:11 Books to Read in 2021:

2020 Goal Achieved
Let’s Level Up

At the end of 2019, I made a list of the 10 books to read in 2020. I hit my reading goal last year by swapping in a couple of recommendations from my mom. I’m currently reading Invisible Women (150 pages in, highly recommend), which I couldn’t seem to squeeze in before the end of the year. This year, I’d like to target 11 books before the end of the year. It seems only right to finish Invisible Women first and then I’ll start tackling this list. Two of the books on this list were Christmas gifts from my mom and sister-in-law. They’re the two biggest readers I know so if they recommend something, I’m going to prioritize it. Here is my 2021 reading list!

Historical Fantasy Fiction

My curiosity is piqued for this one. Historical fiction with a fantasy angle? Plus it comes highly recommended by the readers in my family. This will probably be my first read of 2021.

Self-help

I’m pretty sure this was a recommendation from a connection on Instagram. I am very curious about this… especially since I’ve noted previously that we don’t spend enough time without distraction to give our minds the chance to wander. Will report back.

Biography

I mean, of course, right? Last year, I read Michelle’s biography, Becoming. It was so good I found myself slowing down so that it wouldn’t end. This is going to sound kind of terrible but I haven’t read President Obama’s previous two books. My mom got this for Christmas and I told her that she’ll need to pass it around because I certainly want to read it. Perhaps this will be the nudge I need to add the other two to my 2022 reading list!

Thriller

Probably my favorite book genre. I started reading Stephen King novels when I was 12 because I loved how suspenseful they were. This was one of my Christmas gifts so again, a book recommended by my reading sherpas will be high on my to-read list.

Psychological Fiction

There is something about the relationship between a young, smart, vulnerable woman and a charming/manipulative older man that, when done with the complexity it warrants, always captures my attention. Is it love? Is it predatory? Is this territory black & white or hazy shades of grey? I suspect I won’t put this story down.

Debut Novel

This is a Goodreads 2020 Reader’s Choice Winner for Debut Novel. I like to grab at least one of these for my to-read list so I can get familiar with a new author. Reid’s writing style has a dry, sometimes dark humor to it (so very me) with some race and class dynamics woven in. This one looks like another very interesting, can’t-put-it-down read.

Mystery-Thriller

Another Goodreads Choice 2020 Winner, the synopsis reads like something that I would enjoy, but might not necessarily recommend to, say, my mom. Like a Ruth Ware novel. But if it’s a reader’s choice book, I fully expect to be put in my place on this one!

Mystery-Thriller

Hmmm… I’m picking up on a theme here. My mom passed this novel over to me at the end of last year and told me I should read it. I get this sense it’s another one of those easy-to-read page-turners. The description on Goodreads says it’s a reimagining of a Gothic classic… any hints on which one? My guess is Jane Eyre.

Prequel

Last year I read The Hate U Give. On its own merit, the story is gut wrenching and difficult to read in its raw honesty. It just so happened that I was reading it when the George Floyd+ protests began. The whole story dug even deeper into my core at a moment when the world was starting to wake up to the reality of Black life in America and the duality of justice in our country. Concrete Rose is a prequel, telling the story of Starr’s father, Maverick and his history with the King Lords gang. I am all in on this family. This isn’t a book I want to read. It’s one I need to read.

And while we’re at it, everyone must read stories about Black people written by Black authors. Period. So if you haven’t yet, start with Angie Thomas.

Historical Fiction

I don’t know much about this novel outside of what is on Goodreads. But it came recommended from a respected colleague and I love a bit of glamour. Evelyn Hugo sounds a little like Elizabeth Taylor, who also had seven husbands. I’m especially interested in what appears to be a twist involving the magazine reporter, Monique Grant, who Evelyn has hired to write her biography.

Non-fiction

Ok, you caught me. This was one of the books on my list for 2020. I read other books, which pushed this back and while I started it in 2020, I just didn’t get it done. But I’m in the middle of it now and WOW. Folks. I never considered half of the things Perez outlines as biased in favor of the “average man”. Like seatbelts, medication, stoves and soooooooo much more. There is an enormous gap in research dedicated to women. And the research that does include women, often also includes men and isn’t disaggregated by sex. Because the default human is the average man, women and our biology are considered complicated outliers that are too difficult to study. This is a pretty technical book but holy smokes is it worth the read.

Oh and guess what, I was right about office temperatures. They were established in the 60s and they are based on the average male body temperature, which is warmer than the average female body temperature. This is why women are huddled around space heaters in the middle of July!