Top Fiction Read in 2020

This is the list of top fiction books I read in 2020. List is based from books I rated at 4 or 5 stars. Links go to my reviews of the books

Bloodlines: An Agusto Zidarov Novel (Warhammer 40,000)

Murder on the Orient Express

 

 

 

Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 6

 

Deathwatch: Xenos Hunters (Warhammer 40,000)

 

 

 

Mark of Faith: an Adepta Sororitas Novel (Warhammer 40,000)

 

 

And one more. I am never sure if mythology falls in fiction or nonfiction, but this was a great book no matter where you file it. 

Norse Mythology

Booknote: Gotti's Rules (audiobook edition)

George Anastasia, Joe Barrett (narrator), Gotti's Rules: the Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia. Ashland, OR: Harper Audio, 2015.  ISBN: 9781481532662.

 

Genre: nonfiction, biography

Subgenre: True crime, U.S. Mafia, mobsters

Format: audiobook

Source: I found this one on YouTube

 

First, here is the book's description: 

 

"In Gotti's Rules, George Anastasia, a prize-winning reporter who spent over thirty years covering crime, offers a shocking and very rare glimpse into the Gotti family, witnessed up-close from former family insider John Alite, John Gotti Jr.'s longtime friend and protector. Until now, no one has given up the kind of personal details about the Gottis-including the legendary 'Gotti Rules' of leadership-that Anastasia exposes here."

 

That description sounds a lot more interesting than what we get with this book. John Alite is another former mobster that decided to save himself and collaborate with the authorities. Like other mafiosi, he thought of himself as a good mafioso. Like others who have followed that path, he mostly got off relatively easy. The book also looks at Gotti's son, John Gotti, Jr. who according to law enforcement memos was also a collaborator, though Junior denies that.  The author notes that no one in the Gotti camp was interviewed for the book. They would deny everything anyhow. Alite on the other hand denies very little according to the author. Overall, the book looks at the Gotti family and the demise of the American Mafia, thanks in large part to John Gotti.

 

Book seeks to deconstruct the myth of the Gotti family. Book came out before Gotti' Jr.'s book, Shadow of my father, which was also made into a movie; this book was the basis of the 2018 movie Gotti with John Travolta portraying John Gotti. I did watch and briefly reviewed that film a while back. The family honor, something that mafiosi constantly harp about, was lost in favor of selfishness and nepotism when it came to Gotti's family. We are talking the family where members eventually did a reality show: Growing Up Gotti. By the way that show last three seasons. Anyhow, in the book the author describes the family as a soap opera long before the reality show. 

Throughout the text, there are leadership rules from Gotti. We are not talking deep rules here. More things like do not wear sunglasses in presence of the boss. Here are couple of other rules: 

• Gotti Rule: Wives and girlfriends to remain low key, not call attention to themselves. 
• Gotti Rule: Whenever possible, use demeaning nicknames to subordinates. This establishes who is dominant and who is subservient. 

I think at times the rules could have been emphasized a bit more, and the stories presented in the book to illustrate the rules better organized, making a sort of pseudo-leadership book. The rules throughout the book seem to appear randomly.So don't come expecting one of those lessons in leadership books. 

The book is very John Gotti centered, which granted he is a key figure but I had impression this would be a bit about the men around and close to him as they look at him. Thus a lot of the stories we hear may be repeats from other better accounts. It gets to the story of the son a bit over halfway through the book. On a humorous note, apparently John Gotti needed help getting dressed to be the Dapper Don, i.e. had help picking out clothes, etc. His taste was not as impeccable as he wanted people to believe. Overall, the author argues that the Gottis were the bottom of the gene pool as the Mafia was in decline even before they came along due to things like the RICO Act.

As for the audiobook experience, I was not much of a fan of that ominous semi-creepy music they used at the beginning. The narrators' voice is a bit scratchy as you listen to it. Guy sounds a bit tired as he reads. In addition, the narrator can go a bit fast at times, some of the events blur into each other a bit if you do not pay close attention as you listen. 

The book lists all the rules at the end of the book. 11 rules. 

Overall, I would say this was OK. If you enjoy reading books about the Mafia, and specifically about John Gotti and his times, this is definitely optional reading. I'd say there are better books out there on the topic.

2 out of 5 stars.  

Book qualifies for these 2020 Reading Challenges: 

 

 

 

 

Booknote: Murder on the Orient Express (audiobook edition)

Agatha Christie (author), Kenneth Branagh (narrator), Murder on the Orient Express. New York: Harper Audio, 2017. ISBN: 9781538520857.

 

Genre:fiction

Subgenre: mystery, detective novel, murder

Format: online audiobook

Source: Hoopla, via Madison County (KY) Public Library

 

This is one of those books that I have always wanted to read in part because mom was a big fan of Agatha Christie. In addition, I have seen this particular novel adapted into film a few times, including the Kenneth Branagh adaptation, which is the cover for this book. However, aside from the book cover, this is the original novel, not a novelization of the film. I really enjoyed this one in large part because Branagh was reading it.  I also enjoyed the book because Christie really pays attention to detail; I found the many small details and clues to be fascinating. I admit a small challenge was envisioning the story without always seeing the characters as portrayed in the recent film, but that is a minor issue. Mom, for instance, often envisioned Poirot as portrayed by Peter Ustinov; for me, David Suchet is the quintessential Poirot, though I found Branagh's performance, somewhat a bit playful, to be interesting. 

Anyhow, for me listening to the book worked really well. Branagh has a good reading voice, and he performs the different parts well. This unabridged edition is 6 hours and 13 minutes, so it is not long. You can do it in a few sittings or while you are doing work or other task. Overall, this was a very good reading  experience, and I do recommend the novel. I also liked this edition, and I recommend it as well. 

I noticed Hoopla has an audio edition of Death on the Nile, also read by Branagh; it's a companion edition for the upcoming movie adaptation. I will be checking it out in the near future. 

5 out of 5 stars. 

Book qualifies for this 2020 Reading Challenge: 

 

Booknote: Underboss (audiobook edition)

Peter Maas, Underboss. New York: Harper Collins, 1997.

(link to WorldCat print record as I could not find the exact audiobook record for the edition I listened to. I think today you can probably get it in places like Overdrive)

Genre: nonfiction, autobiography
Subgenre: Mafia, mobsters, true crime
Format: audiobook
Source: Online. It was on YouTube of all places, and I just casually decided to listen to it. On a curious note, the recording online was taken from cassettes, so every so often the audio instructed the reader to turn the cassette over. That does bring back memories.

This is a short quick review of the book. I read it as an audiobook while I was doing some work, so I did not take notes on it for possible review. So here are some quick impressions so I can remember that I read it.

This is the story of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, who was John Gotti's underboss in the Gambino crime family. Gravano pretty much brought down Gotti and the crime family when he turned government witness.

The book is actually pretty interesting, especially the early years when Gravano is rising in the Mafia. We get a look at not only the Mafia's corruption, but the corruption throughout New York City as well. Gravano makes an effort throughout the book to emphasize how he strove to go by the rules of Cosa Nostra, rules that he saw the family under Gotti was not following. According to him, the family under Gotti was not the true Cosa Nostra. However, we do need to recall that Gravano and the rest of the Gambinos were a criminal enterprise engaged in various crimes ranging from racketeering to murder. In fact, Gravano was involved in his own share of murders. Basically, a lot of the effort in the book is to make Gravano come across as somewhat sympathetic. I will leave it to readers to judge.

The narrator of this audiobook overall is pretty good. The narrative goes from Gravano telling his story to the narrator then reading other parts of the text where Gravano is not speaking directly. The voice remains fairly consistent, so there may be a moment or two you may lose track of who is speaking. Still, it is a pretty good listening experience.

Overall, I did like the book. It was not great, but it was pretty good. For fans of books about the Mafia and readers of the true crime genre, this may be a good selection. For folks particularly interested in John Gotti, they may want to read this book as well.

3 out of 5 stars.

Book qualifies for the following 2020 Reading Challenges:

Booknote: Norse Mythology (Audiobook edition)

Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology. New York: Harper Audio, 2017. ISBN: 978-0062834485.

Genre: mythology
Subgenre: Norse mythology, retelling
Format: CD audiobook
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library 

It has been a long while since I read Norse myths. So when I saw Neil Gaiman wrote a new telling of the myths, I wanted to read it. Initially, I picked up the print version, but I could not find the time to read it. Recently, I found the audiobook edition. Not only did I read it, but it was an easy and pleasant read.

Neil Gaiman himself reads the book. He has a pleasing, calm voice as a reader. In addition, he performs the text, so he adjusts tone, voice, so on. In some ways, he sounds like some shaman telling stories to a tribe seated around a roaring fire.

The stories are very entertaining. Some are serious, but others are outright funny. The story featuring a cross dressing Thor at a wedding had me laughing. There is a good blend of storytelling and humor in the book.

Overall, I loved this one, and I highly recommend it. If you enjoy audiobooks, and you look for good performers, Gaiman is very good. Once you start, time will just fly by.

5 out of 5 stars.

Qualifies for the following 2020 Reading Challenges: