2021 has been eventful for me. I palled around with a well-known children’s author, pondered universal truths with a Pulitzer-winning poet, and survived the approach of doomsday as a witch and a technology nerd gave it their all to save the world. I’m talking about my year in reading, of course. I experienced all of these things in the pages of books. Goodreads tells me I’ve finished 36 titles so far this year. I’ve chosen four from arbitrary categories to share here.
Nonfiction: “Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy” by Leslie Brody. I finished this book on New Year’s Day. “Harriet the Spy” was formative for me in my youth, with a heroine who was quirky, independent and not afraid to be her own person. Brody presents a satisfying portrait of Harriet’s creator, a human being as real and passionate and complicated as the iconic character she brought to life. Fitzhugh was also an accomplished artist, outspoken against racism and someone who strove to live a life true to herself. I chose well for my first read of the year.
Fiction novel: “All the Birds in the Sky” by Charlie Jane Anders.
In some ways, this story is reminiscent of Erin Morgenstern’s “The Night Circus,” but with a flavor all its own. Patricia and Lawrence are the two weird kids in school and they bond over that. Lawrence has built a two-second time machine, while Patricia discovers an occasional ability to talk to animals. As they grow up their paths diverge for several years. But events bring them together again and again, almost as if an outside force is arranging it. Eventually, they find themselves on opposite sides in a conflict over a doomsday machine.
Short Stories: “Hao: Stories” by Ye Chun. This is a book of intricately-woven, intimately-felt stories. Most of them go deep into the head of the main character, yet without losing any of the story arc. I especially liked “Stars,” the tale of a young immigrant mother trying to recover from a stroke, working to regain two languages and communicate with her child. Some stories are set in China, some in America. Some are historical fiction, others contemporary. All of the selections drew me in. There’s not a clinker in the bunch.
Poetry: “Flame and Shadow” by Sara Teasdale. I went to the 
way-back machine for this book by a Missouri poet. If you take a heaping helping of Mary Oliver’s nature-y essence and mix it up with the sharp insights of Dorothy Parker, you get poetry like Sara Teasdale’s. She was a master of expanding perspective, often starting a poem with one small image and broadening the view with each line, sometimes to a cosmic level. “There Will Come Soft Rains” gives me chills every time I read it.
I’m eager to see what reading adventures 2022 has to offer. Happy book journeys, everyone!
