My top books of 2021 — allie reads

Jan 10

Jan 10 My top books of 2021

Is January 10 too late to write a “best of” list for 2021? Maybe, but I haven’t exactly been punctual with this blog lately anyways.

Anyways, I wanted to get a fresh start this year – I got so stressed out by how far behind I was in 2021, it prevented me from actually writing. So I thought I’d just do a little wrap-up, and start again with new books I’m reading this year. So without further ado, my best books of 2021:

1) Crying in H Mart

Post - Goodreads

Many months later, I can’t think about this book without tearing up. I think I would have to rate it among the most emotionally impactful books I’ve read in my life, full stop. I felt like I was reading Zauner’s words with my heart and my lungs, not my eyes nor my brain. She writes about food so that you can taste it, emotions so that you can feel them, etcetera. It’s personal, it’s brutal, it’s somehow hopeful. I could go on and on, so thankfully I already wrote about it.

2) The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

Goodreads

This book was a pleasant surprise for me. I voted to read it a book club mainly because I felt like a fraud – I spoke authoritatively about Pollan’s philosophy on food but had never actually read a book of his, only pieces or other people’s analyses. I didn’t expect to really get much new information out of it, did expect the usual holier-than-thou attitude, droning lectures, and perhaps pop-sci aftertaste of the usual intellectual foodie-treatise.

In short, I was wrong and the book was a delight. It was informative without being preachy; it was self-aware and humorous and kind. Pollan really does his research and makes it accessible without dumbing it down. His writing is marvelous, just as entertaining to me as reading fiction (high praise). He doesn’t really offer high-level solutions to the many challenges in our food systems, but he also doesn’t pretend to – just effectively and enjoyably shares his knowledge to help the reader make their own informed choices.

3) Detransition, Baby

Post - Goodreads

Goodreads describes this debut as “whipsmart,” and I can’t really think of a better word to describe it. I enjoyed Peters’s writing primarily for how intelligent it was, as well as how funny and tender – a combination I really can’t resist. I’m a fan of character-driven books, and Peters created these beautifully flawed, complex characters that have stuck with me since reading; the characters gave me a new perspective I really hadn’t fully considered. I can’t ask for anything more than that from a novel, so I eagerly look forward to whatever she writes next!

4) A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life

Goodreads

Quick background - this book is essentially Saunders’s writing class, distilled down. He includes several Russian short stories, then analyzes them, explaining what makes them work (or not). It sounds boring, but I promise it isn’t.

This book made me want very very very badly to enroll in an MFA program. Or at least take Saunders’s class. I can’t imagine anyone else writing this book and it working as well as it did – Saunders just seems like one of the most lovely humans I’ve ever heard of, and is at the top of my list for who I’d invite to a dinner party (Here’s a podcast interview with Dax Shepard, and here’s one with Ezra Klein - try not to fall in love). I’m not a huge fan of Russian literature and didn’t particularly care for all of the stories he included, but Saunders’s passion, humor, and gentle guidance hand made it all work out.

5) Nothing to See Here

Goodreads

I really don’t understand how this book isn’t more “viral.” It was recommended by a couple of my book club friends, but I really hadn’t seen it elsewhere – was I just too late? Did I miss something?

Like Detranstion, Baby, I love this book for being smart, funny, and kind. Also like Detransition, Baby, it’s quite character-driven – you’ll see a trend here. Wilson’s writing, however, leans more onto the hilarious and absurd. It just barely touches magical realism or science fiction, without being either at all. The premise is children who burst into flames, but somehow he uses that to really effectively and impressively write about themes of motherhood, friendship, class, trauma, loneliness… and more!

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A quick reflection – I’m rather surprised that three of my five top books are non-fiction when I’m usually a much bigger fan of fiction books. Though maybe you could count A Swim in a Pond in the Rain as at least a quarter fiction, given all the short stories throughout.

Three of these books are also quite focused on motherhood, another surprise since I’m not particularly interested in being a mother – perhaps an unconscious reaction to freezing my eggs?

Here are all the books I read this year, ranked from best to worst (note than many are tied, I’m not getting into that):