Books 2021

Favorite Fiction:

Axiom’s End. I have a Lindsay Ellis bias, but it’s genuinely clever and well-written scifi.

A Death of No Importance. The first in a series, a Death of No Importance is an all-American Downton Abbey….with murder!
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Favorite Non-fiction:

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Title says all.

Early Riser. Jasper Fforde imagines an alternate universe where humans hibernate. Early Riser had unforgettably nuggets in its world-building (i.e. the titular characters of Romeo and Juliet failed to fatten up for winter and perished).

Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema. Like anything by Lindy West, it’s best enjoyed via audio. Yes, she rips Twilight a new one. Yes, I’m still laughing at Twilight.  

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family. The Galvins have twelve children, six with schizophrenia and decades before it was properly recognized in the medical field. Fun fact: Hidden Valley Road is in my parents’ neighborhood.  

The Less People Know About Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity. You can hear the short version of this book on the Criminal Podcast. Obviously, the book dives deeper into the psychology and familial destruction surrounding identity theft.

Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite. My absolute favorite of 2021.

The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World—And Us. Title says all. Ends with a few chapters on anthropological mate choice and how it might frame human sexuality. 



ALL BOOKS:

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Diamond, Jared

Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens
Izzard, Eddie

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
Cho, Nam-Joo

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
Carreyrou, John

Trust: America's Best Chance
Buttigieg, Pete

The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1)
Liu, Cixin *

Their Eyes Were Watching God
Hurston, Zora Neale

A Promised Land
Obama, Barack *

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
Criado Pérez, Caroline

Axiom's End (Noumena, #1)
Ellis, Lindsay *

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor (The Carls, #2)
Green, Hank *

When No One is Watching
Cole, Alyssa *

Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2)
Muir, Tamsyn *

And Now She's Gone
Hall, Rachel Howzell *

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays
Chee, Alexander *

The Last Town on Earth
Mullen, Thomas *

Battle Angel Alita, Vol. 1
Kishiro, Yukito

One by One
Ware, Ruth *

The City We Became (Great Cities #1)
Jemisin, N.K. *

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)
Schwab, V.E.

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
Hamid, Mohsin

Early Riser
Fforde, Jasper *

Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema
West, Lindy

Handbook of Bird Biology
Ornithology, Cornell Laboratory

The Less People Know About Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity
Betz-Hamilton, Axton

The Best School Year Ever (The Herdmans #2)
Robinson, Barbara

The Song of Achilles
Miller, Madeline *

Nine Perfect Strangers
Moriarty, Liane *

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
Kolker, Robert *

The Witches Are Coming
West, Lindy

A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)
Schwab, V.E.

Whose Names Are Unknown
Babb, Sanora

The Thirty Names of Night
Joukhadar, Zeyn *

Ruthie Fear
Loskutoff, Maxim *

Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite
Kim, Suki *

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Kaling, Mindy *

Men Who Hate Women - From Incels to Pickup Artists: The Truth about Extreme Misogyny and How It Affects Us All
Bates, Laura *

Somebody's Daughter
Ford, Ashley C. *

The Golden Compass Graphic Novel, Volume 1
Melchior-Durand, Stéphane

Mars and Mayhem
Hasling, K.M. *

The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time
Weiner, Jonathan

The Overstory
Powers, Richard

The Only Good Indians
Jones, Stephen Graham *

World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
Nezhukumatathil, Aimee *

The Golden Compass Graphic Novel, Volume 2
Melchior-Durand, Stéphane

Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation
Maclear, Kyo *

The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World—And Us
Prum, Richard O.

Passing
Larsen, Nella

Apples Never Fall
Moriarty, Liane *

Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life
Miller, Lulu

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
Smith, Clint *

A Death of No Importance (Jane Prescott, #1)
Fredericks, Mariah *

Eulalia! (Redwall, #19)
Jacques, Brian

Death of a New American (Jane Prescott, #2)
Fredericks, Mariah *

Death of an American Beauty (Jane Prescott, #3)
Fredericks, Mariah *