Books briefing: Our critics’ favorite books of 2020

December 8, 2020

Hi readers,

Here’s your weekly catch-up on everything you need to know going on in the book world.

The news:

In a wide-ranging interview with Michiko Kakutani about literature and writing, former President Barack Obama talks about finding his voice as a writer, the African-American literary canon and the power of storytelling: “We need to explain to each other who we are and where we’re going.”
If it’s fiction, can it be an invasion of privacy? Emmanuel Carrère’s latest novel, “Yoga,” has stoked debate in France after the author’s ex-wife, Hélène Devynck, accused him of writing about her without her consent.
Sarah Smarsh talks about the genesis of her book on Dolly Parton, “She Come by It Natural.”
Roald Dahl’s family apologized for “the lasting and understanding hurt” caused by anti-Semitic comments the author of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “The BFG” made when he was alive.
Nonfiction out today: “Bag Man,” by Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz; “An Inventory of Losses,” by Judith Schalansky.

The critics:

Dwight Garner, Parul Sehgal and Jennifer Szalai reflect on the reading they did in a very unusual year, both on and off the job. (For starters, asked how the circumstances of 2020 had affected his life, Garner notes: “I had to look at myself on Zoom a lot, and that wasn’t pleasant.”)
And our critics listed the best books they reviewed, including new fiction from Elena Ferrante, Ayad Akhtar and Sigrid Nunez; a wide-lens view of Tibet; and plenty more.
And of course, new books continue to arrive. This week, Garner writes about “I Came as a Shadow,” a recently published memoir by the longtime Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson. Thompson, who died in August, “left behind an unusually good sports memoir,” Garner says, that touches on his upbringing and extraordinary career.
What made da Vinci such a great artist? Parul Sehgal reviews a new biography of the master, “The Shadow Drawing,” by Francesca Fiorani, which shows how his paintings stemmed from his interests in optics, anatomy and other natural sciences.
Sarah Lyall writes about “Moonflower Murders,” a meta-mystery by Anthony Horowitz that she calls “a richly plotted, head-spinning novel.”
And John Williams reviews a recent reissue of Susan Taubes’s 1969 novel “Divorcing,” which introduces readers to an untethered and remarkably modern protagonist.

That’s all for now. Please stay in touch and let me know what you think — whether it’s about this newsletter, our reviews, our podcast, our literary calendar, our Instagram or what you’re reading. We on the Books desk read all of it, and I’ll make every effort to write back. You can reach me at books@nytimes.com.

All my best,

Joumana Khatib

Books at The New York Times

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