Books I Read in 2021: It Was Another Good Year

"I have always imagined Paradise as a kind of library."
--Jorge Luis Borges

A portion of my collection of Dylan books. Photo 2018

Books. Over the years I've shared many a quote about books. With the exception of Poilu, all the books below were completed in 2021. I'm only halfway through Poilu and A World Undone, which I got for Christmas.

The first half of this list has links to the reviews I wrote about each. The latter half of the list are books that I checked out from the library, many of which were audio books I listened to while commuting to town or running errands.

The saying "too many books, too little time" is absolutely true. There's little in this world more rewarding than a good book. Equally rewarding is having friends to share your treasures with. That's part of my motivation for writing about the books I've been reading. 

What was your favorite book you read in 2021? 

Poilu, A Grisly WW1 Memoir from the Trenches, by Corporal Louis Barthas

Where Are You Tonight? by Jochen Markhorst

Bob Dylan: On A Couch & Fifty Cents a Day, by Peter McKenzie

H.R. McMaster's Dereliction of Duty

Homage to Catalonia, by George Orwell

The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis

Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Dickens, Dali and Others; Studies in Popular Culture, by George Orwell

The Dispossession of the American Indian & Other Key Issues in American History

Jack London: A Life, by Earle Labor

Kingsblood Royal, by Sinclair Lewis

Free Thought & Official Propaganda, by Bertrand Russell

MayDay 1971: A White House at War, a Revolt in the Streets, and the Untold History of America’s Biggest Mass Arrest, by Lawrence Roberts

Shorting the Grid: The Hidden Fragility of Our Electrical Grid, Margaret Angwin

Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life, by Michael Lewis

C.S. Lewis, A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet, by Alister McGrath

Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom, by Thomas E. Ricks

Bob Dylan's Malibu, Martin Newman

Facing Unpleasant Facts, Orwell Essays

Ocean Prey, John Sandford

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton

The Trial of the Chicago 7: The Screenplay, Aaron Sorkin

Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton (quite different from the film)

Experiencing the Trinity, by Darrell W. Johnson

Several Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child. (Interestingly, John Sanford has one of his characters reading a Lee Child novel in Ocean Prey.) 

The list above doesn't include the numerous books I started or read partially in order to get a taste for flavor. As already noted... there are too many books and such a shortage of time. Alas... it's time to turn the page.

Today is the last day of 2021. Here's a toast to 2022. 

May it reward you in ways you never expected.

HAPPY NEW YEAR