My year of reading - 2021 edition

 

  

It's time for my end-of-year list of all the books I've read in the past year, with mini-reviews. I'm not going to star them this time; sometimes I have a hard time deciding between a 4 and a 5, and I'm pretty sure you'll be able to tell from my descriptions what I thought of the book. 

Note that I've broken up the nonfiction section thematically since so many of the books I read were clustered by theme.

NONFICTION 

RACE AND JUSTICE:

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.
I think this was the first book I read in 2021, and I honestly have not stopped thinking about it. Wilkerson talks about how the concept of caste puts people in a hierarchy so that every aspect of their lives is judged to legitimize where they've been placed. She describes caste with this memorable image: "As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance." Wilkerson applies the concept of caste to three major groups -- Black people in America, the Untouchables in India, and Jews in Nazi Germany -- to explain how it functions. An incredible, thought-provoking, beautifully written book.

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi.
This has been one of the "everyone's talking about it" books for the past two years, and it is so interesting. It's part memoir, part theory: Kendi describes experiences and stages in his own life to illustrate his changing views of racism and the development of his antiracist model. For Kendi, racism is a system composed of racist inequities, racist policies (which create and entrench the inequities), and racist ideas (which justify the inequities). I learned a lot from this book and am eager to read his previous one, Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America.

How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice by Jemar Tisby.
Tisby is a history professor and author of The Color of Compromise (which I read last year and which details the tendency of the American Christian church to compromise with racism at so many points in its history). In this second book he gives practical suggestions for readers to combat racism in their own spheres, using a model called ARC: Awareness, Relationships, and Commitment.

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin. 
In this book, Ruffin (who writes and presents on Seth Meyers' late-night show) talks about the experiences her sister Lacey Lamar has had living as a Black woman in Nebraska: weird comments, microaggressions, bizarre assumptions about Black people, etc. It's not exactly a well-written book -- it's really more like a standup routine and might have benefited from a few more rounds with an editor's pencil -- but it's funny and shocking. It definitely lives up to its title: many of the things that happen to Lacey are likely unbelievable to a white person but all too familiar to Black Americans.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stephenson.
This memoir (which was also made into a movie, though I haven't seen it) is about Stephenson's work as a lawyer in the South seeking justice for (primarily Black) clients who have been wrongly accused or convicted, who are sentenced to life imprisonment as children, or who are languishing in the system without proper representation. The book lays bare the injustice and inequity in the American legal system, but Stephenson's compassionate efforts and the supportive communities that rallied behind many of his clients are inspiring. Excellent book.

Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States by Samuel Perry and Andrew Whitehead. 
This book by two sociologists focuses on Christian nationalism: the belief that the US is a Christian nation and that the entire social order must be structured around that reality. It goes into a lot of detail about how Americans' opinions on issues like immigration and refugees, gun control, etc. are shaped by a Christian nationalist mindset.

GENDER AND FAITH:

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez.
Wow. This one was a lot to take in. Du Mez is a historian, and she presents in convincing detail a history of the role "militant masculinity" has played in white American evangelical Christianity. Adopting masculine heroes that are more cultural than Biblical, evangelicals have fashioned a view of masculinity based on violence, authoritarianism, conservative values, and resistance to women's and LGBTQIA rights. A very eye-opening book.

The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth by Beth Allison Barr.
Another really good historical analysis. Here Barr discusses how in every stage of Christian history (early church, middle ages, Reformation, Bible translation, etc.), women's voices have been edged out or the focus shifted to marriage, motherhood, and homemaking as women's proper (only) sphere.  Yet parallel to that she also reveals an amazing, influential history of Christian women leading, teaching, and preaching in the face of constant efforts (by church, broader culture, or both) to thwart them. Really a worthwhile read.

Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians by Austen Hartke.
This is a very interesting, accessible and much-needed book. Hartke, a trans man, addresses many Scripture passages and real-life stories in order to help readers understand transgender issues in relation to faith and inclusive Christian community.

  CHRISTIAN LIFE:

Love Matters More: How Fighting To Be Right Keeps Us From Loving Like Jesus by Jared Byas.
This is a book about love and truth. Byas talks about how our well-intended efforts to "speak the truth in love" often fail because we forget that we don't have the absolute truth, or we mix shame and judgment in with the truth and end up failing to love. He reminds us that wisdom is a higher form of truth than certainty and that humility is essential to all of our efforts to convey truth. I really enjoyed this one.

Wholehearted Faith by Rachel Held Evans (with Jeff Chu).
When Evans died in 2019 at the age of 38, she was in the middle of writing this book. Her husband asked close friend Jeff Chu to finish it; the result is this warm, encouraging book of essays. Evans reflects on women in Scripture and in her own life who said yes to God; she shares her own doubts and encourages readers to embrace questioning rather than certainty; she talks about letting ourselves be vulnerable; she (very poignantly, now) meditates on death and resurrection; and she constantly reminds us of the compelling beauty of the story of Jesus. There's such a sense of settled peace in this book; it's a real gift. But it's also so sad to think that this is the last book of hers we'll read.

 AUTISM AND DISABILITY:

On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith & the Gifts of Neurodiversity by Daniel Bowman, Jr.
In this memoir-in-essays, Bowman first talks about receiving an autism diagnosis in 2015 after experiencing serious depressive episodes and meltdowns that drove him and his wife to separate. This diagnosis explained his lifelong sense of not fitting in and gave him a new narrative for his life. Then in short, evocative essays, he discusses many different issues and themes, all through the lens of being an autistic person: reading and writing poetry, teaching, volunteering at an arts community, choosing NOT to volunteer for church service, riding his motorcycle, being a husband and parent, crying, autistic representation, and more. Of great interest, as well, are three interviews Bowman has done with people who reached out to know more about his life and about autism. There is so much packed into this book: it's one man's life, but it's also a meditation on art, community, faith, and neurodiversity. Beautiful and moving.

We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation by Eric Garcia.
In this book, autistic journalist Garcia gives an overview of the current landscape of autism in America. There's a chapter on education and academic accommodations, one on housing, one on love and relationships, one on work and employment, etc. In each chapter he explains some details of his own life as an autistic person navigating this particular area, introduces us to the experiences and insights of other autistics, and explores some of the historical background and policies that affect how autistic people function in and contribute to society. The structure is really interesting, and Garcia conveys a lot of information while also debunking myths and stereotypes about autism.

Blind Man's Bluff by James Tate Hill.
Very engrossing memoir about Hill's loss of vision (due to a hereditary eye disease) at age 16 and how he essentially tried to hide his blindness from the world for 15 years, with results that are both funny and sad. Really liked this.

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty.
This unique, delightful book covers a year in the life of 15-year-old McAnulty, an autistic Irish teenager. In his diary entries he describes his passion for and knowledge about the natural world, his conservationist efforts, and his everyday life with his family and at school. He is an incredible writer whose joy in nature is infectious. "The night crackles as the storm of flitting [moths] moves off. We jump up and down and hug each other, tension leaking out. We chat and look at the sky, sparkling with Orion, Seven Sisters and the Plough. This is us, standing here. All the best part of us, and another moment etched in our memories, to be invited back and relived in conversations for years to come. Remember that night, when fluttering stars calmed a storm in all of us."

 MEMOIR, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, ESSAYS:

We Are All Perfectly Fine: A Memoir of Love, Medicine and Healing by Jillian Horton.
This is an excellent memoir that centers on a retreat Horton attended for burned-out doctors. She was skeptical at first about what a weekend retreat could do to alleviate her sense of exhaustion and despair. But as she and the other doctors opened up to one another they were able to help each other let go of guilt, practice compassion for themselves and others, and acknowledge that the medical profession itself is set up in a way that fosters stress and burnout. Very moving book; I loved it.

Big Reader: Essays by Susan Olding.
In this beautiful book of essays, Olding shows how beloved books can help us make sense of life experiences and memories. She writes of her mother's vision loss (and accompanying inability to read), the breakup of her marriage, her attempts to connect with the daughter of her new husband, and more -- revealing how the books and stories we read can also, in a sense, end up reading our lives. Olding is such a wonderful writer.

The Answer Is...: Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek.
This book by the late Jeopardy host is not really a sustained autobiography so much as a series of snapshots of different stages of his life, from childhood right through to his work on Jeopardy. It answers many questions fans might have about his life and work and is quite entertaining and upbeat.

POETRY

I read a few very good collections of poetry this year: 

Ways We Vanish by Todd Dillard 

The Last Bridge is Home by Rodd Whelpley 

And Drought Will Follow by Lee Potts

Late Summer Flowers by Julian Day

The Tradition by Jericho Brown 

Good Bones and Goldenrod by Maggie Smith

I tend to discover a lot of individual poems on Twitter, but I really need to read more collections.

FICTION

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
In this fantasy novel, a young woman named Nora, brought to despair by personal failures and regrets, is considering ending her own life. Then she finds herself in the Midnight Library, which is full of books telling the stories of other lives she might have lived if she had made different choices. Nora is given the opportunity to try some of these lives and see if she can find one that would make her happier than her real life has. This novel is kind of a cross between It's a Wonderful Life and Choose Your Own Adventure. I loved it.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
This book (also an excellent movie) is about Starr, a Black teenager feeling pulled between the relatively poor neighbourhood where her family lives and the mostly-white prep school she attends. When her childhood friend is killed by police in a traffic stop as she looks on, Starr's life becomes even more complicated; she has to testify before a grand jury and decide how to use her voice to contribute to change. I think this book (and movie) should be required reading/viewing for anyone wanting to understand the complexities of the Black experience in America.

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham.
This is the first in Graham's 12-novel Poldark series about a man who returns to Cornwall, England after fighting in the Revolutionary War, only to find his father dead, his estate in shambles, and his childhood sweetheart engaged to his cousin. I read it because I watched the entire Poldark TV series this year and absolutely loved it. The book was good, and I enjoyed it, but I haven't yet made a point of reading any of the other novels in the series. If you haven't watched Poldark, you should -- it's so good.

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry.
This is a beautiful novel, similar in tone and style to Berry's Hannah Coulter, which I read a couple of years ago. Like that book, Jayber Crow reads more like a memoir than a novel. After losing his parents and then the surrogate parents who raised him, Jayber leaves home for the big city but then returns to become the barber in his small hometown of Port William (a fictional Kentucky town). He reflects on his work there, his interactions with the townspeople, and especially his love for a young woman who marries an undeserving man. This novel is poignant and lovely.

Jack by Marilynne Robinson.
This is the fourth novel in Robinson's Gilead sequence, after Gilead (Rev. John Ames' letter to his young son), Home (about Ames' friend Rev. Robert Boughton, his daughter Glory, and his ne'er-do-well son Jack), and Lila (about Ames' wife). Jack is essentially about Jack Boughton's relationship with his Black lover, Della. Frankly, I found this book really, really tiresome. It begins with 75 pages of dialogue between Jack and Della. I pushed through because Robinson is a gifted writer and I hoped for an ultimate payoff -- but Jack's arch, pathetic tone, his self-recriminations and self-justifications, were just too much. There were moments where I sympathized with his pitiful attempts to become a respectable man, and I'm certain there's some deep spiritual message in this prodigal son narrative -- but overall the reading experience for me was tedious. 

 

Well! Sorry to end on a bit of a downer note with that last one. But overall this was another good year of reading for me. I hope my list gives you some good ideas for your own reading in 2022. I'd love to hear your thoughts below in the comments: whether you've read any of these books, agreed or disagreed with my assessment of them, have other books to recommend, or whatever.