in a corner of our upstairs library
Here’s what I’ve read in the last twelve months.
- Everything Happens For A Reason: And Other Lives I’ve Loved, by Kate Bowler. I read it on our car ride to Massachusetts the first time we went up to see the farm. Wonderful, fast, delightful. Soooo good.
- When The English Fall, by David Williams. The journal format perhaps wasn’t the best choice for the story; the characters lacked development and plot didn’t have much nuance.
- Shuggie Bain, by Douglas Stuart. Excellent writing, depressing story. I love saying the title out loud.
- Stray, by Stephanie Danler. Good writing, but chaotic. I didn’t like her (the author) most of the way through, which was unfortunate because I suspect she might be pretty great.
- The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson. Took ages to complete, but the themes stuck in my head. (Caste made a much greater impression.)
- A Place For Us, by Fatima Farheen Mirza. Slow, okay, nondescript. (Confession: can’t remember it.)
- Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage, by Anne Lamott. Meh.
- The Memory Police, by Yoko Ogawa. Slow plot. Couldn’t get into it.
- A Short Guide to a Happy Life, by Anna Quindlen. Took about two seconds to read and made me feel good.
- Little Beach Street Bakery, by Jenny Colgan. Disturbingly trite and distressingly inaccurate, but still sweet and fun. Baker’s porn, I call it.
- Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit, by Michael Finkel. Interesting, thought-provoking, well-written. Makes for some great conversation.
- Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell. Beautifully written and well done. Not a page turner, but lots of fun to read.
- World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments, by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. Fun, easy, interesting. (It bothered a friend of mine, and rightly so, that the author uses the natural world as easy props to tell her own story rather than subject matter that stands on its own merit.)
- The Empathy Diaries: A Memoir, by Sherry Turkle. Meh — kinda dry. Skipped all the science.
- A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband “Master”, by Rachel Held Evans. Skimmed parts. Love her voice and integrity. Miss her!
- Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work, by Akilah S. Richards. Refreshing to hear about un/deschooling through the lens of a Black mother.
- My Broken Language: A Memoir, by Quiara Alegría Huda. Beautiful, lyrical writing. Great perspective and story. I think about this book often. The essay at the end about her female family member’s bodies is utterly spectacular.
- Everything I Have Is Yours: A Marriage, by Eleanor Henderson. Beautifully written, and kinda nightmare-ish and grueling. How can it possibly be true?
- Taste: My Life Through Food, by Stanley Tucci. Fun and light. He talks about timpano!
- A Good Neighborhood: A Novel, by Therese Anne Fowler. Predictable; no new ideas. Characters were caricatures/clichés. Hardly even bothered to read the end. Only after finishing the book did I realize how it perpetuated racist ideology (and then I got angry).
- The Paper Palace, by Miranda Cowley Heller. Beautifully written and fun. A page turner.
If I had to pick standouts, I’d say: Kate Bowler’s book, My Broken Language, and The Paper Palace. What are your top reads of 2021? I’m planning a library run in the next day or two, and y’all know how much I love recommendations! (I’m currently reading Edward Snowden’s book, parts of which make for some great dinner table read aloud entertainment.)
Reference books I’ve used (heavily) but didn’t include in the list:
- On pies: Pies and Tarts, Pie, and First Prize Pies.
- On cheesemaking: 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes, Home Cheese Making (excellent), and The Art of Natural Cheesemaking (game changer).
To the younger two kids, I’ve read Look Both Ways (I enjoyed this interview with author Jason Reynolds), The Inquisitor’s Tale, Out of My Mind (perhaps my fave), The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, The Crucible (the audio), Word Nerd (another really good one), and Johnny Tremain. And last night we started Three Against the Wilderness, by Eric Collier.
For Christmas, we got our traditional updated copy of Guinness Book Records.
We also, last minute, picked up a collection of cutaway books from Costco.
My husband totally geeks out over these.
Happy reading, friends!
This same time, years previous: 2020 book list, 2017 book list, remembering Guatemala, giant sausage and leek quiche, one step above lazy (maybe), tomatoey potatoes and green beans.
9 Comments
Anna C.
Given that most of the books on your read list aren’t of great interest to me, I doubt we have many overlapping interests. That being said, here are a few of my 2021 reads that I would recommend:
1. What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon
2. The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
3. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
4. the Murderbot series by Martha Wells (I read the novellas last year and the novel this year)
5. the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny (I read #16 & 17 this year)
Thrift at Home
Ooooh, writing down the recommendations, thank you!
Best reads of 2021 for me:
House Lessons by Erica Bauermeister about renovating a house, midlife, and marriage. I was so disappointed when I read one of her novels, tho.
The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee – nonfiction, so powerful and well written
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
The Children’s Hour by Marcia Willet (I read a lot of her novels this year – beautifully written, nice medium tempo, realistic people – overall, modern British women novelists are my fave)
Janelle Myers-Benner
Well, most of mine have a very common theme – stepping stones towards birth doula certification. 🙂 Now that we’re through reading Christy Harrison’s Anti-Diet book out loud together, we are looking forward to diving into Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings in 2022!
mommychef
The latest Kate Bowler, “No Cure For Being Human” doesn’t disappoint. Super insightful, if you like “Everything Happens”, you’ll probably like this one too. I really enjoyed “Sorrow and Bliss” by Meg Mason, there are not enough stories out there that deal with mental health. “Blood, Bones and Butter” by Gabrielle Hamilton…loved that one too. Her writing and recipes are both so good. Harrowing (but worth it) memoirs, “Stranger Care” by Sarah Sentiles and “Beautiful Country” by Qiang Julie Wang…oufffff to both, but like I said, worth it. Love you blog as always, amazed you can read so much, cater a beautiful wedding a week before Christmas and make cheese and blog too! You’re a wonder! Happy New Year!
Becky R.
I read a lot of books this year (and last year) due to isolation and the pandemic. Here were my favorites:
1. I loved A Town Like Alice (Neville Shute). This is an old book and is available as a Vintage Classic. Wonderful story based on a true one, never lags. My husband loved it as well.
2. Cloud Cuckoo Land, very good, but not quite as good as As the Light We Cannot See IMO, both by Anthony Doerr.
3. Southernmost by Silas House. I found this to be a well written novel on the effects of narrow- minded religious sects found in rural southern communities.
4. The Orchard and The Guide by Peter Heller. I am a big Peter Heller fan.
5. These Precious Days by Ann Patchett. I laughed, I cried.
Thanks for sharing your reading with me, Jennifer. I have added a couple of books to my TBR list. And since we are the end of another year, I want to thank you for all you have shared with me and taught me this year. I look forward to every post.
Jennifer Jo
Aw, Becky, thank you! I’m so glad to count you among my readers, and I love LOVE receiving your thoughtful, insightful comments. xo
Hattie
Always a fun post to see what you and other readers read this year. I agree with you on Paper Palace, which was always a pleasure to pick up and read for even a few minutes. As for me, I read a lot of historical fiction. I would recommend three in particular — 1. The Personal Librarian (about Belle Greene, who oversaw acquisitions for JP Morgan and was fabulously successful in this powerful position as the only woman and the only African American, a fact she kept secret all her life.) 2. The Paris Library (about the American Library in Paris and the courageous, steadfast librarians who kept it open during France’s occupation during World War II and the staff and patrons of the library). 3. Painting the Light (about a very independent and strong woman living, painting, and riding a bicycle (!) on Martha’s Vineyard at the turn of the 20th century, . The first two are based on real people and events but I thought all three were very readable and good on atmospheric interpretation of the time and setting.
Susan
The three best books (incredible writing, memorable, challenging) that I read this year were:
1. Caste (I think you recommended it. Wow)
2. Between Two Kingdoms
3. Know My Name
Jennifer Jo
Just finished Know My Name. And then I bought it, it was that good.