I think we can all agree that 2020 wasn’t particularly easy. For me, personally though, this year rocked—mostly because I got through hurdles I didn’t expect to overcome. This year I had to do my thesis project, which was pretty time- and energy-consuming, so I was quite doubtful I could reach my reading goals at all. However, it turns out, that the project has actually allowed me to venture into topics I had never explored before—and ended up giving me time to read more books in the process.
Since last year, I had vowed to myself to focus more on quality than quantity, in terms of reading—last year fell short somewhat, in my opinion, but this year was incredible. For starters, there is no book lower than 3 stars for me this year—and it started off with 5-star exemplars. Both for fictions and non-fictions, I’m so satisfied with my choices this year..and I’d love to share the best ones with you. Please read on to find out these worthy-of-a-flip-through titles.
10. Home Fire
by Kamila Shamsie
The most recent read out of this list, this book has been nominated for numerous awards, including Booker Prize Longlist (2017) and Costa Book Award (2017)—and even won Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2018. It was so hyped up back in 2017-2018 by various Booktubers that I follow and I couldn’t help but to feel intrigued by it. To be honest, however, I’m not entirely sure what the story was about, but I know it is written by a BIPOC woman and it got me hooked.
The story, it turns out, revolves around the British Muslim community of Pakistani descent—but it is easily relatable for any other Muslims with different cultural backgrounds—which is a story very seldom told. It really shows how big a misunderstanding can grow for lack of a very simple question: why.
9. Fast Fashion: Die Schattenseite der Mode
Edited by Sabine Schulze
Here is a book—and the only book, really—that I read for my thesis project. Fast fashion, as you may know, is a huge topic for me, so it’s quite crazy how I hadn’t managed to read anything on it beforehand. This one is actual an accompaniment for a fast fashion exhibition that was held in Hamburg in 2015. It is not sold in stores, so I’m not sure how my uni library—where I borrowed it from—got this copy. I almost tried to keep it myself, mind you, but I couldn’t.
This photo, of course, is merely a representation—I didn’t actually take photo of the book, as it had been returned months ago. The book talks statistics of the fast fashion industry and its negative impact on the world, as well as possible solutions for the problem. It is designed in such a way that puts the focus on the topic at hand, as well as making it seem so striking and create a remarkable impression.
8. Amba
by Laksmi Pamuntjak
If people tell you that bookstores are dead, tell them they are wrong—and this book is the proof. I’ll be honest, I never knew about this book before I saw it at the bookstore, being there simply because I was just hanging out mindlessly with Agung—and the store turns out to have a discount at the time (lol). At first intrigued by the cover, of course, and blurb, I was more hooked when I found out it was shortlisted for Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa Award (2013) and won the Frankfurt Book Fair LiBeraturpreis (2016).
At the time, I was reading Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s book, which was set at the same place as this book right here, and that became a point-of-interest for me—I just need to know more about this place and the history it keeps. You’ll see more instances in this list of how one book leads to another. The story in itself is pretty amazing, although I cannot say I find the protagonist—and her love interest—in any way likeable.
7. Sagu Papua untuk Dunia
6. Sorgum
by Ahmad Arif
I cannot talk about these two books separately—they are just so intertwined. The first one I stumbled upon was actually ‘Sorgum’ during a Gramedia.com site-wide sale. The cover charmed me straight away, especially since I spotted sorghum at a local bulk store not too long before. It opened me up to locally produced food and how little I know about the subject.
Needless to say, I bought the one about sagoo not long afterwards—I swear, it wasn’t even a week before I bought the prequel. You can read more details about these books here, as I’ve written a post about them both before. Ahmad Arif’s writing, in particular, really resonates with me and easily understood. I’m still waiting for the next book in this series—I really, really hope there’ll be so many more.
5. Normal People
by Sally Rooney
Here is the book of the hour, so they say. With the newly-released series earlier in the year, this seems to be the book everyone is talking about for, at least, the first half of the year—I read the book before the series was announced, mind you. My sister got this for her birthday last year and I was so excited, as I’d been wanting to read it for a year or so at the time. My sister doesn’t like the story—with the back and forth, it’s easy to understand—but I absolutely loved it!
It was the first book of the year and it was the book I read after I left my previous relationship and started something new with my best friend. See how this book resonates so well with me, somehow? I obsessed over this book for a while—even watched Sally Rooney discuss it—however, to this day, I have yet to watch the series (lol).
4. Circe
by Madeline Miller
Yet another book that got glued to my mind, thanks to the numerous Booktubers who had hyped it up for me. As a major fan of Greek myths, it is only natural that I should be so intrigued by this book. Even if you’re a Greek myth fan, Circe is such an unmemorable character—I got her confused with Calipso or Arachne—so I was curious to find out who she exactly is. Her story, it turns out, is a major epic all on its own—although I’m not entirely sure if all the stories included in this book actually do involve Circe, in any way.
I love how this book was written, using such a classical language but with a modern mindset, giving her character a much better light. I find Circe to be entirely unique in the Greek myth realm, as she is technically not a goddess albeit being immortal, but also not a demigod—or heroine—so her life serves no driving force. As all epics tend to, this book left me feeling very sad somehow—as if saying farewell to a friend.
3. Cantik Itu Luka
by Eka Kurniawan
And the best cover award goes to… 👏🏻 But, seriously, this book caught me on its hooks simply by looking so beautiful. For years—yes, years—I’ve been desiring this book to be part of my library, yet somehow felt unable to purchase it. I’m so proud to know that this is an Indonesian book, designed by an Indonesian illustrator. It tells the epic story so well on the cover, without revealing too much or spoiling the potential readers.
Also, this is the only magical realism book I’ve ever found in Indonesia and it is SO GOOD! It has such an amazing first sentence that caught me by the tethers and I was instantly absorbed into the story. Much like One Hundred Years of Solitude, which is my all-time favourite book, this one spans for generations without a dull moment between each scene. Honestly, the book feels like 2020: it seems to go on forever, while at the same time fly by in no time. Gosh, if this one ever got filmed, I’d be there first thing!
2. The Shock Doctrine
by Naomi Klein
Here is the longest book I’ve read—and the most mind-blowing too. It may not seem like much, looking quite medium-sized and not very thick, but it is incredibly heavy—both physically and content-wise. I added this book to my TBR, thanks to the book below, and quickly bought it when I saw that it was available in a secondhand bookstore that I frequent online. I’ve never heard of the shock doctrine, nor disaster capitalism—nor Naomi Klein, for that matter—until the book below listed it as one of its references.
The book, as I’ve mentioned before, talks about the global economics and how it was forever transformed in the ’70s—but not in a necessarily good way. It explained a lot of things that happened throughout history in my country, especially since it went into several details of history-changing events in Indonesia—among other countries. It is also filled with so much violence and changed the way I see the government, specifically the U.S. government. An absolute eye-opener, I would recommend it to everyone.
1. The Uninhabitable Earth
by David Wallace-Wells
Last but definitely not least, this is a book that opened my mind to a lot of hard topics. Having seen it recommended by Hannah Witton, I was instantly intrigued to read it. The title alone is catchy enough to hook just about anyone, though, honestly. In this book, David Wallace-Wells goes above and beyond in describing the climate crisis and painting a world with consequences to our unchanged actions. Paired with this book, it gave me the understanding about the Paris Agreement—which, after 5 years, progress had been incredibly slow, if any.
This book scared the shit out of me within the first 10 pages and, frankly, it opened my eyes in so many ways—for instance, I learn that the zero-waste movement is quite irrelevant to GHG emission-reducing actions. Scarier and more effective than any horror books or films, to be honest. I spoke with greater details about this book here earlier, feel free to give it a read.
Man, I’m so satisfied with the choices of books I picked this year—starting with 5 stars and continuing the ride with so many amazing selections, it all felt so fulfilling. The other 20 aren’t too shabby either, to be honest. You can see the rest of my 2020 books here, if you fancy some more recommendations. As per last year and this year, I’d like to still focus on quality rather than quantity in 2021. I’ll probably set the same reading goal—and then let myself be surprised when I can surpass it as I did this year.
Also, I’m still currently reading this book and aim to finish it before 2020 wraps—I’ll let you know if it’s worth reading. There are several promising books waiting to be read already on my shelf, so I hope to be able to keep myself from purchasing more at least the first two months of the year. Here’s to a more hopeful and optimistic new year, book-wise and otherwise.
I think we can all agree that 2020 wasn’t particularly easy. For me, personally though, this year rocked—mostly because I got through hurdles I didn’t expect to overcome. This year I had to do my thesis project, which was pretty time- and energy-consuming, so I was quite doubtful I could reach my reading goals at all. However, it turns out, that the project has actually allowed me to venture into topics I had never explored before—and ended up giving me time to read more books in the process.
Since last year, I had vowed to myself to focus more on quality than quantity, in terms of reading—last year fell short somewhat, in my opinion, but this year was incredible. For starters, there is no book lower than 3 stars for me this year—and it started off with 5-star exemplars. Both for fictions and non-fictions, I’m so satisfied with my choices this year..and I’d love to share the best ones with you. Please read on to find out these worthy-of-a-flip-through titles.
10. Home Fire
by Kamila Shamsie
The most recent read out of this list, this book has been nominated for numerous awards, including Booker Prize Longlist (2017) and Costa Book Award (2017)—and even won Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2018. It was so hyped up back in 2017-2018 by various Booktubers that I follow and I couldn’t help but to feel intrigued by it. To be honest, however, I’m not entirely sure what the story was about, but I know it is written by a BIPOC woman and it got me hooked.
The story, it turns out, revolves around the British Muslim community of Pakistani descent—but it is easily relatable for any other Muslims with different cultural backgrounds—which is a story very seldom told. It really shows how big a misunderstanding can grow for lack of a very simple question: why.
9. Fast Fashion: Die Schattenseite der Mode
Edited by Sabine Schulze
Here is a book—and the only book, really—that I read for my thesis project. Fast fashion, as you may know, is a huge topic for me, so it’s quite crazy how I hadn’t managed to read anything on it beforehand. This one is actual an accompaniment for a fast fashion exhibition that was held in Hamburg in 2015. It is not sold in stores, so I’m not sure how my uni library—where I borrowed it from—got this copy. I almost tried to keep it myself, mind you, but I couldn’t.
This photo, of course, is merely a representation—I didn’t actually take photo of the book, as it had been returned months ago. The book talks statistics of the fast fashion industry and its negative impact on the world, as well as possible solutions for the problem. It is designed in such a way that puts the focus on the topic at hand, as well as making it seem so striking and create a remarkable impression.
8. Amba
by Laksmi Pamuntjak
If people tell you that bookstores are dead, tell them they are wrong—and this book is the proof. I’ll be honest, I never knew about this book before I saw it at the bookstore, being there simply because I was just hanging out mindlessly with Agung—and the store turns out to have a discount at the time (lol). At first intrigued by the cover, of course, and blurb, I was more hooked when I found out it was shortlisted for Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa Award (2013) and won the Frankfurt Book Fair LiBeraturpreis (2016).
At the time, I was reading Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s book, which was set at the same place as this book right here, and that became a point-of-interest for me—I just need to know more about this place and the history it keeps. You’ll see more instances in this list of how one book leads to another. The story in itself is pretty amazing, although I cannot say I find the protagonist—and her love interest—in any way likeable.
7. Sagu Papua untuk Dunia
6. Sorgum
by Ahmad Arif
I cannot talk about these two books separately—they are just so intertwined. The first one I stumbled upon was actually ‘Sorgum’ during a Gramedia.com site-wide sale. The cover charmed me straight away, especially since I spotted sorghum at a local bulk store not too long before. It opened me up to locally produced food and how little I know about the subject.
Needless to say, I bought the one about sagoo not long afterwards—I swear, it wasn’t even a week before I bought the prequel. You can read more details about these books here, as I’ve written a post about them both before. Ahmad Arif’s writing, in particular, really resonates with me and easily understood. I’m still waiting for the next book in this series—I really, really hope there’ll be so many more.
5. Normal People
by Sally Rooney
Here is the book of the hour, so they say. With the newly-released series earlier in the year, this seems to be the book everyone is talking about for, at least, the first half of the year—I read the book before the series was announced, mind you. My sister got this for her birthday last year and I was so excited, as I’d been wanting to read it for a year or so at the time. My sister doesn’t like the story—with the back and forth, it’s easy to understand—but I absolutely loved it!
It was the first book of the year and it was the book I read after I left my previous relationship and started something new with my best friend. See how this book resonates so well with me, somehow? I obsessed over this book for a while—even watched Sally Rooney discuss it—however, to this day, I have yet to watch the series (lol).
4. Circe
by Madeline Miller
Yet another book that got glued to my mind, thanks to the numerous Booktubers who had hyped it up for me. As a major fan of Greek myths, it is only natural that I should be so intrigued by this book. Even if you’re a Greek myth fan, Circe is such an unmemorable character—I got her confused with Calipso or Arachne—so I was curious to find out who she exactly is. Her story, it turns out, is a major epic all on its own—although I’m not entirely sure if all the stories included in this book actually do involve Circe, in any way.
I love how this book was written, using such a classical language but with a modern mindset, giving her character a much better light. I find Circe to be entirely unique in the Greek myth realm, as she is technically not a goddess albeit being immortal, but also not a demigod—or heroine—so her life serves no driving force. As all epics tend to, this book left me feeling very sad somehow—as if saying farewell to a friend.
3. Cantik Itu Luka
by Eka Kurniawan
And the best cover award goes to… 👏🏻 But, seriously, this book caught me on its hooks simply by looking so beautiful. For years—yes, years—I’ve been desiring this book to be part of my library, yet somehow felt unable to purchase it. I’m so proud to know that this is an Indonesian book, designed by an Indonesian illustrator. It tells the epic story so well on the cover, without revealing too much or spoiling the potential readers.
Also, this is the only magical realism book I’ve ever found in Indonesia and it is SO GOOD! It has such an amazing first sentence that caught me by the tethers and I was instantly absorbed into the story. Much like One Hundred Years of Solitude, which is my all-time favourite book, this one spans for generations without a dull moment between each scene. Honestly, the book feels like 2020: it seems to go on forever, while at the same time fly by in no time. Gosh, if this one ever got filmed, I’d be there first thing!
2. The Shock Doctrine
by Naomi Klein
Here is the longest book I’ve read—and the most mind-blowing too. It may not seem like much, looking quite medium-sized and not very thick, but it is incredibly heavy—both physically and content-wise. I added this book to my TBR, thanks to the book below, and quickly bought it when I saw that it was available in a secondhand bookstore that I frequent online. I’ve never heard of the shock doctrine, nor disaster capitalism—nor Naomi Klein, for that matter—until the book below listed it as one of its references.
The book, as I’ve mentioned before, talks about the global economics and how it was forever transformed in the ’70s—but not in a necessarily good way. It explained a lot of things that happened throughout history in my country, especially since it went into several details of history-changing events in Indonesia—among other countries. It is also filled with so much violence and changed the way I see the government, specifically the U.S. government. An absolute eye-opener, I would recommend it to everyone.
1. The Uninhabitable Earth
by David Wallace-Wells
Last but definitely not least, this is a book that opened my mind to a lot of hard topics. Having seen it recommended by Hannah Witton, I was instantly intrigued to read it. The title alone is catchy enough to hook just about anyone, though, honestly. In this book, David Wallace-Wells goes above and beyond in describing the climate crisis and painting a world with consequences to our unchanged actions. Paired with this book, it gave me the understanding about the Paris Agreement—which, after 5 years, progress had been incredibly slow, if any.
This book scared the shit out of me within the first 10 pages and, frankly, it opened my eyes in so many ways—for instance, I learn that the zero-waste movement is quite irrelevant to GHG emission-reducing actions. Scarier and more effective than any horror books or films, to be honest. I spoke with greater details about this book here earlier, feel free to give it a read.
Man, I’m so satisfied with the choices of books I picked this year—starting with 5 stars and continuing the ride with so many amazing selections, it all felt so fulfilling. The other 20 aren’t too shabby either, to be honest. You can see the rest of my 2020 books here, if you fancy some more recommendations. As per last year and this year, I’d like to still focus on quality rather than quantity in 2021. I’ll probably set the same reading goal—and then let myself be surprised when I can surpass it as I did this year.
Also, I’m still currently reading this book and aim to finish it before 2020 wraps—I’ll let you know if it’s worth reading. There are several promising books waiting to be read already on my shelf, so I hope to be able to keep myself from purchasing more at least the first two months of the year. Here’s to a more hopeful and optimistic new year, book-wise and otherwise.