I read at least 80 books in 2021; that is my new record since I started keeping track of my readings a few years ago. While it is tempting for me to get caught up in trying to beat my records, I am working on keeping the mindset of quality over quantity. And last year I am happy to say there were quite a few books that were well worth my time.
In July of last year I wrote a post ranking my favorites as of that point. Now it is interesting to go back and see how those rated by the end.
Fiction
- A Gentlemen in Moscow, Amor Towles
I picked this up on the recommendation of a good friend, and I was not disappointed. This novel was a perfect example of a compelling story and fantastic character development that did not require constant action and external conflicts. Overall, I think I enjoyed this so much because the protagonist refuses to fall into a victim mentality and is able to maintain his sense of self-determination in the midst of challenging circumstances. In our own tumultuous and isolated times, this book has some thought-provoking observations. - Virgil Wander, Leif Enger
This book was just a delight to read. It was one of those gems I stumbled across in the bargain section of Barnes & Noble and felt lucky to have discovered. While not heavy on action, it makes up for it in the entertaining writing style and character development. I also appreciated the setting in the upper Midwest; it seems like so many stories are based in the glamorous big cities so I liked the humble surroundings that Leif Enger brought to life in this story. I will say, I went on read a couple of his other books and found Virgil Wander to be my favorite. So if you want to try out this author, I would definitely recommend Virgil Wander. - Watership Down, Richard Adams
I felt like perhaps I am bit too grown-up to be reading a book about rabbits, but then again, are any of us too old for some good fantasy? I really enjoyed the complex characterization of the rabbits, how each one had such a distinct and convincing personality. - The Invisible Library, Genevieve Cogman
What I enjoyed most in this book was the personality of the protagonist, Irene. Her intelligence, wit, and practicality drew me into the story and made me really want to see her succeed. It is a fun fantasy story, like a Sherlock Holmes inspired steampunk plot with plenty of magic and fantastical beings. And obviously, being centered around a library certainly appealed to me as well. (At the time, I thought this was a new series and have been waiting for a sequel to come out. Upon writing this post, I discovered this is actually a completed series so I will be reading the sequels immediately!) - Circe, Madeline Miller
I was expecting this to be a spin-off from The Odyssey, but it was so much more than that. If you’re going to tell the story of an immortal witch, then it is going to have quite an expansive scope. I really liked the pacing of the book, how it kept my interest but also had the sense of being never-ending, I could really feel Circle’s plight of immortality, how it must feel to outlive everyone you love and watch the world transform and change a thousand times over.
Followups:
- A Discovery of Witches, Deborah Harkness
- A Deadly Education, Naomi Novik
- Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman
- Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks
- Gilead, Marilynne Robinson
Non-Fiction
- Madhouse at the End of the World, Julian Sancton
I’ve discovered that I really enjoy books about nature, exploration, and history…so this book about the 1897 expedition to the South Pole really covers all of my interests. I was expecting a fairly dry exposition of the events, but it feels more like a novel. I read it within a few days because I just couldn’t put it down. Beyond the historical significance, it is a fascinating character study and offers some lessons on what it takes to survive extreme challenges. As the title suggests, some went mad from the strain of the voyage…but others did not. And what made the difference? To me, this psychological aspect of the story was most interesting. The author also did a great job weaving original source documents into the text. It felt so real and immersive to be reading the journal entries from various members of the group, but yet the quotes never felt disjointed or out of place.
- Love Wins, Rob Bell
This was a tough read because it felt so different from the religious texts I grew up reading. But in the last year or so I’ve felt it is time for me to start fresh and figure out what I believe. Part of me felt threatened by how full of love and grace this book is, and I think that’s exactly what I needed to read. - Entangled Life, Merlin Sheldrake
Since reading this book in early 2021, I can’t count how often I’ve talked about it. While it isn’t easy to casually bring up fungus in a normal conversation, I have gotten pretty good at it. This book was so interesting to read and left me with such a deep appreciation for the natural world. What I think about a lot is the section where they talk about training fungus to eat toxic waste and poisons. There’s a lot of fear right now about the future of our planet but reading things like this makes me think there are so many solutions out there that we just need to discover. The world is a beautiful place full of infinite possibilities. - A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World’s Smartest Birds of Prey by Jonathan Meiburg. This book profiles the caracaras of South America, birds of prey that defy all categorization with other birds of prey. While raptors are known for being aloof and impervious to any incentives besides hunting, caracaras are far more social and inquisitive. They will solve puzzles and interact with humans just for the sake of the challenge. While I learned a lot of interesting things about these birds specifically, there were a couple corollary points that also stood out to me. First, I had no idea that birds of prey are technically the closest living relatives to dinosaurs. After a fairly sketchy education on prehistoric life while I was growing up, this was really surprising and pretty cool to discover. Second, there is a huge diversity of life between North and South America. You would think there’d be more overlap of animals, but there’s a fairly clear distinction between animals in these two regions. There are only a few exceptions, I believe maybe the armadillo, that made it north from South America. Not only birds like the caracaras but also many other very unusual and unique animals live only in South America. It was just really fun to learn about so many interesting species that I had no idea even existed.
Most Surprising Books?
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari was one of the most underwhelming books of the year. So much so that I didn’t even finish reading it. This surprised me because I’d heard so much about this book over the years and just assumed it was going to be much better.
Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman was also less than what I was expecting. I’ve really grown to love American Gods and Neil Gaiman’s writing style in general. However, this collection of short stories just did not speak to me in the same way as some of his other works.
Virgil Wander by Leif Enger was one of the most pleasantly surprising books of the year. I’ve already rhapsodized about this book enough so I won’t belabor the point here.
The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield was interesting as this was the former astronaut’s foray into fiction writing. I had really enjoyed the interviews with Hadfield in the Netflix show, “One Strange Rock,” and was surprised to see his name in the fiction section at the library. While I enjoyed the setting of this book, I found the characters to be a little flat and lacking in interest, so this didn’t make it to the top of my list. But nevertheless, it was a fun read from an unexpected author.
Overall, it was a good year of reading, with a lot of variety and range. I think if anything, I read more in the fantasy genre but even this was a pretty small percentage. I am also glad I was able to read such a range of non-fiction. In 2021 I think I discovered a new enjoyment of natural history and science, thanks to some stellar reads.
