The State of the Art: Books 2021

The first thing I always look at when I get to my end-of-year reading list is how many books are on it. I have to confess, when there are less than whatever nebulous number I consider to be "acceptable", I feel like I've failed, as if I'm not living up to some potential that's being secretly measured somewhere. With that in mind, I didn't do too badly this year! Especially considering that the book I'm currently reading is 1349 pages long, and I'm not even halfway through yet.

I also always look over the books I've read over the past year to see if I can spot a theme. In 2019, it was "Anywhere But Here". In 2020, it was "Dealing with Loss". And in 2021, it seems apparent that the theme of the books that resonated with me this year is "What We Owe to Each Other". A lot of these books delve into how society treats women, people of differing socioeconomic status, and people of color. Some treat the subject seriously, while others are fairly flippant, but the underlying message is clear: Life is better when you can understand and empathize with people outside of your bubble. That said, let's get to the ranking!

The Custom of the Country - Edith Wharton (1913) (A+) 

Magpie Murders - Anthony Horowitz (2017) (A)

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke (2020) (A-)

The Psychology of Time Travel - Kate Mascarenhas (2018) (A-)

Look Alive Out There - Sloane Crosley (2018) (A-)

The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1899) (A-)

The Housekeeper and the Professor - Yoko Ogawa (2003/2009) (B+) 

There There - Tommy Orange (2018) (B+)
The Once and Future Witches - Alex E. Harrow (2020) (B+)
My Best Friend's Exorcism - Grady Hendrix (2016) (B+)
She Memes Well - Quinta Brunson (2021) (B+)

Sugar and Spite - Gail D. Villanueva (2021) (B+)

An Instance of the Fingerpost - Iain Pears (1998) (B)

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism - Amber Ruffin, Lacey Lamar (2021) (B)

Spontaneous - Aaron Starmer (2016) (B)

Bad Feminist - Roxane Gay (2014) (B) 

Hench - Natalie Zina Walschots (2020) (B)

Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark - Cassandra Peterson (2021) (B)

The Man in the Brown Suit - Agatha Christie (1924) (B)

The Decagon House Murders - Yukito Ayatsuji (1987) (B-)
Countdown City - Ben  H. Winters (2013) (B-)

Fierce Kingdom - Gin Phillips (2017) (B-)

A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression - Jane Ziegelman & Andrew Coe (2016) (C+)

Black Chalk - Christopher J. Yates (2013) (C)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins (2020) (C)

Her Body and Other Parties - Carmen Maria Machado (2017) (C-)