December was a very literary month here at 国产吃瓜黑料:听while some of us spent our holidays with听prize-winning novels and essay collections, others turned to screen adaptations of beloved books. Here鈥檚 everything that kept us entertained in the final days of 2020.听
What We Read听
I just read , by Bernardine Evaristo,听and I can鈥檛 recommend it enough. The novel won the Booker Prize in 2019, making Evaristo the first Black woman to have received the honor. Her writing is engaging and singular: there鈥檚 little punctuation, and she听often breaks up her sentences like poems. The novel focuses on 12 characters, primarily Black British women,听some of whom are clearly connected to others听and some seemingly peripheral. Evaristo听crafts a narrative that spans generations, with each chapter following the life of a different character.听Despite the unique structure and style, it鈥檚听approachable and compelling鈥擨 finished all 450-plus听pages in five days. 鈥擜bbie Barronian, associate editor听
The award for most unintentionally perfect publishing timing goes to Elisa Gabbert for her latest book, , which hit shelves at the beginning of 2020. You would think I鈥檇 be sick of reading about catastrophes after a听god-awful year, but I found Gabbert鈥檚 collection of essays about our darkest moments, including September 11, Chernobyl, witch hunts, and, yes, pandemics, to be strangely comforting. At a time when everything feels enormously high stakes, I found solace in being reminded that history is long and full of desolation, and that I am small. 鈥淒isasters can feel like karmic punishment,鈥 Gabbert writes. 鈥淏ut the earth is not a vengeful god鈥攋ust an indifferent one.鈥 鈥擬aren Larsen, Buyer鈥檚 Guide deputy editor听
There are a lot of opinions on the right and wrong ways to ride a bike鈥攚here you should ride, which bikes are good for certain terrain, what makes听a true cyclist. Even as someone who follows the cycling world as part of my job, I find it hard to keep up with it all. Grant Petersen, founder of Rivendell Bicycle Works, wrote a book in 2012 about just this subject, and the title says it all: . Petersen argues that bike racing has made cycling unnecessarily complicated for most riders, and that all you really need to do is get a simple bike and ride it. His guide for cyclists covers everything from myths about the efficiency of clipless pedals to tips for your first overnight bike trip. I don鈥檛 agree with everything he writes (like his hypothesis that you might ride more safely when you鈥檙e not wearing your helmet鈥擨鈥檝e taken a few too many diggers to roll with that), but I do believe in his fundamental argument: that most people take cycling too seriously. The book is an entertaining read听and liberating for those of us who听find ourselves getting sucked into the hole of the latest and greatest. 鈥擶ill Taylor, gear director听
I was recently turned on to the wonderful writing of Oregon author and editor Brian Doyle, who died in 2017. His book 听is the most exquisite essay collection听I鈥檝e ever read. The pieces听feature keen observations on听everything from an aging basketball player who dominates the court one night听to memories of the rich smells wafting off the sea. Doyle consistently strikes听just the right tone of awe and reverence for his subjects.听Usually I limit myself to one essay each night before bed鈥攁nd frequently an essay is just a page or two鈥攂ut often I find myself rereading a paragraph or a few lines over and over in amazement and appreciation of his talent. I鈥檓 looking forward to picking up many more of his other works this year. 鈥擳asha Zemke, copy editor听
Over the holidays听I read , a memoir by Domingo Martinez about听his experience growing up in a Texas border town in the 1980s. Much of the book focuses on Martinez鈥檚 complicated relationships with various members of his family. So many of the memories he details are devastating, but Martinez also manages to find humor in a lot of his darker experiences. The book was published in 2012, and Martinez has adapted a few chapters into听This American Life segments over the years;听, about his two sisters dubbing themselves 鈥渢he Mimis鈥澨齛nd pretending to be rich white girls, is a prime example of the book鈥檚 unexpectedly lighter moments.听鈥擬olly Mirhashem, digital deputy editor
I spent some vacation time听reading听,听by Melody Fairchild and Elizabeth Carey. The book is a guide to the sport, aimed at young women,听and it breaks down training tips, smart fueling advice, and wisdom on building a healthy team. With sections on puberty and body shaming,听Girls Running听goes well beyond the typical reading听for athletes, with the goal of听promoting a healthy appreciation of the sport and what our bodies can achieve. My fianc茅听has a ten-year-old daughter who鈥檚 becoming interested in sports, and I encouraged her to add听this to her reading list.听鈥擜bigail Wise, digital managing director
What We Listened To
In November, I drove out to California to spend the holidays with my family. The 12-hour journey from Santa Fe to San Diego felt longer than usual, and when I hit Phoenix,听I was desperate for any form of entertainment that could sustain me for the rest of the drive. Luckily, I discovered the 听podcast. This show, from the creators of the true-crime podcast Criminal, is exactly what it sounds like: journalist Phoebe Judge鈥攚ho was born to be a storyteller, with her calm and even voice鈥攔eads classic mystery novels to listeners. It鈥檚 essentially an audiobook in podcast form, with each episode constituting a different chapter. I听started听,听by Agatha Christie, on my drive and finished listening to the rest of it in December. The book follows Tommy and Tuppence, young English adventurers in the 1920s听who set out to help an American millionaire find his missing cousin. Naturally, life-or-death situations, clever disguises, and romantic entanglements ensue. Hearing this compelling story delivered by a skilled reader, I felt more engrossed in the book and invested in solving the mystery than听I might have been by simply reading it myself. As a former audiobook skeptic, Phoebe Reads a Mystery听has opened up a whole new world for me, and I鈥檓 excited to keep exploring Agatha Christie鈥檚 collection, too. 鈥擬aura Fox, research associate
What We Watched听
My girlfriend and I stayed home for the holidays, and to fill the void of family visits, we decided to rewatch the entire . I hadn鈥檛 watched it in full since I was in middle school, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well it held up. I鈥檇 also听forgotten what an outdoorsy franchise it is. As Rebecca Booroojian once wrote for 国产吃瓜黑料, 鈥淲hen you boil it down, The Lord of the Rings really tells the story of an awful lot of walking.鈥 And very gripping walking at that, from The Fellowship of the Ring鈥檚 , which can match听some of the best alpine-survival sequences I鈥檝e seen, to in The Return of the King (how did Frodo have that much gas in the tank at the very end?). The stunning landscapes also gave me some serious wanderlust for New Zealand. 鈥擫uke Whelan, senior research editor听
Over the past couple months, I鈥檝e been catching up on HBO鈥檚 , an adaptation of Elena Ferrante鈥檚 Neapolitan novels. The second season, released last spring, follows Ferrante鈥檚 protagonist, Elena, and her friend Lila as they navigate their teen years in 1950s Naples. When the season begins, Lila has dropped out of school and is newly married, while Elena continues her education and eventually leaves for university. It鈥檚 the rare literary adaptation that manages to live up to its source material: somehow听the novels鈥 themes of class and power come alive even more vividly on-screen, and Gaia Girace gives a magnetic performance as the mercurial Lila. For my money, it was the best TV series of 2020. 鈥擲ophie Murguia, assistant editor
Pixar鈥檚 new animated movie听听is the perfect way to start the new year. The film follows a middle school band teacher, Joe Gardner, who desperately wants to make it as a jazz pianist. One day听a former student invites Joe to join one of the best quartets around, but before he鈥檚 able to seize this golden opportunity, he dies in a freak accident. He wakes up on a stairway to the afterlife and runs in the opposite direction, hoping to get back to earth, but instead he finds himself in a place called the Great Before, where he sees how souls are made. Joe is assigned to mentor one of these new souls, and from there, we embark on an extraordinary journey. After the difficult year we鈥檝e all shared, this听movie offers a hopeful reminder to love the life you鈥檝e got while you still have it. 鈥擩enny Earnest, audience development director听