A note to self for 2021: limit reading the 20th century canon of American authors, and look up more European and Eastern literature.Ĭoventry (2019) by Rachel Cusk, Decreation (2005) by Anne Carson, The Art of the Novel (2003) by Milan Kundera, Democracy (1984), Salvador (1982), The White Album (1979) by Joan Didion, Intimations: Six Essays (2020) & Feel Free: Essays (2019) by Zadie Smith, Essayism (2017) by Brian Dillon, The Years (2018) by Annie Ernaux, Walks with Men (2010) by Ann Beattie, The Sea, The Sea (1978) by Iris Murdoch, The Whole Story and Other Stories (2004) by Ali Smith, Hot, Cold, Heavy, Light, 100 Art Writings 1988-2018 (2019) by Peter Schjeldahl, Chairs (1952) by Eugene Ionesco, Sculptor’s Daughter (1968) & Fair Play (1989) by Tove Jansson, The Paris Review Interviews, I (2006) by The Paris Review įunny Weather: Art in an Emergency (2020) & The Lonely City (2016) by Olivia Laing, The Poetics of Space (1958) by Gaston Bachelard, The Joke (1994) by Milan Kundera, Miami (1987) by Joan Didion, The Society of the Spectacle (1967) by Guy Debord, The Rings of Saturn (1995) by W. The lists’ order is random, a mishmash of fiction and non-fiction essays, novels, and poetry. In some cases, my reaction to a book was shaded either by the high expectations from reading the same author’s other works or just not being in the mood for a particular style or form. There were many that I could indefinitely go on raving about, and others that didn’t speak to me as profoundly – either because of the subject matter or due to the cadence and articulation that the author used for self-expression. The below list features most of the books I read in 2020, with a few missing casualties caused by lacking memory. That’s what in means, “Save My Soul.”” 2020 reading list
It means “Save My Soul.” People they send the SMS like we used to send the SOS because they are all alone, they want to be with someone. “Short Message” and what then? No no… I know what it means. “Do you know what SMS means? You send them all day long and you don’t know what it means. *The reference to Godard’s SMS originates from a recorded interview of his, befitting of year 2020. So here they are, my reading recommendations from 2020. And no opportunity to try and lure more people to read should go wasted.
The geeky confined lifestyle turned out to be more enjoyable that I’d expected, it also explains why bookstores are reporting a record year.Īgainst the popular belief, I think the world would be a better place if people would read & think more, Netflix & business less.
#William t karlson free#
Instead of routine social gatherings that set a stamp of tiredness on the two following days, I would spend most of my free time on reading – novels, essays, literary magazines (The New York Review of Books now arrived to my mailbox routinely, contrary to its (non)delivery in Estonia).
Moving to the new city (that was soon quarantined) redefined the weekends. Writing this article has been obstructed by the fact that all the books & magazines I read from January to August are packed away in cardboard boxes, 2573km away from where I dwell now – Paris. One of the positive side effects of the gloomy and mesmerizing year numbered 2020 was having more time to read.īut it wasn’t just due to the Godardesque SMS* sent by the planet that turned literature into a handy medium of escapism.
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