Each year I write a quick overview of the books I read. Since my senior year of high school, I’ve had the goal of reading at least one book per month, on average. In 2021, I made it right at 12 books.
This year in data about the books I read
I read:
- 12 books
- 25% written by female authors
- 83% fiction
- On average 31 years between when the book was written and when I read it (range 2-84 years)
- 7.6/10 average score (my personal subjective scoring, range 6.5-9)
- 0 books in August and December
2021 Book List
| Author | Title | Month | Year_Written | Genre | Rating |
| DK | Bonsai: Techniques, Styles, Display Ideas | September | 2014 | Non-Fiction | 6.5 |
| Herbert, Frank | Dune | February | 1965 | Science Fiction | 9 |
| Herbert, Frank | Dune Messiah | March | 1969 | Science Fiction | 7.1 |
| Herbert, Frank | Children of Dune | June | 1976 | Science Fiction | 6.4 |
| Herbert, Frank | God Emporer of Dune | July | 1981 | Science Fiction | 7.7 |
| Herbert, Frank | Heretics of Dune | September | 1984 | Science Fiction | 7 |
| Herbert, Frank | Chapterhouse Dune | October | 1985 | Science Fiction | 8.5 |
| Hurston, Zora Neal | Their Eyes Were Watching God | January | 1937 | Fiction | 9 |
| Lefteri, Christy | The Beekeeper of Allepo | May | 2019 | Fiction | 7 |
| Murakami, Haruki | Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage | November | 2013 | Fiction | 6.4 |
| Owens, Delia | Where the Crawdads Sing | November | 2018 | Fiction | 8.9 |
| Pais, Manuel; Skelton, Mathew | Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow | April | 2019 | Technology | 7.6 |
Bonsai: Techniques, Styles, Display Ideas By DK
Bonsai became my pandemic hobby. It started with a random YouTube video watching someone prune a $10 box store shrub into a beautiful work of art. I have a handful of trees I’ve managed to keep alive for 2 years or so. This book helped with that. I remember DK as the equivalent of a coffee table book in elementary schools, something left out on a table in the library or in the reading corner of the classroom for students to pick up and be excited to read. They have short descriptions with high quality images on large layouts. This was an excellent beginner’s guide to bonsai.
Dune, by Frank Herbert
Now that the movie is out, I imagine less people will bother to read the book, at least for a few years. I know that’s difficult for me. I enjoy getting lost in a story and if I know what is going to happen (because I’ve seen the movie) it’s hard for me to immerse myself fully. I read the entire series leading up to the movie for that reason. Often credited with kicking off the science fiction genre, Herbert quite masterfully world-builds. The universe of Dune is simple and compelling, requiring less of a leap for readers. If you haven’t dabbled in science fiction, I’d recommend starting here.
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neal Hurston
I listen to a rapper, Milo, whose lyricism I find mesmerizing. One line in his song The Gus Haynes Cribbage League reads, “You’re a white supremacist if you wonder what country Obama was birthed in, and went all through high school never reading Zora Neal Hurston.” The novel explores themes of gender and race, centered around protagonist Janie Crawford’s life. This was the highest rated book I read this year, on my entirely subjected 10-point rating system.