2020 Book List
Reading has always been a passion of mine, and I’ve been keeping track of the books I’ve read for the past few years. In 2020, I really got on a mission and completed 46 books. Despite all the crappiness of 2020, I am grateful to have been able to work at home and not have to worry about a morning and afternoon commute. This extra time normally spent commuting paired with a determination to not waste time on things that rot my brain (read: social media) provided me with lots of extra time to get lost in books. The events of this past year provided lots of motivation to want to escape reality, and the amount of fiction that I read in 2020 reflects that.
My 2020 book list also conveys my obsession with westerns and the history of the American west. Some of these books are from a list of, “21 Western Novels Every Man Should Read,” provided by The Art of Manliness. These will be denoted with a, “AoM,” throughout the list. I plan on finishing the rest of the AoM books in 2021.
It should also be noted that I typically have a book on my Kindle and an actual physical book going at the same time. My Kindle is primarily used when I am reading in bed at night before falling asleep. It’s a great tool that allows me to read without having other lights on and disturbing Cali. The downside is that I always seem to get more out of a book when it is an actual physical copy. There is something about the touch of the pages and the ease with which I can go back and look something up that makes it a better experience and allows me to retain more of a connection to the book. On the list below, I’ll denote which books were on my Kindle and may be a bit underrated as a result.
I realize that telling everyone how many books I read can come across as super douchey. That’s not my intention at all. I simply want to share these titles and a sentence or two about each one in the hope that maybe others will check out these books and get pleasure from them as well.
Okay, here we go.
“The Barbell Prescription” by Jonathan M. Sullivan and Andy Baker - Great book about the importance of strength training for everyone, especially those over 50 years of age. It’s literally a matter of life and death.
“The Deer Camp” by Dean Kuipers - Very enjoyable book about a Michigan family’s hunting camp and how the outdoors can bring people together. Parts of it hit home for me because I don’t see my family nearly enough these days and we own a beautiful hunting camp in the north woods.
“Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World” by Jack Weatherford - Kindle - Great book that I’ll need to revisit at some point. The historical traditions, values, and war-making of these people were incredible.
“Hillbilly Elegy” by J.D. Vance - Excellent book about hardship, poverty, overcoming odds, and eventual triumph. It made me grateful for the stable home in which I was raised.
“The Complete Keys to Progress” by John McCallum - This is a collection of essays by an old school lifting writer. There are some gems in here, but many were repetitive and impractical.
“Easy Strength” by Dan John - Like all of Dan John’s books, this was part training, part life coaching, part sage wisdom that applies to everyone. Highly recommend anything by Dan John.
“Attempts: Essays on Fitness, Health, Longevity, and Easy Strength” by Dan John - This was probably my least favorite Dan John book, but it was still worth my time. It was mostly a collection of essays from past works, so not much was new to me.
“PT-109” by William Doyle - Kindle - Now this book was an eye opener. I always thought of JFK as this kind of rich pretty boy who was just born into privilege and wasn’t much of a real man. “PT-109” outlines JFK’s role in World War II and the trials and tribulations he faced. Turns out he was a true badass who I would want next to me when the going got tough.
“Your Brain on Porn” - Kindle - This is a very important book that should be required reading for every young man. The book gives an excellent description of how porn affects the brain and the negativity that comes with it.
“Deadwood” by Pete Dexter - Kindle - I loved this book, and I think any fan of the HBO series of the same name would also. I will read this one again.
“At Night She Cries While He Rides His Steed” by Ross Patterson - Wildly satirical book about a rowdy cowboy in the old west. Absolutely hilarious and non-PC.
“Blood and Thunder” by Hampton Sides - Perhaps the best non-fiction book I have ever read. If you’re into the history of the American west, check this out.
“The Informant” by Kurt Eichenwald - Kindle - This was a real page-turner that held my attention. It was a long book, but it didn’t feel that way.
“The Last Book on the Left” by Ben Kissel, Marcus Parks, and Henry Zebrowski - This is a book about serial killers done by the guys from my favorite serial killer podcast, The Last Podcast on the Left. It’s hard to imagine a book about serial killers being hilarious, but the guys pulled it off.
“Robbers’ Roost” by Zane Grey - Kindle - Classic western. Easy read and a great mental escape. My one issue is that Zane Grey sometimes spends so much time describing a setting that it gets very boring.
“Bust Hell Wide Open: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest” by Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. - This was a good book, but some parts were hard to get through. The details of the battles and what regiment was coming from where had me almost falling asleep at times. Good portrait of a Confederate general though.
“When Darkness Falls, He Doesn’t Catch It” by Ross Patterson - The hilarious sequel to #11. More raunchiness and inappropriateness. Good times.
“The Summer I Died” by Ryan C. Thomas - Kindle - This was a work of fiction, but the plot was plausible and pretty terrifying. Lots of gore if you’re into that sort of thing. It kept me interested.
“Born to Bleed” by Ryan C. Thomas - Kindle - I started reading #18 not realizing it was book 1/3 in a trilogy. “Born to Bleed” was okay, but the plot got a little ridiculous and the author included some weird things that just didn’t fit. For example, it was specifically mentioned that the perpetrators in the book were politically right-wing. It had nothing to do with the plot but I guess somehow made them naturally more scary??? I don’t really know. I actually started the third book in the series but it was awful and I didn’t finish it.
“American Desperado” by Jon Roberts - Super interesting and entertaining book. I highly recommend it if for no other reason than the hilarious story about O.J. Simpson being too much of a party animal even for international cocaine/drug kingpins.
“Wild Bill” by Tom Clavin - Tom Clavin is my boy. He writes lots of non-fiction books about the west. This one did not disappoint.
“Under the Black Hat” by Jim Ross - Kindle - This is Good Ol’ J.R.’s second book. If you were ever a fan of pro wrestling, you should enjoy “Slobberknocker” and this one.
“Shane” by Jack Schaefer - AoM - Kindle - Excellent, easy read. An old teacher of mine, Mr. Lynch, once told us, “My brother says that, ‘Shane,’ is the greatest western movie of all time.”
“The Ox-Bow Incident” by William Van Tilburg Clark - AoM - Kindle - Kind of slow, but gets into the psyche of vigilantism on the frontier. I enjoyed it well enough.
“1776” by David McCullough - Awesome book about the Revolutionary War and our country’s early history.
“Little Big Man” by Thomas Berger - AoM - Kindle - The awesomeness of this book surprised me. It’s kind of like a satirical Forrest Gump journey of a guy making his way through major historical moments in the American west. There is also a lot of history and education about Native American customs and culture. I will read this one again.
“Runnin’ with the Devil” by Noel Monk - Classic stories about a wild rock and roll band. Very entertaining.
“Van Halen Rising” by Greg Renoff - See #27 above. I borrowed both of these books about Van Halen from a neighbor.
“The Eighth Wonder of the World” by Bertrand Hebert and Pat Laprade - This book about Andre the Giant was okay, but I’ll admit that some parts were super boring and I wanted to stop reading.
“Butcher’s Crossing” by John Williams - AoM - Kindle - Good book that shows some of the real hardships of frontier life.
“Valley Forge” by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin - I frequently go hiking at Valley Forge so reading some of the history behind the park was great. It’s a miracle our country ever won independence from England.
“Salt: A World History” by Mark Kurlansky - I remember one of my Navy buddies reading this several years ago and I thought it was silly as hell. It turned out to be a really good book with plenty of interesting world history. The author is a food writer so some of the recipe stuff that he included got old, but it was easy enough to breeze past those parts.
“Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown - Kindle - This book is about the countless ways the U.S. government screwed over the Native Americans. It’s absolutely tragic. I need to revisit this again in the future.
“Skeleton Crew” by Stephen King - I always go on a Stephen King kick around Halloween and this year was no different. Good collection of short stories.
“Blackout” by Candace Owens - Excellent book with some uncomfortable facts and truths. Personally, I think Candace is a brilliant political commentator. I’ll leave it at that.
“Thinner” by Stephen King - I remember watching this movie at a friend’s house like 20 years ago. The movie was spooky and the book was even better. I really enjoyed this one.
“I’ve Got My Eyes On You” by Mary Higgins Clark - Kindle - I wanted a scary book by someone other than Stephen King. This book was fine. Very easy read.
“Gray Mountain” by John Grisham - Kindle - One of the best Grisham books I’ve read. This book really paints a picture of the struggles of poor rural folks in coal country and Appalachia.
“In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote - Kindle - Awesome true crime book. Highly recommend.
“The Tommyknockers” by Stephen King - You know how these random monoliths keep popping up in out of the way places? That’s kind of the plot of this book with the addition of the shit hitting the fan. I enjoyed it.
“Yeah Buddy!” by Ronnie Coleman - Kindle - This book was about what I expected. You might enjoy this if you’re into pro bodybuilding. If not, you might be left wondering why no one proofread this book before it went to publication.
“Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry - There are not enough superlatives in existence to describe how I feel about this book. I’ve watched the miniseries countless times and I still loved every page.
“A Glimpse in the Rearview” by Dave Draper - Kindle - Meh, this was okay but nothing great. Some interesting west coast early bodybuilding stories.
“Centennial” by James A. Michener - If you’re looking for a 1,000+ page historical fiction book based around Colorado, look no further. I really enjoyed this book, although the chapter about all the geological stuff kind of put me to sleep. Once I got past that though, it was a real page turner.
“About Three Bricks Shy of a Load” by Roy Blount Jr. - Kindle - This book is about the 1973 Pittsburgh Steelers. It had some funny stories, but wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.
“Hondo” by Louis L’Amour - AoM - Classic western with a bit of a love story. It was worth my time.