18 books I read in 2021
Ever since I joined the library a couple years ago, I've become an avid reader. 90% of my reading is done for about 20-30 minutes in bed before turning the lights off. One night at a time, I finished 18 books this year. There were a couple that I didn't finish too, that didn't make the list. Some were a bit above my reading level and I want to come back to them (The Sum of Us), and some I own and pick away at while waiting for the library to deliver a book on hold (Where the Crawdads Sing). The 18 here are listed in loose order, with the best at the top, but every book was good. The top dozen were excellent. (Life is too short to finish books that aren't good.) I see a theme of race, homosexuality, immigrants, marginalized populations, and hidden American history. You'll see that I LOVE love love a memoir. Novels have to be truly exceptional to hold my attention and a few did. I'm not sure there's something for everyone in this list, but I hope you enjoy browsing it. Please share in the comments the books you loved in 2021.
Homeland Elegies - Memoir/Fiction (up for debate)
This Muslim-American author explores his complicated relationships with his father, America, and Islam. This book intimately examines how he navigates feeling like an outsider in his own country, particularly post-911 and post 2020 election. The writing is captivating. I found myself talking to everyone about this book as I was reading it. My favorite books are the ones that make me think "The world would be a better place if everyone read this." This is that. By far my #1 pick of the year.
The Great Believers - Fiction
I'm not a crier, but held the tears back as I read a particularly moving part on a plane. The story takes place in 1980s Chicago in the early days of the AIDS epidemic as it sweeps through the gay community. The writer takes her time developing the main character and I was so grateful for it. My favorite fiction of the year.
Sharks in the Time of Saviors - Fiction
This one is hard to explain, but was easy and moving to read. It follows a Hawaiian family in the 2000s as they both benefit and suffer from one family member's divine abilities. The supernatural and Hawaiian legends are woven throughout each of their struggles.
The Glass Castle - Memoir
How did it take me so long to read this book from 2006!? In the same vein as Uneducated, it's an unbelievable true story of a girl who struggles to break free from the grip of her troubled family. This book made me understand my obsession with memoirs: truth is stranger than fiction. The human experience is endlessly fascinating.
Maid - Memoir
I'm finishing this book as I write this. Maid is 100% my kind of memoir. Like many fans, I read it after watching its fictionalized representation on Netflix. Excellent show and excellent book, though they are different stories in many ways.
The Long Haul - Memoir
This had been on my list for years. I devoured it in the Bahamas in two days and I am NOT a fast reader. I very much related to the author, a long-haul truck driver, in his reflections on seeing people at their most vulnerable as he packs their possessions to move. Some were truly rotten to him (I really don't experience that a lot!), while others embraced him on their wild adventures in transition. After I finished it, I couldn't wait to see 18 wheelers on the road now that I felt like I understood their drivers' day-to-day experiences just a tad bit.
Somebody's Daughter - Memoir
Growing up is hard enough, but imagine growing up with your father in jail, and not knowing why. The author struggled with that mystery, her mom's temperament, and various traumatic experiences. The mystery of her father is solved and she meets him as she enters womanhood. This one brought tears to my eyes too. Truly a beautiful example of love transcending all.
Good Talk - Graphic Novel
I'm still not sure how a graphic novel landed in my hands, but I'm glad it did. A few times this year, I insisted friends read it. It covers politics, race, motherhood, and marriage, with overlapping themes with Homeland Elegies (see #1 book above).
How Much of These Hills is Gold? - Fiction
I kept hearing about this book and finally gave in. I almost put it down after a rough, gory start, but then it opened up for me. It takes place in a time and space that has been left out of American history books: the role of Chinese immigrants in the gold rush. It follows the journey of one such couple's American-born daughters as they claw their way out of tragedy into a country that has no place for them.
The Night Watchman - Novel
Inspired by the author's grandfather, this novel is about a Chippewa council member who, with absolutely no resources, fights the so-called "emancipation" of Native American tribes in the 1950s. He eventually makes it to Washington, but not without unimaginable personal sacrifice. We follow his daughters along the way, each with their own gripping stories.
How We Fight For Our Lives - Memoir
I also read this in the Bahamas in two days - right before The Long Haul. Written by a gay Black author about his coming of age experiences, what stood out to me was his raw tenderness when writing about his mother. Touching. Moving. It felt important to see the world through this eyes.
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue - Fiction
This one was the real outlier of the year. In a sea of books about personal struggle, trauma, abuse, racism, and homophobia, this one was a delight. The fantasy-twinged novel spans 300 years, following a girl who made a deal with the devil. It's criticized for being slow-moving, but I didn't find that to be the case at all. I read a fantasy love novel. Who am I?!
Transcendent Kingdom - Novel
As I was reading, I had to double check to confirm this wasn't a memoir! It's about a Ghanian family living in Alabama, narrated by the daughter who is a neuroscientist candidate. She leans on her scientific academic background to make sense of her brother's overdose and mother's crippling depression. The powerful story deals with religion, racism, the immigrant experience, loneliness, grief, and so much more, and somehow manages to be a smooth read.
Greenlights - Memoir
This was better than I expected it to be! I never listen to books, but I imagine this would be even better as an audiobook. A truly funny and entertaining read with some solid life lessons holding it together. Read it though just for Matthew McConaughey's impressive storytelling abilities.
Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention & Choose Your Life - Nonfiction
This is only 4th from the bottom because it was a "work" book for me. I don't read a lot of books on productivity and organizing because no matter how good they are, I feel like I'm on the clock as I'm reading. They're homework and anything but an escape. Indistractable was a book that I was already quoting to clients and in blog posts, so it was time to take it on. Like my favorite productivity book, Deep Work by Cal Newport, it lays out new ways to be, not just little life hacks. Absorbing its lessons shouldn't take years, but realistically, I think for many it will! Better start now.
Leave the World Behind - Fiction
This is one of those books that just...ends. In hindsight, the joy was in the journey - the way people might react when all sorts of unexpected and frightening events could occur. There's no big resolve, but a glimpse into how people react when under great pressure and fear is an interesting study in human nature.
Luster - Novel
It was a page turner, but didn't leave me moved or affected in any way. Luster is about a twenty-something woman who dates an older man in an open marriage. A broke artist, she finds herself living in his home with his wife and adopted daughter. I'm still not sure what points the author was trying to make, but the cringeworthy events kept me reading.
How to Murder Your Life - Memoir
Train. Wreck. I couldn't look away though. I was ashamed that I devoured this. Since it was a page-turner, I guess that means it was a great read 🤷♀️, but the writer was perhaps the least-likable memoirist I've read! I was not rooting for her. It's painful to witness people who have been given so much opportunity destroy it over and over again, for...what? The redeeming value: if you need a trashy beach read full of drugs and parties, this is it!
