Here’s my annual list of favorite books, music, and movies. Art always sustains and nourishes the soul. But for me, music and storytelling felt especially urgent during this pandemic year — a way to connect even when we were cooped up.
Since these are works I have actually listened to, watched, or read, I’m sure I’ve missed some worthy stuff. So if you have your own recommendations to share, I’ll add them to the stack of books and movies I hope to catch up on over the holidays!

Matrix — Lauren Groff
How the Word Is Passed — Clint Smith
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev — Dawnie Walton
The Lincoln Highway — Amor Towles
Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City — Andrea Elliott
Harlem Shuffle — Colson Whitehead
Cloud Cuckoo Land — Anthony Doerr
These Precious Days — Ann Patchett
Crying in H Mart — Michelle Zauner
Aftershocks — Nadia Owusu
Crossroads — Jonathan Franzen
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois — Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
Beautiful Country — Qian Julie Wang

At Night All Blood Is Black — David Diop
Land of Big Numbers — Te-Ping Chen
Empire of Pain — Patrick Radden Keefe
Project Hail Mary — Andy Weir
When We Cease to Understand the World — Benjamín Labatut
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future — Elizabeth Kolbert
Things We Lost to the Water — Eric Nguyen
Leave The World Behind — Rumaan Alam
Klara and the Sun — Kazuo Ishiguro
The Sweetness of Water — Nathan Harris
Intimacies — Katie Kitamura

Drive My Car
Summer of Soul
West Side Story
The Power of the Dog
Pig
Passing
The Card Counter
Judas and the Black Messiah
The Worst Person in the World
Old Henry
The Last Duel
The Tragedy of Macbeth
C’mon C’mon
Quo Vadis, Aida?


The Only Heartbreaker — Mitski
I Don’t Live Here Anymore — The War On Drugs ft. Lucius
Tala Tannam — Mdou Moctar
Magnolia Blues — Adia Victoria
Witchoo — Durand Jones & The Indications & Aaron Frazer
Formwela 10 — Esperanza Spalding
Gold Chains — Genesis Owusu
Broken Horses — Brandi Carlile
Woman — Little Simz ft. Cleo Sol
Pepas — Farruko
Go Down Deh — Spice ft. Sean Paul & Shaggy
Freedom — Jon Batiste
It’s Way with Me — Wye Oak
Nobody- Nas ft. Ms. Lauryn Hill
Nightflyer — Allison Russell
Montero (Call Me By Your Name) — Lil Nas X
Patria y Vida — Yotuel, Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno, Maykel Osorbo, el Funky
Notice — Tammy Lakkis
Armash — Teddy Afro
Write a List of Things To Look Forward To -Courtney Barnett
Volví — Aventura & Bad Bunny
Headshots (4r Da Locals) — Isaiah Rashad
Boomerang — Yebba
In My Blood — MO3 & Morray
Ya — YEИDRY
Rumors — Lizzo ft. Cardi B
Walking at a Downtown Pace — Parquet Courts
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