Books Read, 2020

With pandemic-related lockdowns and an insane election cycle, 2020 was an especially great year for reading. In my case, it was specifically a good year for fiction, especially fantasy fiction. Why? Because more than ever, I find a bit of escapism to be very nourishing to the soul.  To quote the great J.R.R. Tolkien, 

"Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls? The world outside has not become less real because the prisoner cannot see it. In using escape in this way the critics have chosen the wrong word, and, what is more, they are confusing, not always by sincere error, the Escape of the Prisoner with the Flight of the Deserter."

FICTION

• The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
• The Blood of a Dragon  by Lawrence Watt-Evans
• Book of Enchantments by Patricia C. Wrede
• The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
• The Brega Path by Dennis L. Mckiernan*
• The Brotherhood of the Rose by David Morrell*
• The Castle of Lyr by Lloyd Alexander
• Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
• The Darkest Day by Dennis L. Mckiernan*
• The Dark Tide by Dennis L. Mckiernan*
• The Dragonstone by Dennis L. Mckiernan
• First Test by Tamora Pierce
• The Forests of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip
• The Fraternity of the Stone by David Morrell
• The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• The High King by Lloyd Alexander
• Into the Fire by Gregg Hurwitz
• Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce
• Last Looks by Howard Michael Gould
• The League of Night and Fog by David Morrell
• The Long-Legged Fly by James Sallis
• Lullaby by Ace Atkins
• Moth by James Sallis
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
• Once Upon A Spring Morn by Dennis L. McKiernan
• Once Upon a Summer’s Day by Dennis L. McKiernan
• Once Upon a Winter’s Night by Dennis L. McKiernan
• Page by Tamora Pierce
• The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst
• The Queen of Sorrows by Sarah Beth Durst
• The Reapers by John Connolly
• Red Slippers: More Tales of Mithgar by Dennis L. McKiernan
• The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst
• Sarah Jane by James Sallis
• Shadows of Doom by Dennis L. Mckiernan*
• Silver Wolf, Black Falcon by Dennis L. McKiernan
• Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia Wrede
• Squire by Tamora Pierce
• Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander
• Trek to Kraggen-Cor by Dennis L. Mckiernan"
• A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin*

NONFICTION

• Animal Sutras: Animal Spirit Stories by Stephen Levine
• Capoeira: Roots of the Dance-Fight-Game by Nestor Capoeira
• Evil in Modern Thought: An Alternative History of Philosophy by Susan Neiman
• Foucault for Beginners by Lydia Alix Fillingham
• Introducing Jung by Maggie Hyde
• James Bond and Philosophy: Questions are Forever edited by by James B. South, Jacob M. Held
• Just Enough: Vegan Recipes and Stories from Japan’s Buddhist Temples By Gesshin Claire Greenwood
• Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It by David M. Ewalt
• Spirituality for the Skeptic: The Thoughtful Love of Life by Robert C. Solomon
• Surviving Armed Assaults: A Martial Artists Guide to Weapons, Street Violence, and Countervailing Force by Lawrence A. Kane
• Ultimate Questions by Bryan Magee
• Unleash the Warrior Within: Develop the Focus, Discipline, Confidence, and Courage You Need to Achieve Unlimited Goals by Richard "Mack" Machowicz

(* reread)