My Halfway Top 12 Reads from 2021
It’s officially (a little more than) halfway through 2021, and I have read 95 books so far, with 22 of them rating 5-stars! I rounded up my halfway top 12 books (I know the trend is to pick 10, but that was too hard!) — all were 5-star favorites, all are books I highly recommend, and hopefully they reflect diverse reading options and authors, too!
Here are my halfway top 12 reads from 2021 so far:
Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart by Christena Cleveland // This book. 🙌🏼 This was one I read and studied with a church small group last fall, which I think is the way it should be read. The discussions we had (as Black, white, Hispanic, male/female, varied age believers) were challenging and rich and catalytic. I’m so grateful for the way we were able to use this wise and thoughtful book as a launching point into really honest, sometimes hard, incredibly helpful and hopeful conversations. I could quote you dozens and dozens of lines and passages, but instead, I’ll recommend you read it yourself (with others!!) if you’re a person of faith wondering how we do this work of reconciliation and rebuilding as a body of Christ.
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson // This book is INCREDIBLE. It’s truly an epic— a nonfiction story of the great migration of Black Americans out of the South, told through the lives of three individuals, making a massive and historic era in our nation feel personal and intimate. I can’t rave about it enough. I had to annotate this one as I read, because there was just too much I wanted to highlight and remember. Swipe to see the legend for how I color coded my flags— it’s the first time I’ve ever done this while reading but it helped me engage so much and find deeper meaning in these stories. This book will open your eyes, break your heart, expand your mind, deepen your understanding, call you to grieve, and stir you to action. It’s important. It’s impressively crafted. It’s imperative for us to understand what happened in our past before having any hope of working toward a better future. Long story short— read this. Keep a highlighter handy.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo // I don’t know how to write a review for this book when i am SQUEALING and my heart is EXPLODING and i am DYING for the sequel!!! it. was. amazing. It took a minute for me to get into the world and follow all the unique names of people/places/things, but then it hooked me HARD and i could not put it down! WHAT A BOOK. what a world! what a story! what a CAST OF CHARACTERS. i mean, the hero (anti-hero?) has a disability 🙌🏼 different races and ethnicities are represented 🙌🏼 characters have diverse love interests 🙌🏼 a main character is fat 🙌🏼 these characters have overcome abuse and poverty and tragedy and everything under the sun but still are lovable and courageous and loyal... i just loved it all. every little bit of it. why it took me so long to dive into the world of fantasy i will NEVER KNOW but there is no going back now!!!
Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr. // I hate to admit it, but it took me this long to finally read a book by MLK himself. It was incredible— rich, thought-provoking, Gospel-centered, timely, relevant, powerful.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk // This book took me more than a year to work through, and I’m glad I took my time with it. The sheer number of flags on these pages will tell you how meaningful this one was for me... as a rape and sexual abuse survivor who is still battling the long term effects of PTSD, this one hit home so hard. It gave me hope, it helped me understand deeper levels to what I’ve lived/am living through, it taught me so much about how the body holds pain and past experiences, it broke my heart as I read of stories similar and different to mine, it reminded me again and again how important therapy and EMDR and psychiatry are for healing... (also hear me say: I am a Christian who fully believes in the power of prayer, and I also see a psychiatrist and take a daily antidepressant and have additional anxiety meds for when triggers cause panic attacks, I see a Christian counselor every single week, I have gone through EMDR, I have trusted friends and loved ones supporting me daily, and ALL of these things are helpful tools in my arsenal as I work to heal and be healthy.) This powerful book is not for the faint of heart, and it’s not really an easy read, but wow, I am so incredibly thankful for all of the research and wisdom and stories that went into this important and needed work. I feel seen, heard, understood, known, and most beautifully, hopeful.
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas // New favorite of the series? YUP. 🔥I found echoes of my own story reflected in these pages, in Nesta and Gwyn and Emerie, in their survival, in the way they learned to fight for themselves so no man could ever overpower them again, in their fiery inner strength. It’s a mighty and magical and moving thing to see yourself in the stories you read, even fantasy books, and to see victory and triumph played out in ways that remind you it’s possible for you, too. Nesta is my new favorite Archeron sister, by FAR. 🙌🏼 This book was incredible. Maas did it again, and blew me away, and I loved it so much. (ps— trigger warnings for rape and sexual abuse, for murder and war, for pregnancy complications, etc. Also not for a PG audience, trust me. 😅)
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil // THIS BOOK IS SO BEAUTIFUL. 😭 It was an impulse @barnesandnoble grab last year as it was their 2020 book of the year pick, and I finally picked it up today, and just... wow. It’s incredibly written, stunning in its poetic lyricism and magical in its storytelling, poignant and heartfelt and full of wonder... I already want to read it again. This book sums up what I hope my “delight” year will be about— keeping my eyes and heart and hands open to see and savor and celebrate all the glorious goodness in the world around me. What a gift.
A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America's First All-Black High School Rowing Team by Arshay Cooper // this book was SO good 🙌🏼 loved this almost Friday Night Lights-esque memoir of a group of Black teenagers discovering rowing and finding their lives transformed as a result. it was told so well, layering the sport with the boys’ stories and adding in insights about race, class, and life in Chicago. also it 100% made me want to get on a rowing machine to try my hand at things!
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston // i loved this book SO MUCH and it made my heart nearly explode!!! truly, it was delightful and surprising and magical and so exquisitely woven together. casey mcquiston writes characters that have such depth and sparkle and winsome-ness to them, and her writing is just so INCREDIBLE (see all the posit flags!) that i literally did not put this one down once i started it. it made me feel so many feelings and was truly just a GEM of a book that i don’t have great words for!
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid // TJR is the queen. 👑 she writes incredible stories with fantastic characters, and while the plot of this one seemed simple (a 24 hour time window, with flashbacks along the way), the story was amazing. looooved the easter egg character mentions to her other books 👏🏼 didn’t love how casually she talked about malibu’s history of fires (fam of mine lost everything in a CA wildfire and they’re not to be taken lightly/mentioned casually) 🔥 if you’re a fan of family dramas and sibling stories mixed with rock and roll/surfer lifestyles (sex, drugs, the whole nine), you’ll love this one! her writing style just takes the cake. ✨
But I Flourish: Learn to Thrive in Every Season by Aimee Walker // Aimee reached out on Instagram about sending me her book, as it spoke EXACTLY to the season of life I’m in, and I am so, so grateful for this one. It was so encouraging, full of biblical truth and sound wisdom, warm and honest, and full of beautiful analogies that spoke right to me (olive trees! like my olive branch tattoo!!!). I hiiiiighly recommend this one if you’re struggling to know how to find hope and thrive in your current season of life, and I’m so grateful this one found me when I needed it.
Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming Our Ethnic Journey by Sarah Shin // I started reading this one a few weeks ago as Asian hate crimes were again on the rise and I knew I wanted to be a better ally but didn’t know where to begin. this book was incredible— eye-opening, massively helpful, celebratory of ethnic identities, compelling, kingdom-focused, and excellently written. clearly, i flagged a TON in this book… there’s so much i wanted to mark and remember and return to in these pages. a quote that speaks to the title that i want to share: “Individuals claiming colorblindness cannot address racial issues that they cannot see.” 👏🏼 Colorblindness is not the goal, friends. Seeing, honoring, respecting, celebrating, and protecting the colors that represent our identity is. Let’s work toward that. thankful for this book as a guide in that work. ❤️
