# The Best of 2020: Books

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/the-best-of-2020-books/
- Published: 2021-01-13T12:00:00-06:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

### **Best of 2020’s books**

2020 was generally a shitty year; Covid-19, race riots, Wonder Woman 1984, an election.
There were some high points though. Here are 10 books I read in 2020 that are worth
checking out (and unlike the TV edition, these were not all released in 2020).

Honorable Mentions:

 * **[A Feast of Crows](https://amzn.to/4p7dBoy) (George R.R. Martin) **– Of the
   first 4 Game of Thrones books, this is the weakest. It focuses on more of the
   secondary characters than the previous books.
 * **[Thanksgiving for Werewolves and Other Monstrous Tales](https://amzn.to/4oszbCQ)(
   M.L. Kennedy) **– A collection of short horror tales that are a little off-beat
   but very enjoyable.
 * **[IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas](https://amzn.to/48NBDza)(
   Chuck Klosterman) **– Another collection of stories, but these are dated pop 
   culture articles that Klosterman wrote for various publications. While they might
   be dated, they are still very interesting.

**10. [Ahead of the Curve: Inside the Baseball Revolution](https://amzn.to/4izjrg6)(
Brian Kenny) **– Kenny released this book and 2016, and while it shows its date,
is still full of good information. He also shares experiences of the battle between
stats and scouting that he faced as part of ESPN and MLB Network and how he’s gotten
people to change their minds about stats. For those interested, think of it as more
of a beginner book for Sabermetrics.

**9. [Star Wars: Thrawn: Treason](https://amzn.to/49NO7b7) (Timothy Zahn) **– I 
will read anything with Thrawn that’s written by Zahn, the creator of the character.
Set during _Star Wars: Rebels_, Thrawn is placed in a game of politics between Grand
Moff Tarkin and Orson Krennic which calls in question his dedication to the Empire.
You also get the return/introduction of the Chiss Ascendancy and the return of Eli
Vanto. This Thrawn Trilogy is one of the highlights of new canon and ties in nicely
with the events _Rebels_.

**8. [Big Data Baseball: Math, Miracles, and the End of a 20-Year Losing Streak](https://amzn.to/3M97ku5)(
Travis Sawchik) **– More baseball analytics, but more of a look of how it’s used
rather than an appeal to be used. Sawchik recounts the Pittsburgh Pirates temporary
emergence out of the cellar of the NL Central by using defensive metrics to build
a team. It’s also shows how the Pirates front office got the players and staff to
buy into their plan. It’s much like _The Only Rule is it Has to Work_, except it’s
at the Major League level rather than Indy ball.

**7. [Star Wars: Dooku: Jedi Lost](https://amzn.to/3Y39m1m) (Cavan Scott) **– This
is actually the script of an audio drama, and it’s in script format; that makes 
it a very quick read for those that haven’t read scripts before. The story is set
during the Clone Wars, but mixes in flashbacks to Dooku’s time as a Jedi (from Padawan
to Master). This is one of the best character pieces in Star Wars, because you see
how Dooku starts to become disenfranchised with the Jedi Order and how he eventually
meets Palpatine while also training Asajj Ventress to be his assassin and Sith Apprentice.

**6. [Dune](https://amzn.to/3KmLGly) (Frank Herbert) **– I won’t lie, I was hesitant
to give this another shot; I attempted to read it a few years ago and got less than
200 pages in when I set it down. After watching the trailer for the movie, I thought
I’d give it another shot. The book is as dense as Tolkien or Martin, with a lot 
of details and time jumps to confuse readers. This time, with IMDB ready to give
me faces to go with names, I really got into it. It was confusing at times; later
in the book, it was hard to determine how far time had jumped. But I stuck with 
it and I’m ready to eventually see the new movie (and the David Lynch version too).

**5. [Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising](https://amzn.to/3Xv3ldD) (Timothy
Zahn) **– The third and final Star Wars book on the list. This one was different
though because it didn’t feel like traditional Star Wars. This prequel era novel
explores the Chiss Ascendancy in the unknown regions of space. Rather than dealing
with the Republic and the Separatists, we get new aliens. Since it didn’t have many
of the traditional Star Wars characters, locations, and ships, it felt like more
traditional sci fi rather than Star Wars. There was one point in the story that 
they did cross into Star Wars, and it was a big payoff for those that read _Thrawn:
Alliances_.

**4. [The MVP Machine: How Baseball’s New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players](https://amzn.to/3Xyoeoi)(
Ben Lindbergh/Travis Sawchik) **– One of my favorite types of book about baseball
are those that introduce me to new things in the game. _The MVP Machine_ got me 
to rethink training and technology in the game. Lindbergh and Sawchik look at companies
like Drive Line, technology like Rapsodo, and players like Mookie Betts and Trevor
Bauer. As a Cardinal fan, it makes me realize how far behind they have fallen. I
feel like this is Moneyball 2.0.

**3. [Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen](https://amzn.to/445I4Lf)(
Brian Raftery) **– I really hadn’t read about movies in a while, and this was the
right book to get me back into it. 1999 was right in the middle of my 5+ years stint
of working at Blockbuster Video and I had watched probably 75% of the movies in 
the book – Fight Club, Being John Malkovich, American Beauty, American Pie, and 
a bunch more. The book goes into the making of the movies, from getting them green
lit with the studio to fallout of the release. The book was a trip down memory lane,
while also being an interesting look at the movie making process. [Full review](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2021/01/review-best-movie-year-ever-how-1999-blew-up-the-big-screen/).

**2. [The Princess Bride](https://amzn.to/4oxsXSh) (William Goldman) **– Children
of the ’80s know the movie like the back of their hands. What they don’t know is
there was a book of it which has a better backstory than the movie/book itself. 
Goldman wrote both the book and movie, and he created a fictional tale of his father
reading the story to him when he had pneumonia as a child; the “original” story 
was never translated into English and Goldman felt he needed to do it. He studied
the original author (Morgenstern) and discovered that his father left out many of
the details, which he would point out in the book. The movie is very faithful to
the book; the only difference is the author’s notes point out the Morgenstern stuff.
It’s a quick read too.

**1. [Anansi Boys](https://amzn.to/44p8sQD) (Neil Gaiman) **– I was late to the 
Gaiman train, but better late then never. _Anansi Boys_ is an indirect sequel to
_American Gods_, which follows the 2 sons of Anansi the Spider God. Charlie is a
guy that nothing goes right for; he’s estranged from his father, but returns to 
America when he learns Anansi has died. There he learns that he has a brother he
knew nothing about, and once they meet, Charlie’s life isn’t the same. It’s all 
very light hearted compared to _Gods_. Gaiman weaves a mythological web that keeps
readers wondering what will happen next. He knows mythology better than a majority
of fiction writers that attempt to use it.

Tomorrow I’ll have the best comic runs I read last year.

Tomorr

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