Books of 2021 : Four Favorites
A good story will guide you to a deeper understanding of the world.
A good book will nudge you towards a deeper connection with yourself.
And a good sentence will leap straight off the page and speak to you in the deep personal language of your own heart and soul.
Books are magic.
I hope that you, like me, will carve out the time to read more amazing books in the new year.
Need a recommendation? No problem!
Here are four of my favorite reads from 2021:
The Water Dancer
by: Ta-Nehisi Coates
This was one of the first books that I read this year, and even now, twelve months later, I continue to reflect on it.
Its a beautifully written and wonderfully imaginative story about The Underground Railroad that is mixed with tales from African mythology, and rich characters who offer us inquires into the meanings behind our understanding of race, freedom, slavery, family, compassion, among other things.
This book is both uplifting and thought provoking; a beautiful rendering of history and imagination.
“Breathing. I just dream of breathing.”
// from The Water Dancer
Crying in H Mart
By: Michelle Zauner
Every once in a while I read a book that seems then seems to find it’s way into all the nooks and crannies of my daily life. Crying in H Mart is one of those books.
The book is so touching and so honest and so relatable, I find I bring it up in almost every conversation I have - which granted, isn’t many these days. That said, I’ve recommended it to my Sister, who I talk to the most, at least 10 times in the past month.
This is a book about a daughter’s grief after the loss of her mother. And while the subject matter is very heavy, somehow Zauner uplifts us as readers, and inspires us to persevere with through joy instead of drowning in pain.
“I came to realize that while I struggled to be good, I could excel at being courageous.”
// from Crying in H Mart
Poet Warrior
By; Joy Harjo
For the uninitiated, Joy Harjo is an extraordinary beam of light and wisdom. Her poems, memoirs, stories, and performances are a kind of spiritual revelation. Spellbinding.
This book chronicles how she became a poet we know her as today; which is to say it is a story of how she found herself, claimed herself, and continues to share herself wholeheartedly.
While this memoir is mostly written in prose, verse is beautifully woven through, creating a very artful and quite beautiful experiences for the reader.
I am a huge fan, student, and support of Joy Harjo’s work. If you’ve yet to dip your toes into indigenous poetry, storytelling and art; then read this book. Jump in, the waters fine.
“Our physical living is held together by plant sacrifice. We eat, wear, and are sheltered by plants and plant material. Nearly all of our medicines are plant-derived. We need to take time with them, get to know them. It’s as one of the elders from a nearby pueblo told me once when she came to visit.”
// from Poet Warrior
In Love With the World
By: Yongey Mingur Rinpoche
This book is very hard to do just to, only because it is so powerful and special, sacred even.
Mingyur Rinpoche, a venerated and influential Tibetan Buddhist monk disappears from his monastery night without notice or warning to his disciples and embarks on a wandering retreat that spans five years.
Along with a very powerful teaching of the Bardos, Mingyor Rinpoche takes your on a journey through the life and death of his body and mind.
This book offered me clarity on life and death at a time when I desperately needed it, and continues to transformed the way see myself and the world around me.
“We do not need to get rid of the ego—this unchanging, solid, and unhealthy sense of self—because it never existed in the first place.”
// from In Love With the World