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by Adult Services Library Associate Nichole

As 2020 comes to a close, I asked staff to reflect on their favorites books, movies, and albums from this year. Some staff found it easy to narrow it down, while others couldn’t choose just one! Here are the BPL staff favorite books of 2020:

Christian’s Pick – The Lucky Star by William T. Vollmann | print
David’s Pick – COVID-19: The Pandemic that Never Should Have Happened and How to Stop the Next One by Debora MacKenzie | print
Hannah’s Pick – Wilderness Chef: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Outdoors by Ray Mears | print
Juliana’s Favorite Memoir – This Is the Night Our House Will Catch Fire by Nick Flynn | print
Juliana’s Favorite Fiction Read – Writers & Lovers by Lily King | print / digital
Leann’s Science Fiction Pick – A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green | print / digital
Leann’s Favorite Thriller – The Guest List by Lucy Foley | print / digital
Nichole’s Pick – Being Lolita by Alisson Wood | print
Sue’s Pick – Deacon King Kong by James McBride | print / digital

Our favorite films from 2020 include:

Christian’s Pick – Feels Good Man *currently unavailable through the CLC
Juliana’s Pick – The Devil All the Time *currently only available on Netflix
Nichole’s Pick – The King of Staten Island | DVD / Blu-Ray

And finally, our BPL staff favorite albums from 2020 include:

Christian’s Pick – Heaven to a Tortured Mind by Yves Tumor | CD
Hannah’s Pick – Old Flowers by Courtney Marie Andrews | CD
Jeff’s Pick – Lianne La Havas | CD / digital
Juliana’s Pick – Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers | CD
Kim’s Pick – Women in Music Pt. III by HAIM | CD
Nichole’s Pick – Circles by Mac Miller | CD / Vinyl / Digital

A book review by BPL team member, Christian.

While going through some literary articles recently, I stumbled upon one by The Japan Times that discusses the idea of the new Japanese literary golden age. This article debates the merits of whether Japan is experiencing a new literary golden age and how Anglo-saxon translations funnel that to a Western audience. While the outcome of a contemporary literary Golden Age for Japan is left open-ended, it is certain that the voices of women authorship has significantly grown. However, an aspect of it, as mentioned previously, is determined by translation. For instance, one of the books shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2020, The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, was initially published in Japan in 1994. A lot of writers that are defining the contemporary Japanese literary landscape have yet to make their impact in the Western world, but with the recent translations of authors such as Hiromi Kawakami, Hiroko Oyamada, Yukiko Motoya, and many more, that is slowly changing.