60 good things from 2020
At the end of each year, I like to take stock of what’s happened and share things that were good. While 2020 was very 2020, the lockdowns offered a lot more free time to consume stuff. You’ll find 60 of my favourite things below.
But first! Some personal news, in brief:
I was made redundant from my job at Monzo
I started making art on my iPad
I ran a fair bit but not as much as previous years
I started buying records again
I got a new job at Cazoo
A drawing of me by me
All in all, I was lucky to have a pretty good year. Obviously, that wasn’t the case for everyone. So if there’s anything I can do to help you during this torrid time, or you just want to say hi, leave a comment below or send me an email: lukeleighfield@gmail.com.
Enjoy the recommendations!
Luke xo
📝 5 blogs
I wrote a few blogs this year. These were my favourites.
How to be a freelance writer
Tips for aspiring freelancers, particularly writers
Take care of your brain
Some thoughts on mental health
Give your money away
The case for giving away 10% of your income
The 29 tools I use to get things done
Apps, plugins, and websites for fellow nerds
Pay attention
Noticing the beauty that’s all around us
💿 10 records
Bonny Light Horseman – Bonny Light Horseman
Traditional folk with a fresh twist
Chassol – Ludi
Experimental, piano-led French jazz
Dirty Loops – Phoenix
Over the top prog pop
Ethan Gruska – En Garde
Gorgeous indie folk
Great Grandpa – Four of Arrows
Killer indie rock anthems
Kathleen Edwards – Total Freedom
Soothing Americana loveliness
Konradsen – Rodeo No. 5
Piano-heavy hymnal pop from Norway
Peter CottonTale – CATCH
Uplifting gospel bangers
Peter J. McCauley – Amnesty
Sublime piano-led indie
PJ Morton – The Piano Album
Stripped back soul
📚 10 books
I read 52 books in 2020. These were my faves.
Fiction picks
Fiction
Brit Bennett — The Vanishing Half
Generation-spanning tale of race and family
Colson Whitehead — The Nickel Boys
Two boys attend a hellish reform school in 1960s Florida
Douglas Stuart — Shuggie Bain
An epic page-turner that'll make your heart ache, then burst
Elizabeth Wetmore — Valentine
A brutal crime in a Texas oil town in the 1970s has a lingering effect on its women
Kevin Wilson — Nothing to See Here
A woman finds meaning by caring for two children who catch fire
Non-fiction picks
Non-fiction
bell hooks — All About Love: New Visions
An in-depth look at love
Craig Thompson — Blankets
Heartbreaking love story that wrestles with faith
Mira Jacob — Good Talk
Hilarious and devastating conversations about race
Patrick Radden Keefe — Say Nothing
Fascinating account of The Troubles in Northern Ireland
Rob Walker — The Art of Noticing
Tips for paying more attention to the world around you
🎥 5 films
Knives Out
Modern take on a murder mystery (Prime Video)
Marriage Story
Beautiful film charting the disintegration of a marriage (Netflix)
Queen & Slim
A black couple goes on the run after killing a cop (Prime Video)
The Peanut Butter Falcon
A young man with Down syndrome escapes his nursing home to become a wrestler (Netflix)
The Two Popes
Two popes — one conservative, one liberal — try to find common ground (Netflix)
📹 5 documentaries
Crip Camp
A group of disabled people start a revolution in the 1970s (Netflix)
Dick Johnson is Dead
A daughter helps her father prepare for the end of his life (Netflix)
Supersonic
Bonkers documentary of Oasis's breakthrough years (Netflix)
20 Feet from Stardom
Meet the backing singers behind the stars (Netflix)
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
The life, lessons, and legacy of Fred Rogers
📺 10 TV shows
Big Mouth (season 4)
Potty-mouthed comedy, all about puberty (Netflix)
Fargo (season 3)
The dark comedy-drama tackles another hapless victim (Netflix)
F is for Family (season 4)
Set in the 1970s, this animated comedy goes deep in the new season (Netflix)
Giri/Haji
Incomparable crime drama, set in London and Tokyo (Netflix)
Little Fires Everywhere
A tense, powerful exploration of race, belonging, and motherhood (Prime Video)
Losers
A celebration of sport’s biggest losers (Netflix)
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
Two comedians chat about life and catch fish (BBC)
Ted Lasso
The loveliest, funniest, most heartwarming show on TV (Apple TV)
The Last Dance
Unbelievable documentary series about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls (Netflix)
Unorthodox
A young woman escapes her orthodox Jewish community (Netflix)
📻 5 podcasts
Dolly Parton’s America
A rip-roaring ride through the Dollyverse
Heavyweight
Soul-searching conversations about moments from the past
Hurry Slowly
Slow down, think deep
Rabbit Hole
Learn what the internet’s doing to us
Reply All
Life, lols, and the internet
📮 5 newsletters
Austin Kleon’s newsletter
One of my favourite thinkers writes about art and creativity
Drawing Links by Edith Zimmerman
Comics and links about the mundane and beautiful
Supergranular by Thom Wong
Essays about life by one of my BFFs
The Profile by Polina Marinova
The best profiles the internet has to offer
The Sunday Soother by Catherine Andrews
Tips on caring for your mind and body
If you enjoyed this, you might like my weekly newsletter: Ten Things.