While “Stick” provides a few good insights into how to craft a message with easy recall and that drives action, some of the examples felt trite compared to other, similar books – or maybe there’s only a handful of original business books out there?
The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Expectation: A folksy tale of second chances.
Reality: A soap opera of confusing plots, overly sexualized characters and an insane amount of fart jokes.
2021: The Best Books I Read
This year I did something I haven’t done before. In re-assessing my book ratings, I made some adjustments. Like many others, for me 2021 was a roller coaster. So, it was only fair that I gave all my reads a second look before looking in the best of list.
2021: The Worst Books I Read
Not all the books are terrible per se. Each had a few redeemable qualities that made them entertaining and informative, but they lacked the brilliance that immerses you in a story and doesn’t let go.
2021: The Best and Worst Audiobook Narrations I Heard
As you’ve guessed by the title of this website, audiobooks are my go-to format for reading. In 2021, 77 percent of my 82 books attempted were audiobooks, so I experienced the good, the bad and the mediocre of audiobook narration and production.
2021: My Year In Reading – The Stats
Last year, I made the goal to increase my female-identifying and Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) author reading by 10 percent – two demographics that together made up roughly 26 percent of my reading last year. So, how’d I do?
2021: My Year In Books
After reading and listening to more books in a single year than I used to finish in a decade, I can say, wholeheartedly, that 2021 was the year of nonfiction.
“Little Women” and the Other Classics I Read This Year
While I read fewer classics than usual, there was only one that fell flat — a truly remarkable achievement in my eyes!
Call Us What We Carry – Amanda Gorman
Amanda Gorman’s poetry collection shows that we are in for a renaissance of self-reflection and collective processing as artists begin to unpack the past two years.
Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate and Innocent Man – Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic
“Indianapolis” is an exhaustive, sometimes tedious, but largely engrossing telling of the worst U.S. Naval disaster after Pearl Harbor that had largely vacated the public consciousness for 30 years until Robert Shaw’s Quint, the shark-obsessed fisherman in “Jaws” gave his bone-chilling monologue about surviving the USS Indianapolis sinking.
We Are the Brennans – Tracey Lange
Expectation: A complex and layered story about family, regrets and moving forward.
Reality: A melodrama about terrible people, that think they are good people, getting a happy ending.
Billy Summers – Stephen King
Expectation: A supernatural thriller centered around a new Stephen King classic character.
Reality: A crime mystery that goes down several rabbit holes, but it’s an overall rewarding return to form for King.
Zorrie – Laird Hunt
Expectation: An Olive Kitteridge-like main character that has the gumption and resolve to weather all of life’s seasons.
Reality: A story that ended up being more depressing than life-affirming and overall a little pointless.
Somebody’s Daughter – Ashley C. Ford
Tracing her earliest memories through post-college, Ford presents a candid view of her life as a lower middle class Black kid in Fort Wayne, a mid-sized city in Indiana that is not economically or racially diverse.
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
Expectation: A science fiction snooze-fest.
Reality: A surprisingly funny and touching story about second chances and building community.
Early Morning Riser – Katherine Heiny
Expectation: A breezy romantic comedy.
Reality: A surprisingly funny and sentimental story of chosen family that had me questioning some of my own choices in life.
The Anatomy of Desire – L.R. Dorn
Expectation: A mediocre thriller featuring social media influencers.
Reality: A mostly surface-level execution that is strongly aided by the full cast audiobook narration.
Jonny Appleseed – Joshua Whitehead
Expectation: For some reason I thought this was a young adult read.
Reality: This is anything but young adult. It’s a raw and painful story that has a fair amount of hope sprinkled in.
Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew up the Big Screen – Brian Raftery
“Best” is the kind of book that exists for a very specific type of person. You know, the person that has decades worth of inconsequential pop culture details stored away for no other reason than to be a ringer in bar trivia.
Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World – Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Expectation: An intimate portrayal of young love and learning how to grow as individuals and as a couple.
Reality: A bit scattershot from a plot perspective but just as well-written and affecting as the first book.