Please scream inside your heart Breaking news and nervous breakdowns in the year that wouldn't end

Many who lived through the year 2020 hoped it was all a nightmare. However, as the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2021, and the wicked taste of a bad year failed to evaporate with the glass of champagne, the reality sunk in. Pell, publisher of the news-focused NextDraft newsletter, chronicles the endless year from start to finish. He hails from a family where his main sources of conversation were television and the news; he is, by his own admission, a news junkie. 2020 provided news at a breakneck pace, from the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, to the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic that soon enveloped the world. The malaise and madness of the lockdowns soon shifted to the protests following the excessive-force death of George Floyd. Pell blends in the news with anecdotes from his family which often prove bittersweet. Those looking for an unbiased assessment of a tough year should look elsewhere; however, readers who share Pell's left-leaning politics will enjoy the ride.

"If news is a drug, I'm the world's foremost user," claims NextDraft newsletter publisher Pell in this witty if hectic rehash of 2020. Drawing on news stories from around the world, Pell reminds readers that the first "viral video" of the year featured Pope Francis slapping a devotee on the wrist; recounts the postponement of the NBA season on March 11 ("Out of nowhere, we were confronted by a new rule of thumb. Every gathering is a clusterfuck"); and spotlights President Trump's falsehoods about Covid-19, Black Lives Matter protestors, voter fraud, climate change, and Joe Biden's role in covering up the "fake death" of Osama bin Laden. Pell also reflects on the death of Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and paints a touching portrait of his father, who fought with the Polish resistance against the Nazis (he was the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust) and built a real estate empire in Northern California before dying in December 2020 at age 96. Though the book's frenzied pace can be exhausting, Pell's family stories are lucid and heartwarming. Fans of Nextdraft and news junkies with an appreciation for the absurd will savor Pell's ability to find humor and hope in a year of chaos. (Nov.)