“Read everything” may be an impossible ambition, but it is still a noble pursuit. I’ve tried to read as much as possible this year without neglecting my personal and professional responsibilities: about a half-dozen articles and essays every week, a book every 2-3 weeks, as well as the occasional magazine article and scholarly study.
Here is a comprehensive list of reading recommendations from throughout the year. I left some links off from certain months if the article didn’t strike me the same way it did when I first read it, and only included two of the four articles that will be included in the December newsletter (which will come out soon). I put in bold the ones that continue to stand out.
Best reads of 2020
Ha ha! Ha ha! (review of Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror) by Lauren Oyler, London Review of Books
On the Hatred of Literature by Jon Baskin, The Point Magazine
Are You Local? What These Hawaii Scholars Have To Say Might Surprise You by Chad Blair, Honolulu Civil Beat
Remembering Gigi Bryant (2006-2020) by Molly Knight, The Athletic
The Behind-The-Scenes Story Of ‘He’s On Fire!’ In ‘NBA Jam’ by Quinn Myers, Mel Magazine
Panic! At the Costco by Colin Horgan, GEN
Against Advice by Tim Kreider, Human Parts
The infinite scroll by David Roth, Columbia Journalism Review
What’s Keeping Me Going Is You by Tim Kreider, Human Parts
May He Have Your Attention? ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ at 20 by Jeff Weiss, The Ringer
How Do You Know If You’re Living Through the Death of an Empire? by Patrick Wyman, Mother Jones
The Last Essay by Tim Kreider, Human Parts
On “White Fragility” by Matt Taibbi, Substack
An Oral History of ‘Steamed Hams,’ the Funniest Simpsons Scene Ever Recorded by Brian VanHooker, Mel Magazine
Whatever happened to the Superman punch? by Ben Fowlkes, The Athletic
The Willful Blindness of Reactionary Liberalism by Osita Nwanevu, The New Republic
How the Pandemic Defeated America by Ed Yong, The Atlantic
Journalists aren’t the enemy of the people. But we’re not your friends by Ben Smith, The New York Times
Scapegoats And Fall Guys For A Leader Who Cannot Lead by Lee Cataluna, Honolulu Civil Beat
Wildfires and the Dark Side of the California Dream by Jeff Weiss, Los Angeles Magazine
How President Trump Ruined Political Comedy by Dan Brooks, New York Times Magazine
The Island That Humans Can’t Conquer by Sarah Gilman, Hakai Magazine
Seven Months of Solitude by Michelle Broder Van Dyke, Slate
The Underground Movement Trying to Topple the North Korean Regime by Suki Kim, The New Yorker
Bro Culture, Fitness, Chivalry, and American Identity by Patrick Wyman, Substack
‘This Must Be Your First’ by Zeynep Tufekci, The Atlantic
Books of 2020
This year I read 22 books: 11 fiction, 10 nonfiction and one book of poetry. Not as much as I aimed for, but it was a strange year. I put in bold the five fiction and nonfiction books I enjoyed most.
I Wrote This Book Because I Love You by Tim Kreider (NF - essays)
We, The Children of Cats by Tomoyuki Hoshino (F - short stories)
The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada (F - novella)
The Grandmaster by Brin-Jonathan Butler (NF)
Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn (F)
This Is Paradise by Kristiana Kahaukawila (F - short stories)
Painting Their Portraits in Winter by Myriam Gurba (F - short stories)
Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz (NF)
Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson (F - short stories)
Females by Andrea Long Chu (NF)
The Ends of the World by Peter Brannen (NF)
For The Time Being by Annie Dillard (NF)
The Kingdom and the Republic by Noelani Arista (NF)
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo (F)
Folks You Meet in Longs by Lee Cataluna (F)
The Lonesome Bodybuilder by Yukiko Motoya (F - short stories)
Beautiful Country Burn Again by Ben Fountain (NF)
Autobiography of Death by Kim Hyesoon (Poetry)
In the Seat of a Stranger’s Car by Beau Flemister (F)
Shark Drunk by Morten Strøksnes (NF)
Thrown by Kerry Howley (NF)
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins (F)
Writing of 2020
Between KHON, Sherdog and Honolulu Civil Beat, I wrote 101 pieces this year with my name attached; I wrote countless more for KHON with no byline. Here are the ones I’m most proud of.
Education writing:
Learning Curve: How Teachers Are Responding to Digital Instruction, KHON News, 5/7
Why I’m Going Back To Teaching, Honolulu Civil Beat, 7/22
This Troubling Distance Learning Program Tells Us A Lot About The DOE, Honolulu Civil Beat, 8/30
How We All Survived A Semester Of Zoom Classes, Honolulu Civil Beat, 12/21
Hawaii writing:
The Iran-Hawaii connection goes back centuries, and is now more vital than ever, KHON News, 1/8
A word, a plant, a group of people: unpacking “pōpolo,” KHON News, 2/1
Black identity in Hawaii: the conflicting experiences of being Black and local, KHON News, 2/29
The Untold Story of How Hip-Hop Went to Hawaii, and How Hawaii Went Hip-Hop, Passion of the Weiss, 6/16
How do we transform Hawaii’s complicated relationship with tourists? Honolulu Civil Beat, 11/3
Turning Out rage Into Action to help End Homelessness, Honolulu Civil Beat, 11/22
Political writing:
If I’m An Expert, Something is Wrong, Medium, 4/16
These Social Media Accounts Are Sharing A Dangerous Message, Honolulu Civil Beat, 8/7
Hypercanes, super volcanoes, and what Earth’s distant past can teach us about where we are now, KHON News, 6/2
Sports writing:
The Complexities of Grieving Someone You Did Not Know, Sherdog, 1/28
Fighting in the Age of Coronavirus, Sherdog, 3/18
Making It Real While Making It Up, Sherdog, 5/27
Myth-making In Real Time, Sherdog, 6/24
The Fights Worth Fighting, Sherdog, 7/15
Why We Should All Mourn The Loss of SURFER Magazine, Honolulu Civil Beat, 10/16
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