Expectation: A modern-day revenge tale that doesn’t solely involve rich, white and heterosexual characters.
Reality: A bit clichéd but surprisingly heartfelt and raw exploration for grief, regret and redemption.
The Last House on Needless Street – Catriona Ward
Expectation: A page-turning supernatural thriller.
Reality: A slow-burn mystery with some satisfying last act reveals.
The Cat Who Saved Books – Sōsuke Natsukawa
Expectation: A fun-filled adventure that celebrates reading and the human-animal bond.
Reality: A disjointed and heavy-handed mess.
The Troop – Nick Cutter
Expectation: Your standard gore fest.
Reality: An old school throwback gore fest with a surprising amount of heart.
The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway
Expectation: A philosophical and meandering over-rated classic.
Reality: An intimate and deeply affecting reflection on growing older and feeling needed.
Underground Airlines – Ben H. Winters
Expectation: A history-flipping tale of empowerment.
Reality: A novel that isn’t bad, but in hindsight is incredibly problematic given the author’s race.
Apple: Skin to the Core – Eric Gansworth
It feels strange to give an autobiographical story a negative review, especially when it takes courage to share your personal thoughts publicly, but after the first 25 percent, “Apple” was not as interesting as Eric Gansworth thought it to be.
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die – Chip Heath & Dan Heath
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.