AIR MAIL’s 10 Best Books of 2020
Music, film, history, and its bad boys: holiday reading for every type
Hollywood Ending
History forgot Arthur Calder-Marshall, the popular writer whose novel was picked up by Orson Welles. Now his grandson plays Welles in David Fincher’s Mank
Coyote Ugly
Among the stars of animation’s golden age—Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig—Wile E. Coyote is the most relatable of the bunch
There and Back Again
A never-before-published collection of essays by J. R. R. Tolkien will reveal new details about The Lord of the Rings
Subterranean Writer’s Block Blues
Having trouble putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys)? Believe it or not, taking the subway might offer salvation
Hide and Seek
Will Maclean added a single extra word to each of the first 1,000 copies of his debut novel. Together, they tell a short story—one which readers are eagerly piecing together
A Day in the Life
Lady Anne Glenconner discusses her friendship with Princess Margaret, her abusive husband, and finally finding happiness
The Game Is Afoot
Netflix and the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle are butting heads over Sherlock Holmes’s true identity
Birthplaces of Cool
A new book explores masterpieces of architecture by Gio Ponti, Luis Barragán, and Lina Bo Bardi, and the people who live in them
Ex Dysmorphia
All bets are off when your ex-boyfriend has a new girlfriend
Gossip Girl Grows Up
Gossip Girl creator Cecily von Ziegesar sets her sights on the parents of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Back to the 70s
Bill Flanagan’s new novel is a music-inspired riff on time-travel classics. In an interview with the author, Tom Freston discusses going back in time—and the best age to do it
New This Week
Richard Preston reviews Numbers Don’t Lie, Vaclav Smil’s latest, which uses data to understand our world, and James McConnachie reviews Ed Caesar’s account of an unlikely ascent of Everest
All That Glitters …
With the coronavirus decimating book sales, Shakespeare and Company is launching a membership scheme inspired by the one that got the Paris shop through the Great Depression
Daddy Day Care
If you have no concern for your personal safety and like the idea of your house looking like a shrink’s office, the author has the perfect roommate for you
Dwight Garner
The New York Times book critic is out with a collection of his favorite quotations. Here, three recommendations to whet our appetite
