Top 5 Things I Read in 2020

At the start of 2020, one of my resolutions was to read 12 books and I am happy to say that I surpassed my modest goal, ultimately reading 13 books (with 2 Did Not Finishes - aka DNFs). Below is a list of my top five reads from the year, along with a brief note on everything else I read. You will notice a pattern emerge very quickly...

1) The Godfather, Mario Puzo

An absolute classic! DISCLAIMER: I had already seen the movie prior to reading the novel that preceded it. That said, seeing the movie before reading the book did NOT take away from my enjoyment, and I actually felt lucky having the novel focus more time on a few characters, in comparison to the film. For example, the singer Johny Fontane, who is connected to the Corleone family, is introduced in the movie only briefly. In the book, we hear a lot more about him and his career arc as an entertainer. I really enjoyed this story line! We get a lot more Michael in Sicily, too, which means more of his tragic courtship with Apollonia. Overall, I most enjoyed this read over anything else in 2020, for its detailed character development and a story, above all else, about family dynamics.

2) Pappyland: The Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and Things That Last, Wright Thompson

Wright Thompson's book had one thing in the foreground (in this case, Bourbon), but, like The Godfather, it's really a book about family history, which is what I loved about it. Thompson is a very strong writer who eloquently tells the story of Kentucky, Bourbon, and the van Winkle family, with it's 4 generations worth of history in both (Kentucky and Bourbon). A particular theme I love is in the subtitle: "Things that last." Distilling barrels empty of their juice, horse racing blood lines end, and mansions crumble to their foundation. These things are all monuments that time erodes. It's the memories with people we love that stay with us forever.

Figure 1: Definitely NOT Pappy in the glass. However, to coincide with the read, I did take to sipping on Beam.

3) Dr. Sleep, Stephen King

This came as a welcome Christmas gift after I had started reading The Shinning in mid December 2019 and was hungry for more King thrills. A Danny-centric novel that tells the story of how a person with The Shinning might find a place in society, while coping with the burden of knowing. Lots of insight into the ~Shinning~ and a deeper dive into the world Shinners occupy, and those that exploit them. Awesome stuff. Still haunted by The Baseball Boy and I'll leave it at that. Disclaimer: Obviously, read/watch The Shinning prior to reading this.

4) Be a Player, Pia Nilsson & Lynn Marriott (If you do not golf, skip to 5)

Gosh, where to begin? First, this book aims to make golfers better by getting them to be more in touch with there mind and body. If you are into golf and want to improve, this book can definitely help. It breaks things down in such a way that is interesting, easy to understand (despite a lot of technical talk about the brain and how it works), and the drills/exercises can be implemented seamlessly into any round of golf. Along with a better game, I'd like to personally thank the ladies for helping me manage stress on the course, which has ultimately allowed me to be a happier golfer. I probably owe Lynn and Pia some shop credit.

Figure 2: Golf is a true passion of mine. I love playing it, thinking about it, watching it, and, evidently, reading about it.

5) Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger

Another heavy hitter. I'm not a HUGE football guy, but that did not take away from how much I enjoyed Friday Night Lights. Friday Night Lights paints an American city on the come up with two distinct sides of the tracks. The tracks represent so many dichotomies, all portrayed in this book: Rich-Poor, Democrat-Republican, Old Money-New, Black(+ Hispanic)-White. At the time, football allowed a town with an ugly underbelly to come together. What I think is poignant is thinking about what the USA is like today amidst a revolution of sorts. Some distractions, like sports, have been necessarily sacrificed in lieu of really addressing some of the dichotomies listed above. Excellent read, used all my strength to put it down.

Outside the Top 5

6) Shoe Dog, Phil Knight

Where my Dogs at? Phil Knight is the founder of a one time small start up that became known as Nike. This book shows the wild ride that "running" a business is. It is also a book about travel, relationships, family, adventure, and growth. Knight and his ghostwriter(s) did an awesome job telling a thrilling story that is the origin story of a giant.

7) The Shinning, Stephen King

A horror classic. The Overlook does not have to be on screen to come across as excessively creepy. I really enjoyed getting more insight into Danny's Shinning gift. Even if you've seen the movie already, I would absolutely recommend reading The Shinning. "Wendy, I'm home."

8) Breaks of the Game, David Halberstam

In line with the Jordan Rules as an early look behind the curtain to see how professional athletes navigate their careers, contract disputes, agents, coaches, GMs, trades, cityscapes, and relationships. Loved it.

9) The Jordan Rules, Sam Smith

This book provided pretty cool insight into the players on the early Bulls teams pre-championships. I really enjoyed getting placed in a world before Jordan had been given the title of GOAT as he has today, which I feel can blur who Jordan REALLY WAS as a person and athlete. Would be remise if I didn't mention how much I like Bill Cartwright. Good read that I squeezed in just before the hit Netflix series.

10) The Second Life of Tiger Woods, Michael Bamberger

I like Bamberger and should probably ready some of his other stuff, which admittedly I have not. The part on... I can barely say it... PEDs is fascinating. Otherwise, I might have gone to Wikipedia to read a synopsis of the Cat's rise, fall, falling lower, lowest soon, low, and rise again. That said, Bamberger is such an enjoyable writer, it was by no means a BAD read. It just feel like there wasn't a lot there to be covered in a book and maybe would have been better in a few articles instead. That, OR wait until the Cat's story is truly over.

11) Every Shot Counts, Mark Brodie

This book is the indicator of the level to which I am a golf nerd. Strokes gained stats are often referenced on telecasts and I didn't fully understand what they were or how they were calculated. This book dives into all of that with super cool graphs (with current PGA tour players) and has helped me look at my own strengths and weaknesses through the lens of strokes gained. I think I will keep track of all my stats next year. Thanks Mark Brodie!

12) Golf in the Kingdom, Michael Murphy

According to several internet lists (love internet lists), as far as golf literature goes, this book is touted as the best the sport has to offer. I was excited going into this book and I enjoyed the first third or so, where the protagonist (Michael Murphy) is making a whirlwind layover in Scotland before getting to his final destination of India. The man who the protagonist meats, Shivas Irons is an almost mythical man who at times appears to shape-shift depending on his mood. An excellent golfer and teacher, Shivas is more known for his spiritual teachings, which he relates to Murphy through golf. This part of the book was actually quite enjoyable and read like a buddies golf trip on acid. Nothing seems quite real for the protagonist Murphy. Anyway, the time which he spends in Scotland is quite short (<2 days?) and so the remainder of the book is filled with spiritual teachings that were passed to him by Irons. This is where the book looses me and I actually found it hard to get through. I will say that mindfulness was on my mind throughout the latter reading of the book and so I think I got a bit out of it. One the whole, I would have loved more interactions with Shivas and the rest of the Fife locals and less extrapolating/musing over obtuse sentences delivered by Irons to Murphy.

13) Commander in Cheat, Rick Reilly

In Commander in Cheat, golf writer Rick Reilly looks at Trumps moral character through the lens of golf. At this point, you are probably wondering how many different ways I can read about golf. Anyway, you'd never guess, but you know how Trump makes up his own truths (lies)? Well it's the same in golf. All of the stories in the book provided further support to what we know about Trump already. I'll give one example.. At the end of each golf season, members at courses will be pooled by skill level, age, and gender and compete in a tournament to determine the "Club Champion." Trump owns many golf courses and on one particular day, he was playing at a course while another one of his courses was holding its Club Championship. Trump found out who won at that course, and could not stand hearing about someone else had won. I'm paraphrasing here, but he says something along the lines of "Oh, that guy? I'm way better than him. And I beat his scores on the other courses I was playing those days. So, therefore, I should be winner instead." Shortly thereafter, his name was on the wall in the club, naming him the Club Champion for that year. No words.

14) Boys will be Boys, Jeff Pearlman

While the stories of many of the Cowboys got my attention, it could not hold it. Possibly a let down so soon after Friday Night Lights? Maybe I just had to be there. Note that I have a rooting interest in the Cowboys, namely the quality of my father's Sunday afternoon. Even with that, I couldn't get into the book. DNF.

15) Mistake Free Golf, Dr. Robert K Winters

Something about any kind of self-help book, whether it be sports or otherwise, is avoiding information overload and setting up a pupil for success. The way this book is formatted is not very good, especially for someone wanting to try some things out. It had a lot of rambling anecdotes from tour players that were then loosely tied to one of the Bad Dr.'s ideas. If I'm being honest, this book is so quick to put forth issues golfers face, I would get nervous reading the book. NOT what you want, lol. Did not get very far in before I had enough. DNF.

Takeaways

Main takeaway #1: I read a lot of golf books. I do not apologize for this.

Main takeaway #2: I read a lot of books written by straight white men. This is definitely a product of some of the genres/types of books I was reading (e.g. sports books). With that said, I look forward to making a conscious effort of reading more books by people outside this demographic.

Main takeaway #3: I love reading and feel sad I took so long a break during post-secondary. Rarely did it feel like a chore to read, like some other resolutions might (e.g. starting to go to the gym, etc.). Reading continues to be firmly in my daily routine and I look forward to diving into a diverse array of books in 2021!

Thanks for reading

Liam