2021 Book List
This was another fun year of reading. For more of an introduction and an explanation about how I’m not posting these lists to be a d-bag, please see the introduction to last year’s list. The last four months of this year really ended up being dominated by Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. I’m on the last book now and am glad I made the commitment to read this anthology.
Happy reading!
“Riders of the Purple Sage” by Zane Grey - AoM - I hate to say it, but this was one of the most boring books I have ever read. Grey is super descriptive of the physical setting of what’s happening and of character feelings. If you’re into that sort of thing, this might be for you.
“The Price of Panic” by Jay Richards, William Briggs, and Douglas Axe - Kindle - Very sane, rational, and fact-based look at the real cost of government actions and mandates during COVID. This should be required reading for everyone. The charts and graphs were kind of hard to see on Kindle, but the authors were very descriptive and the reader could get the idea without too much trouble.
“No Country for Old Men” by Cormac McCarthy - AoM - I remember seeing this movie a very long time ago and not really liking it, but this book was really good. It’s definitely written in kind of a different style, but it had me hooked.
“Educated” by Tara Westover - Kindle - This is a great memoir about a woman who grew up in some pretty unusual and tough circumstances (that’s a huge understatement) but turned out to be a huge success. Highly recommend.
“Say Nothing” by Patrick Radden Keefe - Kindle - Great book about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Would definitely recommend if you’re interested in that bit of history.
“If You Tell” by Gregg Olsen - Kindle - This is a really horrifying true story about an abusive mother and the havoc she wreaked on her three daughters and pretty much everyone else in her life. It was a real page-turner, but some of the content definitely turned my stomach a bit.
“Nomadland” by Jessica Bruder - Kindle - This is a really interesting book about people who have broken out of the standard American house/mortgage prison and taken to living in RVs, campers, vans, and other vehicles. I really enjoyed reading about this kind of life, but it made me regret not giving it a chance back in 2008 when I was contemplating living in my 2000 Chevy Blazer out in Arizona.
“Bad Karma” by Paul Wilson - Kindle - Hilarious, and sometimes touching, book about three friends going on a surfing trip to Southern Mexico. All hell breaks loose to say the least.
“East of Eden” by John Steinbeck - This book is a classic, which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good. To me, it was just okay. There were some interesting and compelling characters, but the book took me forever to finish which tells me I wasn’t super engaged with the storyline.
“All Expenses Paid” by John Launer - Kindle - This was an amazing book about the everyday life of a Grunt in Vietnam. Mr. Launer was drafted into the Army for a year-long tour. His description of life for an infantryman in the war sounds incredibly miserable, stressful, psychologically damaging, and a whole bunch of other terrible things. Highly recommend.
“The Time It Never Rained” by Elmer Kelton - AoM - This was an amazing book. Charlie Flagg is now one of my favorite literary characters ever. Charlie is a man trying to stick to his principles in a changing world that he no longer recognizes. His character is very human and flawed in many ways. Highly recommend.
“The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told” by Mark Paul - Kindle - Super entertaining book about two friends who love horse racing and place a bet on Winning Colors, a powerful filly that they hope can win the 1988 Kentucky Derby. This book gives some great insights into the world of horse racing and gambling while also just being fun and easy to read. Check it out.
“Streets of Laredo” by Larry McMurtry - Outstanding sequel to “Lonesome Dove,” the greatest western of all time. This book is set in the years after Lonesome Dove, and McMurtry further expands on existing characters and introduces some great new ones. Highly recommend.
“Dead Man’s Walk” by Larry McMurtry - Great book from the Lonesome Dove series. This book was written third but has the setting as the first book in the four-book series. There were some excellent characters in this book aside from Gus and Call.
“The Madness of Crowds” by Douglas Murray - Kindle - Great book covering some uncomfortable subject matter. Also check out Douglas Murray’s book, “The Strange Death of Europe.” Both are great reads.
“Animal Farm” by George Orwell - Kind of a scary book for anyone who is at all paying attention to what is happening in our society/country. Highly recommend.
“The Fact of a Body” by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich - The cover of this book accurately states that it’s a murder and a memoir. Definitely not the typical true crime book, but it kept me interested and was worth the time.
“The Night the Fitz Went Down” by Hugh E. Bishop - This was an amazing book about the Edmund Fitzgerald and Captain Dudley J. Paquette, a man who was commanding his own iron ore boat on November 10, 1975. Great insights into not only the wreck, but the life and career of a Great Lakes sailor. Highly recommend.
“The Way of Men” by Jack Donovan - Excellent book that made me think even more about how I just don’t fit in in today’s society. I feel like I’m missing the boat in a lot of ways.
“The Brave Cowboy” by Edward Abbey - AoM - Kindle - Not the greatest book I’ve ever read, but I couldn’t help but identify with the main character, a young man with a bit of an old soul who doesn’t like the direction of the world he’s living in.
“No Time Like The Future” by Michael J. Fox - My sister got me this book for my birthday and it was pretty good. The timing of when I read it was kind of funny, because reading about Fox’s struggles with Parkinson’s put my own whining about a head cold and ringworm spot into perspective.
“True Grit” by Charles Portis - AoM - The True Grit movie remake with Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon is one of my favorites, so it’s not surprising that I absolutely loved this book. The movie really stayed close to the book, even matching much of the dialogue exactly. Fantastic read.
“Grit” by Angela Duckworth - This book was really good, much better than I thought it would be. The author makes her point about the importance of grit by using a ton of different examples of people from all walks of life.
“The Institute” by Stephen King - I bought this book at the Minneapolis airport on my trip from Michigan back to Philly. My Kindle book was boring me to death (see #25) but this book pulled me in right away and was an excellent read. My only complaints are the forced references to Trump throughout the book and guns such as AR-15s and .45 handguns being referred to as “automatic.” A good part of the book takes place in rural South Carolina which is a deep red part of the country, yet many of the characters make it a point to call Trump a dummy or make sure the reader knows they don’t like Trump. I don’t care if they like Trump or not, but the dialogue felt forced and King’s attempt to make sure he got these digs in distracted from the story. The gun references were just factually incorrect. King grew up in Maine and these are very easy topics to research, so I have to believe he knowingly put these falsehoods in on purpose. Either way, I love Stephen King’s books and the guy has entertained me for countless hours. I have five more of his books on my shelf right now and I can’t wait to get started on them.
“The Searchers” by Alan LeMay - AoM - Kindle - Thank God this book is over. It wasn’t a terrible book, but it was so slow and got to be very repetitive. Possibly the longest 309 page book I have ever read.
“Empire of the Summer Moon” by S.C. Gwynne - Phenomenal book about Comanches and the government’s treatment of Native Americans in the 19th century. Highly recommend.
“Bloodline” by Jess Lourey - Kindle - This was a free Prime book and it was an unexpectedly amazing piece of fiction. It almost had a slow Stephen King-type buildup until the reader was really let in on what was going on. Highly recommend if you like books with kind of an eerie feeling throughout.
“Insomnia” by Stephen King - This book finished strong, but it was probably not in my top five Stephen King books. It did hold my attention well enough to want to finish it though. It didn’t have any of the slow building creepiness that I love in many King novels. It was more just kind of like a prolonged acid trip.
“Strong Enough” by Mark Rippetoe - Kindle - I’ve read this book several times and it’s always entertaining. As a longtime follower of Rippetoe and Starting Strength, it’s interesting to read some of his older stuff and see how his opinions have changed on certain things over the years.
“Breathe” by Rickson Gracie - My brother-in-law got me this book and I absolutely loved it. It was a very enjoyable read that gave lots of background and history on jiu-jitsu and what eventually became mixed martial arts.
“I Heard You Paint Houses” by Charles Brandt - Kindle - I could not put this book down. Netflix’s “The Irishman” is based on this book, but the book has so much great detail about some stuff that I don’t believe is addressed in the movie. Highly recommend if you like true crime, mob stories, and/or anything having to do with the Jimmy Hoffa mystery.
“Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl - I actually got this book out of this little neighborhood library book box. It was good, but for me it wasn’t life-changing. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood to read it. That or I’ve heard the themes before but from people that I can more closely identify.
“The Gunslinger (Dark Tower I)” by Stephen King - This is the first of eight books in The Dark Tower series. This book was more fantasy than what I typically read, but it was good and I’m determined to make it through the whole series.
“The Drawing of the Three (Dark Tower II)” by Stephen King - I enjoyed this book considerably more than the first book in the Dark Tower Series. It revealed more of what was going on and I just felt like I “got it” more. Looking forward to what’s next.
“The Waste Lands (Dark Tower III)” by Stephen King - It took me forever to read this book, but it was a good one. The picture of what’s going on in this series is becoming clearer.
“The Worst Hard Time” by Timothy Egan - Kindle - This was a really good book about the nightmares of living in the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. Since I’ve been prioritizing the Dark Tower books, it took me forever to finish Egan’s book and I was ready for it to be over.
“Wizard and Glass (Dark Tower IV)” by Stephen King - This was a great book. Most of it was the story’s main character telling a story, and it really pulled me in.
“The Wind Through the Keyhole (A Dark Tower Novel)” by Stephen King - This was a pretty good book with an interesting story. The book is between books 4 and 5 of the series, and King refers to it as Book 4.5 in the introduction. Looking forward to getting on to the next one.
“Ruby Ridge” by Jess Walter - Kindle - Phenomenally researched and well-written book. This was one of those nonfiction books that grabbed hold of me and wouldn’t let go for 500 pages. Highly recommend.
“Unguarded” by Scottie Pippen with Michael Arkush - Kindle - I’m a sucker for books about ‘90s NBA, even if the book is by/about a player I despised as a kid. Pippen comes off like a huge crybaby in this book, but I can understand his point of view on certain things. It had to be frustrating always being in Jordan’s shadow and constantly seeing people worshiping Jordan. I’d recommend this book to basketball fans.
“Wolves of the Calla (Dark Tower V)” by Stephen King - Really great book in the Dark Tower series. I’m excited to see where this goes in the last two books.