you think about the scope of Walton’s story, and the masterful way she weaves together the art and science of writing, an actual historical fantasy tale, and ruminations on mortality and grief, and Or What You Will proves that however Walton manages to create entire worlds, like a mythological god, it’s worth going on the journey with her.

Blackfish City#9 – Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller

When it comes to dystopian societies, Sam J. Miller sure has created something complex that borrows from pop culture, Inuit myth, capitalism and environmental collapse just to name a few! In fact, the rich threads that Miller weaves into Blackfish City threaten at first to overwhelm the story, making it difficult to breakthrough and stick with it. But perseverance is worthwhile, as the story of a family torn apart by genocide who unite to combat oppression (or maybe just to get revenge?) and at about the halfway mark, things start to really come together and race forward nicely.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and a lot of different storyline threads, as I mentioned, but most of them don’t need all that much effort. A thread about an AIDS-like virus that is transmitted sexually, but involves communal memory and mental disjointedness sometimes feels like something from another story. Yet Miller manages to weave that thread smoothly into the larger tapestry.

Clearly the most compelling story for me, the bonding between man and beast as exemplified by the strange woman riding on the back of an orca, takes the longest to get its due, but once it does it does so beautifully. Still, with political corruption, organized crime, post-punk technology, climate change, gender identity and generational memory all added to the mix, there’s probably something for everyone. Hopefully readers will not find that there is too much for everyone.

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Michael’s Top Books Read in 2020

Well, 2020 was quite a year, one like no other. In terms of my reading, I thought perhaps the the social isolation would be a boon to the number of books I read throughout the year. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I found during the first several months of the pandemic, I didn’t have the required focus to read anything beyond comic books for any sustained length of time. That did change as the year when on, and I did manage to surpass my total books read in 2019, but not by much. I’m not going to make any promises about 2021, but I’m going to try!

In the meantime, I read some great books in 2020, and some not so great as well. Here is my list of the books I read this year that I feel deserve a mention. This year that comes to twelve titles.

Hammered#12 – Hammered by Elizabeth Bean

I have dabbled with Elizabeth Bear’s bibliography, reading four or five of her novels from different genres. I finally went all the way back to the beginning to read her first novel, Hammered. A bold debut, Hammered is a mash-up of genres, from gritty, crime novel to cyberpunk exploration of advanced A.I., and some quirky, imaginative additions thrown in throughout. Ostensibly the first in the Jenny Casey series, we are dropped into the middle (or perhaps the sunset years?) of Jenny’s life. About to turn 50, former military, fitted with a prosthetic arm after a traumatic injury, with an insanely complex history, Jenny is gruff, tough, someone to turn to with a problem, but not someone to mess with. She has interesting allies, and very dangerous opponents.

The first allies we meet, in her stomping grounds of Hartford, CT, include the areas most significant crime lord, Razorface, whose teeth have been modified to be three, razor sharp steel plates. Morally ambiguous, but exceedingly loyal and reliable, Razorface comes to Jenny for help with one of his boys who is suffering from an overdose of what appears to be a doctored drug. Unable to turn him away, Jenny is drawn into a web of murder that might involve a woman who looks very much like her.

Soon after we learn that Jenny’s life is in serious danger, after years to the modifications made to her body to control her mechanical arm, or rejecting the technology laced throughout her spinal column and brain, and may only have a very short time to live. A powerful, authority figure from her past emerges, as do a past love and a family figure, that draw her into the promise of a complete overhaul of her cybernetics that will save her life, but in return, conscript her into a mysterious mission involving travel to outer space. Jenny’s complicated life is caught in two different worlds that are somehow, mysteriously connected.

Hammered is fun, with great characters, a convoluted plot that lures you in. The gradual emergence of Jenny’s very complicated past is a little overdone — there’s a lot to keep track of, and it’s hard to know at this point what might be relevant or important to remember — and the very late-introduced romance is a distraction that was frankly, in my opinion, disappointing, but overall it’s an auspicious start to a three part series, and I enjoyed it enough to eventually read the follow-up.

Swimming in the Dark#13 – Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

Tomasz Jedrowski’s debut coming-of-age novel may be on the brief side when it comes to page count, it certainly tackles some serious themes in a way that has a powerful impact, yet never comes across as heavy-handed. Set in the Poland of the early 1980’s as the decline of communism forces the Party to tighten its stranglehold on the people, University student Ludvik finds himself in the throes of first love. At a summer agricultural camp, he finds himself drawn to Janusz, dark and handsome, who thrills him but also reminds him of the deep shame he hides so deep within himself. The two boys bond over the novel Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, and as they extend the summer after camp is over, spending a couple more weeks alone camping in the forest, they find their bond growing and deepening into something powerful and lasting.

Back in the city, however, real life intrudes, and while Ludwik dreams of leaving Poland to go to the west, namely the States, Janusz allies himself with the wealthy, to use the declining system to better himself, even while other struggle to find food or medicine. It’s a philosophy that threatens to tear the two young men apart. Jedrowski weaves a lovely, simple tale of first love and coming-of-age, with the transformation of a country and a moment in time that affected a culture profoundly. It’s a quick read and one well worthwhile if the subject intrigues you.