2021, in Books

 In 2021, I read a total of 80 books against a goal of 60 books. This includes the 26 books written by non-native-English-speaking-authors, a goal I carried into 2021.

Here are some of the best books I read in 2021, in the order of my reading them in the year - 

1.     On Tyranny : Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century - This tiny book gave me much required validation about my stand for constant vigilance against misinformation on regular & social media, especially the kind that can change governments and people's stances about important issues like public health policy, immigration, human rights etc. With multiple examples per lesson, this book was a great, informative read. 

2.     The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides - This is a potboiler book in the thriller/murder mystery genre - not my chosen genre. This book made this list purely because of how gripping it was, so much that I read this cover to cover in one go. 

3.     Rules of Civility by Amor Towles - This book is here purely because of my love for Towles' prose. Fiction, set in the 1930s in New York City, told from a female perspective and a brilliant read. 

4.     Conditional Citizens by Laila Lalami - This is a very powerful and timely book, to educate ourselves in all the ways conditional citizenship exists and is normalized in the United States. I also fell in love with Lalami's observational skills and read her other book, The Moor's Account - an enjoyable fiction based on a real person & incidents.

5.     The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine - I love Alameddine's storytelling and this book is a celebration of storytelling itself. I remember reading this book and feeling thoroughly grateful for my life, for everything that transpired to lead me to the book. A strong emotion, I know, but this book is beautiful, and will be a forever favorite. 

6.     Before I consciously decided to not read any more stories on North Korean defectors, I read In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park and Escape from Camp 14 - both revealing and very sad stories by real people. I'd suggest reading at least one of these books for an awareness on how life in there is. 

7.     The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune - I love books set in fantasy worlds, and this book made me want to watch a movie based on it. I also loved how Klune included some positive representation in this book. 

8.     Born in the Big Rains by Fadumo Korn - An autobiography set in Somalia, this book is about the not-often discussed social issues in that society with a real attempt to bring awareness within the Somali immigrant community. 

9.     Eat the Buddha by Barbara Demick - I LOVE Demick's treatment of a narrative, and she didn't disappoint with this book. Without getting into the political details about Tibet and the Dalai Lama, Demick portrays the life in Tibet, chronicling it from the 50s to today, told by the people who lived them. This book is much required, given how the conversation about Tibet is dwindling down in mainstream media and how Tibet could never be free really.

10.   Dancing after TEN by Vivian Chong - This was rated as one of the best Graphic novels of 2020, and for good measure. A very inspiring story on how the author picks up her life after the debilitating attack of TEN (Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis). 

11.   Logavina Street by Barbara Demick - After having read her other books on Tibet and N.Korea, I felt that I had to read this one, and I am glad I did. I realized how little I knew about the wars fought in the Balkan region post the Cold War, so delving into the details of the siege of Sarajevo by Serbia is great learning for me.

12.   Three Tigers, One Mountain by Michael Booth - Really learnt a lot from this book - the intertwined history of the three countries - Japan, Korea, China is laid out with good historical context (albeit from a white man’s perspective, which probably was a good way to be neutral too), and with enough details on what is happening currently.

13.   The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen - This book is a great meditation in prose on the love for outdoors and the natural beauty found beyond the ~18000ft level in the Himalayas.

14.   The Seasons of Trouble by Rohini Mohan - I realized that I didn't know anything about the civil war in Sri Lanka and this book was a great way to fix that. 

15.   The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel - An autobiography about Bechdel's fitness journey, her literature influences, the impact of current affairs on her life and her spiritual journey - this book inspired me and gave me validation about my own fitness journey. 

16.   The Dead Eye and the Deep Blue Sea by Vannak Anan Prum - This is a short autobiography of how the author got sold into modern day slavery on fishing boats in Asia(Cambodia/Thailand) and escaped that. This book brings an awareness that we might be consuming sea food that might be the hardwork of such fishermen trapped in boats forever at sea.