These are the books I read in January 2021 with a rating reflecting my opinion on them. I am leaving books not available in English out for your convenience. At the bottom, I will be sharing some recommendations that fall under the category fiction, non-fiction, or non-fiction political. These recommendations are books I have not read myself, so proceed with caution as I cannot speak to their actual quality.
Read
This Winter by Alice Oseman
This is a short story about one family’s Christmas, told from three perspectives: Tori, the oldest sister and a cynical 16-year-old, her 15-year-old brother Charlie, and her 7-year-old brother Oliver. A central theme is Charlie’s struggle with anorexia and how his family deals with it. It’s a great portrayal of how mental health gets treated by society, and I really enjoyed the family dynamics. The accompanying art is A++. This is truly the perfect winter/Christmas read, the only negative is that it is pretty short and thus doesn’t go into too much depth at times.
Effort To Understand by David Murray
This is a series of essays loosely connected into a book about communication and overcoming social barriers in the titular effort to understand one another. Engagingly told and amply supported by anecdotes both personal and historical, this book has a lot to offer, from beautiful prose to good advice. While I certainly appreciated that, and had a decent time reading, I also had a lot of issues with it. Some opinions are presented as applying more universally than they actually do, the author uses he or she instead of saying they which is not only briefer but more inclusive, and is rather disconnected or old-fashioned on a few issues for a book to be published in 2021. Maybe it’s me, but I just couldn’t connect with this book as much as I wanted to, despite a good few incredibly funny and poignant chapters. This book will be released on March 2, 2021!
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Had to read this one for university which is basically the only reason I read Shakespeare at this point in my life. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the better reading experiences I’ve had with some legitimately funny and engaging scenes, as well as the added advantage of its rather short length, but it was still underlined by work rather than play most of the time. Never mind the rampant sexism, which while period typical, is pretty unpleasant to read. Not the best or the worst read of my life and definitely in the upper echelon of Shakespeare plays I’ve read so far.
Art Matters by Neil Gaiman
A delightful short collection of essays accompanied with beautiful illustrations on the value of art and reading and creativity.
Wranglestone by Darren Charlton
Lake Wranglestone, a community safe from the walking corpses, is all Peter has ever known. He doesn’t fit in well with the survivalist ways of his neighbors, especially not with the talented gritty Cooper. Through a series of events, Peter discovers that the black and white worldview he has been raised in is much more complicated than he suspected. This is an interesting take on a zombie apocalypse that invokes comparisons to the white walkers of Game of Thrones, with a strong focus on nature, and what lengths people will go to to protect themselves and their loved ones. However, the central romance of Peter and Cooper felt a bit bloodless to me, the first third of the book is really slow, and the world-building is so-so. Definitely a unique read, but didn’t quite stick the landing for me.
The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. by Colleen Nelson
Frankie is a loner with an equally enigmatic and painful past that lead her to her current foster mom, a brilliant woman named Kris. But strange dreams, a mysterious curiosity circus, and new friends kick off a wild and engaging tale of past lives, immortality, and what it means to be different in an often cruel world. The central mystery was really intriguing, although the narrative was a bit stiff at times, and some plot points were a little unconvincingly done. I really appreciated the way abuse and sexual assault were dealt with in the book, and how the characters deal with struggles throughout. Also having a story centered heavily on found family, foster care, and adoption was really resonant. Overall, an interesting short read with a few narrative weaknesses. This book will be released on May 11, 2021!
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
This is billed as a murder mystery novel, but it’s really a coming-of-age story of a boy who figures out his family and his place in the world. Following the murder of his neighbor’s dog, Christopher, who is 15 years old and has Asperger’s, goes on an adventure to find the killer, but ends up discovering a lot of family secrets, and finding the ability not only to trust himself and his abilities but to show them to those close to him. He is a really compelling narrator and I appreciated the unique perspectives he offers throughout the book. I was engaged pretty much throughout, although most of the side characters are relatively unremarkable and there was a lot of math which is really not my forte. There are a lot of additional elements from maps to drawing to math problems to literary analysis in this book, which is a really unique approach to storytelling. Overall, this is a novel that lives off of its strong narrative voice and daring approach to exploration much more than it does off of the plot or most of the characters. Warning: a lot of the characters are pretty ableist towards Christopher, which may be triggering for some readers.
March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin & Nate Powell
This graphic novel centered around John Lewis and the civil rights movement he was a part of, focusing on the 1950s, is very impactful and a great way to bring history alive. Not only was it very engaging on a story level, but educational as well. The only issues I’ve had were with the at times choppy transition from John Lewis’ life in 2009 to the past as well as the artistic choices. I think a big issue of portrayals of the civil rights movement is making it appear more distant than it actually is, one of the major ways being the usage of exclusively black and white pictures in history books. The decision to have this graphic novel be black and white, which while understandable cost and time-wise, adds to that distance. The cover makes the subject matter feel much more alive and immediate than the actual book does. Still, a brilliant and important work!
The Runaway Jury by John Grisham
Read for VC book club, this story centered around a civil suit against a tobacco company and the jury trying it is a suspenseful legal thriller of a high caliber. The characters are pretty engaging and it was a lot of fun trying to follow the schemes of the defense, the plaintiff, and the Bonnie-and-Clyde-esque team of “Nicolas” and “Marlee”, as their cover names are. The actual subject matter of the trial, however, was rather dull most of the time, the first 100 or so pages dragged on quite a bit, and several of the twists, especially regarding Nicolas and Marlee, were nowhere near clever or unexpected enough based on the intrigue cast on them early in the story. Plus, the slight datedness when it comes to the descriptions of a lot of the female and minority characters. I appreciated having a diverse cast, but not always how it was executed. Overall, an interesting read, but one I am unlikely to re-read.
Naked Pictures of Famous People by Jon Stewart
A collection of 16 essays centered around broad cultural issues. Since this book was published more than 20 years ago, a lot of the material is really dated, and at least for a young audience, not particularly understandable. There were some really funny and imaginative essays in this, some even overcoming their own sense of placement in time. Neat read overall with some flaws largely caused by age of the book and age of the reader.
Everything Happens For A Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved by Kate Bowler
This is a very upfront and heartfelt memoir centered around the author’s experience of being diagnosed with cancer. The author being young, recently a mother, and religious play a large part in her life and how she decides to tell her story. I really appreciated the bluntness of the book as well as the occasionally non-linear storytelling and philosophical trains of thought she explores. The only issue I had with the book was that as a person with little insight into organized religion, some concepts could have been elaborated on a bit more.
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott & Harmony Becker
A moving and expansive look at the internment of Japanese Americans in the 1940s told through the lense of renowned actor and activist George Takei’s personal childhood experience. This was a really educational as well as immersive read, and while some of it was a bit disjoined, it doesn’t take away from the importance of the story and the beauty in the way it is communicated.
The Wild Chicks by Cornelia Funke
This book just exudes childhood nostalgia for me. I’ve read the series and watched movies many times and it’s always good. This first entry is definitely a bit simpler since it sets up the characters and the world, but it’s still all that is great about the series: fun, friendship, underlying serious issues, and childhood adventure. A classic children’s book!
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
Read for VC book club, this expansive and colorful biography of founding father Alexander Hamilton presents an incomparably detailed and compelling view of the man and especially the times he lived in. Written with grace, humor, and precise comprehension, this book pulls you into the highly spirited and compelling first few decades of America, from the American Revolution to the first three administrations. Centered squarely on the human side of history, I have seldom seen such a masterful historian at work, someone who manages to make a large host of more or less reoccurring characters as well as any manner of events feel as alive as anything 200 years ago can be. This is truly a remarkable work of historical biography and I am delighted to have read it!
Recommendations
Fiction
Faces in the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli
“In Mexico City, a young mother is writing a novel of her days as a translator living in New York. In Harlem, a translator is desperate to publish the works of Gilberto Owen, an obscure Mexican poet. And in Philadelphia, Gilberto Owen recalls his friendship with Lorca, and the young woman he saw in the windows of passing trains.”
Monsters Among Us by Monica Rodden
“When Catherine Ellers returns home after her first semester at college, she is seeking refuge from a night she can barely piece together, dreads remembering, and refuses to talk about. She tries to get back to normal, but just days later the murder of someone close to her tears away any illusion of safety.
Catherine feels driven to face both violent events head on in hopes of finding the perpetrators and bringing them to justice with the help of her childhood friend, Henry. Then a stranger from college arrives with her lost coat, missing driver’s license–and details to help fill in the gaps in her memory that could be the key to solving both mysteries. But who is Andrew Worthington and why is he offering to help her? And what other dangerous obsessions is her sleepy town hiding?
Surrounded by secrets and lies, Catherine must unravel the truth–before this wolf in sheep’s clothing strikes again. “
Political
Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erika Armstrong Dunbar
“A startling and eye-opening look into America’s First Family, Never Caught is the powerful narrative of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington’s runaway slave who risked it all to escape the nation’s capital and reach freedom.”
Stakes Is High: After the American Dream by Mychal Denzel Smith
“The events of the past decade have forced us to reckon with who we are and who we want to be. We have been invested in a set of beliefs about our American identity: our exceptionalism, the inevitable rightness of our path, the promise that hard work and determination will carry us to freedom. But in Stakes Is High, Mychal Denzel Smith confronts the shortcomings of these stories — and with the American Dream itself — and calls on us to live up to the principles we profess but fail to realize.”
Nonfiction
Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies by Robert Sklar
“Hailed as the definitive work upon its original publication in 1975 and now extensively revised and updated by the author, this vastly absorbing and richly illustrated book examines film as an art form, technological innovation, big business, and shaper of American values. 80 black-and-white photos.”
The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: How to be Calm in a Busy World by Haemin Sunim
“The world moves fast, but that doesn’t mean we have to. In this timely guide to mindfulness, Haemin Sunim, a Buddhist monk born in Korea and educated in the United States, offers advice on everything from handling setbacks to dealing with rest and relationships, in a beautiful book combining his teachings with calming full-colour illustrations. Haemin Sunim’s simple messages – which he first wrote when he responded to requests for advice on social media – speak directly to the anxieties that have become part of modern life and remind us of the strength and joy that come from slowing down.”
The Congressional Report 