The Top 10 Books I liked in 2021
I really feel like reading books by smart people has been a lifeline for survival during the last few years. The world's been so crazy and unpredictable. Books have been one of the main things that have helped. In 2021, these were 10 of the best, most helpful, most memorable books I read. I made this list because everyone likes lists, and I think you'll like the books. I have no financial interest in you clicking any of the links. Just trying to point you towards some good authors.
In no particular order.
1) Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts, by Ryan Holliday
I've been reading marketing books to get better at selling my writing, but this one seemed like more than that. It's very readable, and gives a lot of great insight into the creative process as well as the marketing process. It gets at how to make things that are genuinely valuable - not just how to sell crap to people who don't need it. Bonus points because he talks a lot about writing, as an author himself. It's kind of like deeper Seth Godin. Also check out his book, Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue.
2) Sickened: The Memoir of a Munchausen by Proxy Childhood, by Julie Gregory
This book sucked me right in, made me feel gross, and was super haunting. Angel and I both read it, and I think it triggered more discussion than anything else we've read this year. TL;DR - people are strange and gross animals.
3) The Sunset Route: Freight Trains, Forgiveness and Freedom on the Rails in the American West, by Carrot Quinn
Carrot Quinn is the best example of a true dirtbag writer that I know of. This book is a beautiful memoir about both the impact of severe mental illness on a family, and the process of carving out a meaningful life outside of the norms of mainstream society.
4) How Cycling Can Save the World, by Peter Walker
Short, enjoyable, and inspiring. It was a nice reminder that cycling is a pragmatic choice for day to day transport as much as a way to exercise. The more people that do it, the better off we'll all be. It got me riding my bike more regularly, so had a concrete personal impact.
5) Heavy: An American Memoir, by Kiese Laymon
Maybe the best memoir I've ever read. It gives so much insight into the American experience. If there's one book from the year I'd enthusiastically recommend to others, it's this one.
6) Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America, by Kurt Walker
I've been diligently trying to reconstruct the stories I tell myself about America. This was brilliant for understanding how and why the American Oligarchy exists, and some ideas on how to undermine it.
7) Supernormal: The Untold Story of Adversity and Resilience, by Meg Jay
Childhood adversity and trauma from the unexpected angle of the people who seem to overcome it to become high achievers. We're all living through a traumatic period, and psychologists are learning a lot more about how trauma impacts people across the long term. This is one of the more hopeful and unexpected books I've read about it.
8) Mud, Rocks, Blazes: Letting Go on the Appalachian Trail by Heather Anderson
The best book by someone I know. Heather is a rare combination of things as a world class athlete, and a brilliant, reflective writer. She's written two of the best thru hiking books out there, which both also stand up as excellent memoirs in their own right.
9) Mother Night, by Kurt Vonnegut
I've worked through a lot of Kurt Vonnegut in the last year and a half or so. This is my personal favorite of his books. It's a completely timely story on the complicated relationship between reality and political spin. Vonnegut had his issues, but he was clever, insightful, and hilarious. One of the Midwest's most interesting products.
10) The New Hunger, by Isaac Marion
Throwing this one in for a bit of fun. A short novella precursor to the book Warm Bodies, it's a brilliant little story about what it looked like when the zombie apocalypse broke out in Western Washington. It was really fun to see my old neighborhood in Seattle reimagined after the undead take over. Isaac Marion writes thinking person's zombie literature.
Bonus: First favorite book of 2022: How The Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, by Clint Smith
I picked it up not really knowing what to expect, but I'd describe it, among other things, as one of the best travel books I've ever read. Smith does an amazing job of telling the story of the enduring legacy of slavery in America by visiting places where the impact is still tangible. There's been so much brilliant, worldview shaping nonfiction written by African American authors in the last few years. For me, this is up there with the best.
That's it! You should read 'em all. What else should I read? Tell me tell me tell me!
Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you once again to read the books I've written: The Dirtbag's Guide to Life and I Hope I Was Wrong About Eternal Damnation.
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