35 (Nope, 52!) Books Read in 2021
January 2022 Update: I ended 2021 at 52 books, which pretty much blew my original goal of 35 way out of the water. I’ve updated the list below with all the titles and a little note on each. I love to talk about them, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you want to chat books and reading. It’s my favorite!
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If you read my last books post, you know I was well on my way to besting my 2021 reading goal by this month. I set my yearly reading goal because I have invited a lot of noise into my life: shows, podcasts, toddlers, a husband who likes sports and who tells me about his day. In order for me to be SURE I will still invest in my analog hobbies—the ones that allow me to, as my mom coined many years ago, decompose at the end of the day, I need my books. So, assigning a number to hold myself to is not to prove anything to anyone except to keep me accountable to reading.
Here are the books I’ve read so far in 2021—3X and counting. I’ll update it again in January and am hoping to make it to 52. If I don’t, well, no sweat. It’s all arbitrary anyway:
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski (all about the science behind how and why women burn out faster than men and what we can do about it)
Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller (I re-wrote my website after reading this and it got me a lot clearer on what I wanted to offer and how I wanted to talk about that)
Mediocre by Ijeoma Oluo (Patriarchy as explained by a local author who also wrote So You Want to Talk about Race. Inhaled it. Still working on exhaling)
Citizen, An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine (haunting poetry about race)
Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand (the last of a trilogy. Sometimes I just need stories like Elin’s, but I prefer the island vibes ones vs anything that takes place in Nantucket, and most of her books take place in Nantucket)
Momlandia by Jennifer Strube and Samantha Lemos (texts between bffs who had baby girls weeks apart. I read an advance copy. Sooo relatable)
Things That Make White People Uncomfortable by Michael Bennett (history and race and so much more, written by a former Seahawk)
Notes on a Silencing by Lacy Crawford (disturbing story of a sexual assault that was covered up by a New England prep school. Real-life SVU)
Heavy, an American Memoir by Kise Laymon (musings on life as a Black man in America—and just an American in America—written in letter format)
Grown Ups by Emma Jane Unsworth (always have to have a silly British novel on my list)
Breath by James Nestor (completely changed the way I think about breathing and made me more mindful of how I do it)
True Story by Kate Reed Petty (a wild ride of a book that follows a rumor from a party that gets completely out of hand)
The Cult of Trump by Steven Hassan (my attempt to understand not just Trump supporters, but Trump idolizers)
The Code of The Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakhiani (changed the way I think about my lie and my business. I wrote down one of his meditations and keep it on my desk)
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (the evolution of the families of two sisters in Africa. Just incredible)
The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav (Mostly skimmed this one. It felt very stream of consciousness and didn’t quite hold my attention the way Oprah said it would)
God Shot by Chelsea Bieker (my kind of book: culty religion, coming-of-age, kooky characters, sharp writing)
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw (the judgy ladies always telling you what for? Yeah, they do “bad” things, too)
Think Again by Adam Grant (getting curious about why people have strong opinions and allegiances and how we can all get more curious about our own opinions and allegiances)
31 Days of Power by Richard Taylor Jr. (ways to take hold of your mental health over a span of a month—strategies, journal prompts, etc.)
home body by Rupi Kaur (everything she writes makes me feel so seen)
Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter A. Levine (how we hold trauma in our bodies and how we can learn to process them fully so we can move forward without constantly re-triggering ourselves)
The Angel Experiment by Corin Grillo (your angels are always with you—this book is proof of that, and the way she writes is really fun)
You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero (I love everything about Jen and I loved every single page of this book—exactly what I needed to read to get out of my own way with money)
Do Less by Kate Northup (Of all the books on this list, I think about this one the most—the conditioning, the de-conditioning, the strategies, the permission…)
You are a Badass by Jen Sincero (I loved the money one so much I had to get this one, too. Perfect hype book, but also doesn’t let you off the hook with excuses. FAR from anything Rachel Hollis, FYI)
Boys of Alabama by Genevieve Hudson (recommended by the author of God Shot above. All about a large handful of teenage boys living in Alabama. More culty religion, more coming of age, more kook. My vibe)
What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer (beautiful, feminist poetry written exactly for this point in time)
Eat a Peach by David Chang (So much great backstory of David’s life, a lot of information about his mental health journey, and written by a fantastic ghostwriter, which isn’t often the case)
Help, Thanks, Wow by Anne Lamott (Short, beautiful, my kind of prayers)
An Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Great personality in this one—easy to read and touched on a lot of heavy subjects like generational trauma and racism that I, as a white person, needed to read)
The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor (Training your brain matters. Working it like a muscle also matters)
Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Major page-turner)
I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi (Learned so much!)
No Hiding in Boise by Kim Hooper (Actually kind of did Boise justice. The interwoven stories were really interesting)
Goldenrod by Maggie Smith (A few standouts that really struck me. Most were over my head)
Money: A Love Story by Kate Northup (Listened to this on Audible and hated listening to it. Lots of good info in it, though, so it would have been nice to read instead)
Discovering the Inner Mother by Bethany Webster (about healing your own mother wounds)
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (the book that put him on the map)
How To Do The Work by Dr. Nicole LaPera (combining multiple healing modalities to be your best self)
Destroying Their God by Wallace Jeffs (written by the brother of the imprisoned FLDS prophet, Warren Jeffs)
Built to Sell by John Warrilow (about creating a company that is sellable)
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich (about so many things, and in the wilds of the northern Idaho mountains)
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (fine dining and coming of age and New York City and sex and rock and roll)
The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace (poetry collection. Half cheesy, half great)
We Are The Brennans by Tracey Lange (intertwined stories between Irish Catholic adult siblings on the east coast)
I Hope This Finds You Well by Kate Baer (re-making reader comments and famous speeches into new poems—brilliant)
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder (the most necessary motherhood novel I’ve ever read)
Wolfpack by Abby Wambach (teen version of Wolfpack with nice tips on living a boss, team-driven life that celebrates yourself and others)
The Likeability Trap by Alicia Menendez (how women are damned if we do, damned if we don’t, when it comes to likeability and success)
Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson (fire children and friendship. I couldn’t put it down)
How Far You Have Come by Morgan Harper Nichols (gorgeous art and poetry combined)
I’m reading a few books at once right now, mostly memoirs and “self-improvement” type stuff. I’ve been pretty focused on my relationship with money this year, which shows in this list, but #winteriscoming, which is going to find me wrapped up with my cats and a bunch of novels. I also have come to really appreciate poetry, so I hope to read a few more collections of poems before the year’s over.
I keep a log of them all on Instagram and summarize my thoughts as soon as I finish, so keep up with my whole list there!
