Some Favorite Books From 2021

    You know that I love to read. I always keep a journal of the books I’ve read during the year. In the year 2021 I read a few classics, a couple of books that were published in the early 1900’s, some that I’ve read more than once along with a lot of others!  56% of the books I read this year were fiction, 36% were non-fiction works and 8% were books of poetry. 

    I rate them by how much I enjoyed reading them, not necessarily how well they were written, though that does naturally figure into it. The books I read aren’t always best sellers; in fact, a lot of the books I read aren’t even widely known! Most of the books on this list are fairly current.

    So, these are a few of my favorites from 2021, listed in the order that I read them. I enjoyed them all and I hope you’ll see a couple that might pique your interest and make you want to give them a try. (You don’t have to buy them, go to your local library and borrow them!) The library is truly one of our unappreciated treasures. Take advantage of it! Also, don’t forget about your local bookstores, most of these books can be found there. Support your local businesses!

1)      The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. (Fiction) The story of a man who discovers a book in the library stacks that has a story about him from his early childhood. He starts uncovering clues which eventually lead him to an ancient hidden library deep under the earth. The story tells his search and what is revealed to him.

2)      The Saint Makers by Joe Drape. (Non-fiction) This book tells about a man from Kansas, Father Kapaun, who served in the Korean War. He is considered by many to be a saint. The book also tells about those who are attempting to get him beatified. The book tells his story, those of the people who believe that Father Kapaun has interceded for them after being prayed to and describes the process in which saints are declared, a process that has changed little in the past couple thousand years.

3)      The Last Stargazers by Emily Levesque. (Non-fiction) In this book, Emily tells us stories about astronomy and astronomers. She tells about the wonders of working as a professional astronomer and some of the goofs and mistakes that have been made, in both her career and others. In one chapter she tells about flying through an aurora while using the Sofia Airborne Telescope and in another watching a total solar eclipse with her family. In the way she describes them, both of these stories had me choked me up!

4)      Elsewhere by Dean Koontz. (Fiction) A man is given a device that he must NEVER use! Of course, he does almost as soon as it is given to him. It results in him and his 12-year-old daughter getting transported to a parallel universe. When they return, they have to hide the device from the evil governmental operatives who are searching for it. Dean adds a lot of literary references in this story. His storytelling kept me glued to the book!

5)      Mad at the World by William Souder. (Non-fiction) This is a biography of the great writer John Steinbeck. The author tells it all and he makes it into an interesting read. After reading this book, I reread a couple of Steinbeck’s books. (None of which made it to the 4 star list)

6)      The Book of Lost Names by Kristen Harmel. (Fiction) An older woman is shelving books at her library when she sees an article about books stolen during the Second World War that are being returned to their proper owners. One, an ancient religious manuscript has some sort of code in it. The woman recognizes the book because she was the one who devised the code. She is living in Florida, the book is in Germany, and she wants to go there and explain what the code is. Her son thinks she is a bit soft minded and too feeble to make the trip. He doesn’t know who she really is! The book tells us about her past and her quest to get the information in this book to the proper people.  The book tells us a little about the underground agents working during the Second World War. It is a well written story.

7)      Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery. (Non-fiction) Grandma Gatewood, Emma, was a 67-year-old woman who one day decided to take a hike on The Appalachian Trail. In 1955 the trail wasn’t as well marked and used as it is today. Her journey became well known and people followed her in newspapers and magazines. The book tells a bit about her background and her difficult life. She ended up hiking the trail, in tennis shoes, becoming the first female thru-hiker. She did it three times. She was a mother of 11 children and a victim of domestic abuse. She always enjoyed walking in the woods and she continued to hike into her 80’s.

8)      The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams (Fiction) This is a parallel story of two different people, one a lexicographer in Victorian times working on the “S” section of a dictionary. He starts to put fictitious words in the volume. The second person is a present day woman who is helping to update and digitalize the book. She has to find these fake words, “mountweazels” as they are called. She is also getting strange phone calls, threatening the company. It is a fun book filled with all sorts of wonderful words, some real and some…made up.

9)      Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. (Fiction)  A US Marshal goes to an island which houses a hospital for the criminally insane. A extremely dangerous prisoner has escaped from her cell while under constant watch and the marshal has to figure out how she escaped and if she is still on the island. Meanwhile, a hurricane is rushing towards them and he learns how possible experimentation and radical surgeries might have been performed at the hospital. This knowledge could put him in further danger. Of course it all comes together at the end, the way most good stories do!

10)   The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz. (Fiction) A professor teaching an Writing class is told by a student about a book he is writing. The teacher has written before and is now experiencing a dry spell. After hearing that his student has died, he uses the plotline from his book to write his own novel. Later, after becoming a bestselling author, he receives an e-mail, the first of many, saying only, “You are a thief!” Searching into his former student’s past he learns more about who he was and where he got the idea for his novel. Who was it that stole from who?

11)   The Arbornaut by May Lowman. (Non-fiction) May always enjoyed climbing trees. Realizing that she couldn’t study the trees from the ground, May made equipment which allowed her to study them from inside their crowns, their tops. Her studies evolved from climbing to eventually making walkways in the treetops, allowing scientists and students to easily visit the tree tops, even those with physical handicaps. She is a big promoter of equal rights and she never hesitates to stoop and talk with children about her work and to answer their questions, because she never knows when she might be talking to someone who might be a future key to saving the planet. The book tells stories from her adventures in trees around the world and how she strives for equality in her field and the world.

12)   The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. (Fiction) Eighteen-year-old Emmett is driven home from a work farm by the warden, his intentions are to pick up his younger brother and head west to start their lives anew. His father recently died and his mother left long ago. Two friends from the work farm hid in the warden’s car and this changes his plans, much to his displeasure. The story takes place over 10 days as they travel on the Lincoln Highway attempting to head west, after a few “important things" are taken care of. Amor has a wonderful way of telling peoples stories. I fell into it and didn’t want to put it down! (If you haven’t read A Gentleman in Moscow, also by Towles, try it!!!) 

13)   Rust Belt Boy by Paul Hertneky. (Non-fiction) The stories in this book can strike home with any Pittsburgher, anyone who has lived here for any length of time. He tells stories of his childhood, telling his experiences with the mills of Ambridge, how they were the major employer in the town and how he eventually ended up working there, even though he felt as if he had better places to go. He tells about how the decline of the steel industry changed the town and his life. His stories are the same stories that countless Pittsburghers lived through. Even if you didn’t work in a mill, your life was affected by them! I related to a lot in this book. Paul has a good voice and knows how to tell his stories!

14)   The Bottom of the Harbor by Joseph Mitchell. (Non-fiction) Paul was a writer in New York City in the 40’s. He often wrote about the small harbors, villages and fishing companies that were scattered along the waterfronts. He has a way of telling his stories in a slow but gripping way. When he is finished you feel as if you intimately know the people he told you about, their jobs, their histories and where they live. It was another book that I didn’t want to put down, I wanted to see where and who he would introduce me to next.

    So these are just a few of the books I came across during the last year, just a few of the best in my own mind! I hope you give one or two of them a try. It always makes my day when I hear that someone enjoyed a book I suggested, AND, I am always open to suggestions. Please share your favorites with me!

Read on!

"No two readers can or will ever read the same book, Because the reader builds the book in collaberation with the author."

Neil Gaiman