You Just Want Some Good Books, Part 2

My favorites of 2021

Hi friends,

Last week, Penguin Random House US released a new campaign that features reading trends from 2021.

Some highlights:

• Book sales surged this year. According to market research company NPD Group, “Industrywide, U.S. sales of books are up 12 percent so far this year through August compared to the same period a year ago—and up 20 percent from 2019 over the same time period.” 
  

• The day after President Joe Biden’s inauguration, 14,820 people pre-ordered the print edition of Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb. (I was one of them.)
  

• Romance, science fiction, fantasy, comic books and manga all saw big growth this year.

The recap inspired me to revisit my reading this year, so I’m doing something a bit different this week. I’m going back to my archives to re-share some of my favorite books of 2021 in four genres — contemporary/literary fiction, mystery, nonfiction and romance. Like last year’s recap, these aren’t all 2021 releases, just books that I read and enjoyed.

What were some of your favorite reads this year?

You’re a Contemporary Fiction Fan

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

Angie Kim’s Miracle Creek is one of those books I started recommending before I finished it because I knew I would need to talk about it with someone. Want a novel that explores the immigrant experience in America? Loved Big Little Lies or Little Fires Everywhere? In the mood for a twisty courtroom thriller or a story filled with small-town secrets? Miracle Creek is your book.

Read my Q&A with Angie here.

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is an oral history of a ’70s rock band, à la Daisy Jones and the Six, that I have not stopped raving about since I finished it. The book’s concert scenes capture the feeling of being at a show, sing-screaming along with the band and dancing wildly in a way that made me nostalgic for my pre-pandemic life.

Read my full write up here.

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

The book opens with members of the Montoya family, spread across the U.S., receiving invitations from the family matriarch, Orquídea Divina, for her own funeral. The notes, delivered by birds, tell her children and grandchildren to “come and collect your inheritance.” Her family arrives hoping to get answers to questions that have plagued them for generations, but instead their matriarch transforms without providing explanations. Seven years after her death, a mysterious figure begins to kill the Montoyas and three cousins, Marimar, Rey, and Tatinelly, team up to uncover their family’s roots and protect Orquídea’s bloodline.

This novel is one of my favorite books of 2021 and is perfect for fans of Alice Hoffman, Isabel Allende or the TV show “Jane The Virgin.”

Read my full review here.

Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah

Eman is a colleague and a friend who recently published Bride of the Sea, a multigenerational novel spanning 40 years. In the book’s first chapters, Muneer and Saeedah, Saudi Arabian newlyweds, move to Cleveland to continue their studies. Shortly after the birth of their first child, Hanadi, the couple divorce. Saeedah, fearful Muneer will take their daughter back to Jiddah with him, absconds with Hanadi and spends more than a decade on the run. The rest of the book, which takes place in both Saudi Arabia and the U.S., explores the effect of the abduction on Muneer, Saeedah, Hanadi and their extended family.

I’m admittedly biased, but I loved Bride of the Sea. I’m not the only one. A Washington Post review hailed it as an “engrossing debut” that offers Americans “a more nuanced view of the Saudi kingdom through a cast of compelling characters and a sweeping plot that spans continents and decades.”

You can read my Q&A with Eman here.

You’re Looking for a Whodunnit

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder is a steampunk Agatha Christie, a locked room murder mystery set in 1950s London complete with whimsical gadgets and delightful characters. The titular Marion Lane is an inquirer-in-training at Miss Brickett’s Investigations & Inquiries, a secret detective agency located under the city that solves the mysteries no one else can. Then, Miss Brickett’s is the site of one of those unsolvable mysteries — the murder of one of its own staff members — and Marion’s mentor is implicated. Our heroine sets out to clear his name and find the real murderer.

Now is the perfect time to pick up Marion Lane — the sequel comes out in February.

Read my longer write-up here.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Finlay Donovan is Killing It is, without a doubt, the funniest book I have ever read about a hitman. I laughed out loud at multiple passages, drawing looks from my neighbors while reading in the park. The story’s heroine, Finlay, is a newly-divorced single mom of two, struggling to finish a book she owes her publisher. After Finlay describes the plot of her new romantic suspense novel to her agent over lunch in Panera, a neighboring diner mistakes her for a contract killer and hires Finlay to kill her husband. From there, Finlay ends up in a conspiracy involving the Russian mob, her ex-husband and a hunky bartender.

I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy of the second Finlay Donovan book and can assure you it’s as much of a delight as the first.

Read my longer write-up here.

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden is a fantastic read. The book opens with Virgil Wounded Horse beating up a high school teacher who molested students. Virgil is an enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. When the U.S. or tribal justice systems fail, members of the reservation hire Virgil to get vengeance. After heroin begins to appear on the reservation and Virgil’s own nephew nearly dies of an overdose, the vigilante launches an investigation, seeking to end the drug trade.

You can read my full review here and my interview with David here.

You Need Your Next Non-fiction Pick

The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore

Kate Moore’s new book, The Woman They Could Not Silence, is a deeply reported biography of Elizabeth Packer, a woman forcefully institutionalized by her husband in the 1860s. At the time, it was fairly common for men to send their “difficult” wives to asylums, with complicit doctors keeping the women locked up for years. There, they lived in squalor and faced abuse. Moore, who wrote Radium Girls, a history of female workers in WWI poisoned by radium, is making a career of writing about forgotten women — and I’m eager to see what she does next.

My full review (with added commentary on Britney Spears) is here.

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is one of those books I’d been meaning to read for years. I’ve taken it out from the library multiple times but only finally read it a few weeks back. I’m now angry with myself for waiting so long to get to it. 

Typically, when I read a short story or essay collection, I find that I love some of the selections and am kind of “meh” on others. This was not the case with Alexander Chee’s How to Write an Autobiographical Novel. Each and every essay captured — and held — my attention.

Read more here.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever by John “Chick” Donohue and J.T. Molloy

In this memoir, Donohue recounts a trip he took to Vietnam in 1967 to deliver beer to friends serving in the war. He wanted his pals to know they weren’t forgotten, even as anti-war protests erupted across the U.S. What Donohue thought would be a four-day foray into the war zone turned into a months-long stay in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive. The Greatest Beer Run Ever is a moving testament to the power of friendship and community while simultaneously offering a clear-eyed assessment of the U.S.’s involvement in Vietnam.

Read the full recap here.

You Love a Romance

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

In the early chapters of the book, wedding photographer Meddelin Chan accidentally kills her blind date. In a panic, she calls her mother, who in turn, calls her three sisters for assistance. The five women agree to hide the body, but then the corpse is accidentally shipped to the billion-dollar wedding the women are coordinating. In between finishing the lavish floral arrangements and perfecting the bride’s hair and makeup, the Chan women attempt to ditch the body and evade hotel staff. Like The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, Dial A for Aunties is perfect for fans of “Jane the Virgin,” combining increasingly absurd scenarios, a family with a lot of love for each other and a lush resort setting.

Read more here.

Love at First by Kate Clayborn

Clayborn’s Love at First has whispers of Romeo and Juliet, opening with a pair of star-crossed lovers meeting on a balcony. Nora Clarke and Will Sterling live in the same Chicago condo building, but they couldn’t view it more differently. For Nora, the building is home — complete with aging velvet wallpaper and residents she considers family. On the other hand, Will sees the apartment his uncle left him in the old building as a reminder of childhood memories he’d rather forget. After Will informs the building’s residents that he plans to rent out his unit for short-term stays, Nora launches a campaign to convince him otherwise. My love for Clayborn is well-established. I had high expectations for Love at First — and Clayborn exceeded them.

Read my longer review here.

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That’s it for me today. I’ll be back next week with fresh recommendations. In the meantime, let me know what reads you loved this year.

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