~by Victoria Riley, GCNO publisher
A year ago I shared a list of the 16 books I read in 2020, writing that with the pandemic canceling so many things, staying home reading seemed like the best thing to do. I read 16 books that year, nine of them non-fiction.
We’re still dealing with the not-so-novel-anymore coronavirus as we begin 2022, and I’m still reading. I’m still looking for entertainment that isn’t totally mindless (the reason I read fiction), and hoping to get smarter (a lofty goal, but if I’m not getting smarter, I’m at least exposing myself to new information).
I tallied 21 books, 11 of them fiction. Here’s what I read in 2021, approximately in the order in which I read them:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling. Everyone should read at least one Harry Potter book. (1997)
The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd. Compelling story juxtaposing slave and owner, Charleston, 1800-38. Also growth of abolition and women’s rights movements. Recommended by Colleen O’Brien. (2014)
Little Faith, Nicholas Butler. All-Iowa Reads. Easy read, many references to orchards. Story of incorporating loss and grief into life experiences. (2019)
The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah. Vietnam veteran with PTSD is gifted a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness. He and his wife and teenage daughter move there, totally unprepared. Story of enduring love for a man in spite of his faults, a community caring for those who are vulnerable. Rather predictable but an enjoyable read. (2018)
Dear Edward, Ann Napolitano. Carla Offenburger’s favorite book from 2020. Story of 12-year-old boy who is the lone survivor of a plane crash and how he comes to terms with his own grief and the expectations of others. An entertaining read. (2020)
The Paris Architect, Charles Belfoure. Compelling story set in Paris during the Nazi occupation. Tells of an architect who is drawn into designing hiding places for Jewish people because of the money involved, but eventually does it because he thinks it’s the right thing to do. The story tells of his mental struggles with the change of heart. Recommended to me by Jacque Andrew. (2014)
The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah. Set in Nazi-occupied France, tells the story of estranged sisters, one of whom stays in the family home as wife and mother while her husband is at war and then a POW, and the other sister, who joins the Resistance. A good story, but rather ordinary in writing and requires suspension of reality in some instances. (2015)
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak. Set in 1939 Nazi Germany, tells of 9-year-old Liesl, abandoned after the death of her brother and how she navigates life with her foster family, her neighborhood friend Rudy, and her love for books. The story is narrated by Death and can be challenging to follow at times. (2005)
Monagamy, Sue Miller. Story of a learning of a spouse’s infidelity after his death. Very ordinary. (2020)
A Separate Peace, John Knowles. One of several books on lists of books ‘everyone should read’ that I haven’t read. Classic story of adolescence and the loss of innocence. 1959.
The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger. Another book on the ‘everyone should read’ list that I hadn’t read. Written in stream of consciousness first person, it tells the story of Holden Caulfield, who is totally lost emotionally. It took half the book for me to engage with Holden, but once I identified him as lost, I enjoyed it very much. (1945)
Non-fiction
I Have Something to Tell You, Chasten Buttigieg. Coming of age, coming out as gay, presidential campaigning, love story. An honest, personal story. (2020)
Hillbilly Elegy, J.D Vance – Culture of Americans of Scots-Irish descent who have no college degree, attempt to explain attitudes of Trump supporters. Recommended to me by Jim Andrew. (2016)
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell. A worthwhile read. Recommended to me by Mary Patterson. (2007)
The Bassoon King; Art, Idiocy and Other Sordid Tales from the Band Room, Rainn Wilson. Wilson’s Dwight Schrute character in “The Office” is partly drawn from his own experiences. This memoir tells of his childhood, his education in acting, his experiences in the darker life in New York City, and working in acting. A gift from daughter Victoria Anderson who, like me, loves “The Office” and is a band nerd for life. (2015)
Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement, John Lewis. Lewis chronicles the Civil Rights Movement in detail and shares his first hand accounts of the early movement in Nashville, the march in Selma, Bloody Sunday, and the Freedom Rides. He explains how the Civil Rights Movement motivated anti-war sentiment during the Vietnam era. A very informative read. (2015)
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, Bryan Stevenson. Memoir of establishing the Equal Justice Initiative and efforts to decrease the use of capital punishment, particularly in cases involving juveniles. A very interesting read. Recommended to me by Hannah Promes. (2014)
The Hospital: Life, Death and Dollars in a Small American Town, Brian Alexander. Tells of the challenges of providing and receiving healthcare in a small town that come from the ever-growing medical industry, politicians, and big business. An eye-opening read for anyone who relies on small town medical services. (2021)
Beautiful Country, Qian Julie Wang. Julie Wang emigrated from northern China with her parents in 1994 at the age of 7. Her memoir chronicles the lives of undocumented aliens in New York, living in fear, unable to obtain unemployment that provided any more than a subsistence existence, and knowing that “new awful things were waiting and that there was nothing I could do to keep it all from happening.” A very compelling story of a family who came to America looking for what we all take for granted. (2021)
Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage, Hazel Rowley. Focuses on the marriage of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, of their various affairs and friendships, of their unwavering commitment to serving the country, and how events impacted their lives. (2011)
The Accidental President, A.J. Baime. Focuses on Harry S. Truman’s first four months as president after the death of FDR. Very compelling after reading Franklin and Eleanor. I suggest reading them sequentially, with the Roosevelt book first. Recommended to me by Mikki Schwarzkopf. (2017)
So, which did I like best? On the fiction side, probably The Invention of Wings and The Paris Architect. I enjoy reading books in which the author carefully builds realistic characters and takes us into their thought processes. On the non-fiction side, I most enjoyed Beautiful Country and The Accidental President. I like stories of under dogs who not only survive, but succeed.
In progress as we start 2022, I have two non-fiction books – The Presidents vs. The Press by Harold Holzer and Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome; and The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, another great story by the author of another of my favorites, A Gentleman in Moscow.
