March Book Thread - Best book you read in 2021

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a new book for 2021 but I discovered James McBride last year and LOVED The Color of Water and Song yet Sung by him. Also- Deacon King Kong, Miracle at St Anna, and The Good Lord Bird.

For nonfiction - Empire of Pain and Secret Life of Groceries

I loved the Color of Water but Deacon King Kong made me feel like I'm dumb. Like I didn't have the intellect level to understand it because I just could not stand the book at all. I wasn't pulled into or invested enough in any of the 5,000 crazy characters to be able to follow the book well and it just drove me crazy. It's like it gave me a complex or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Caste. I read it for my work book club (on diversity committee). I’m a white middle aged woman. It’s very readable, and I cannot un-see the American caste system now.

Good to know that Caste is very readable. I have it in my pile, but, for some reason, I wanted to read The Warmth of Other Suns first. Maybe I’ll start with Caste instead.

PP, did your book group read any other books that you would recommend? And/or would NOT recommend?

I’m the first Caste reader. I really want to read The Warmth of other Sons, too! A book “we” read except that I actually didn’t, is Black Butterfly, about Baltimore’s real estate segregation. Just seemed like each sentence was super dense. Seems worthwhile but I just didn’t have the persistence to finish or even get very far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Caste. I read it for my work book club (on diversity committee). I’m a white middle aged woman. It’s very readable, and I cannot un-see the American caste system now.

Good to know that Caste is very readable. I have it in my pile, but, for some reason, I wanted to read The Warmth of Other Suns first. Maybe I’ll start with Caste instead.

PP, did your book group read any other books that you would recommend? And/or would NOT recommend?

I’m the first Caste reader. I really want to read The Warmth of other Sons, too! A book “we” read except that I actually didn’t, is Black Butterfly, about Baltimore’s real estate segregation. Just seemed like each sentence was super dense. Seems worthwhile but I just didn’t have the persistence to finish or even get very far.

That’s interesting. I’m pretty sure that I have at least one book about Baltimore’s real estate segregation, but I don’t think that’s the title. I lived in Baltimore for long enough to see why there might be multiple books on that topic. I’ve also heard good things about The Color of Law, although I haven’t read it yet.

It will be great if this soon-to-be-forum ends up having multiple book lists for different topics and genres!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Caste. I read it for my work book club (on diversity committee). I’m a white middle aged woman. It’s very readable, and I cannot un-see the American caste system now.

Good to know that Caste is very readable. I have it in my pile, but, for some reason, I wanted to read The Warmth of Other Suns first. Maybe I’ll start with Caste instead.

PP, did your book group read any other books that you would recommend? And/or would NOT recommend?

My book club has been active for about 3 years now. We all loved Caste.

The books we've really enjoyed and facilitated good discussions:
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton
The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister
How to Be an Anti-racist by Ibram X. Kendi
Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard

Books we did not enjoy:
The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger
The Yellow House by Sarah Broom
God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney

Thanks for the recommendations — and the lists! Caste just got moved to the top of my non-fiction pile, and I think I’ll try something by Bauermeister soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear we just had a post on this.

My bad! I forgot about the other one. I probably even responded to it too.

So, one more vote petitioning for a separate forum? It’s very easy for these book threads to get lost in the Entertainment thread, and I rarely look for them when they’re not on the first page of listings.


I re-read The Saturday Morning Murder : A Psychoanalytic Case — the first book in the series by Batya Gur. This is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors.

Jeff has said he is planning to do it - it just takes time ti implement as he has to tease out the book threads from the rest of entertainment.

I'd suggest going forward it might help (until we book nerds have our own forum) that people label threads issuing the subject line: [Books] title of thread.

To keep books active, it will take people intentionally posting to keep the conversation going, which I have done and see others doing. Way to go book people!

OMG! I'm in! And so excited if it's really happening.

[Anonymous]

My favorite 2021 book was Great Circle, by Maggie Shipstead. Very readable and well written story of a woman flying planes in the 1930s with a parallel modern story of an actress playing her in a movie. It was an excellent story.

[Anonymous]

Vanishing half.

[Anonymous]

I liked Warmth of Other Suns more than Caste.

Also disliked The Yellow House

Thanks for the lists, PP with the book club.

I’m reading Midnight in Chernobyl now- timely, terrifying, and reminding me why Russia sucks.

[Anonymous]

I feel like people here love such serious, dark books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I liked Warmth of Other Suns more than Caste.

Also disliked The Yellow House

Thanks for the lists, PP with the book club.

I’m reading Midnight in Chernobyl now- timely, terrifying, and reminding me why Russia sucks.

I felt the same way about warmth of other suns (LOVED) v. Caste (could not get into at all and didn’t finish). I guess the best book I’ve read in the past year was Klara and the Sun.

[Anonymous]

The book I read that I enjoyed the most last year is called "Small Great Things" by Jodi Picoult.

It is about a black Labor and delivery nurse who tries to resuscitate a newborn baby whose parents are white supremacists. The baby dies and she is charged with murder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked Warmth of Other Suns more than Caste.

Also disliked The Yellow House

Thanks for the lists, PP with the book club.

I’m reading Midnight in Chernobyl now- timely, terrifying, and reminding me why Russia sucks.

I felt the same way about warmth of other suns (LOVED) v. Caste (could not get into at all and didn’t finish). I guess the best book I’ve read in the past year was Klara and the Sun.

Add me to the people who absolutely loved The Warmth of Other Suns but couldn't get through Caste although I really wanted to like it. I recommended Warmth of Other Suns to my son who listened to the audio version and also loved it, we have had some great discussions about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite book I read in 2021 was The Heart's Invisible Furies. It's on the list of my all-time favorites. Don't let the length dissuade you. It's the type of book where it doesn't feel as long as it is. I was actually sad when it was over. It is such a good story and while the subject matter is heavy, the author is so skilled at also including humor so it balances out.

Read it a few months ago and really loved it too.

+1,000. I recommended this book on one of the other threads. I read quite a bit and this might be my favorite book of all time. It is so incredibly good! I agree it was quite funny and sad at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite book I read in 2021 was The Heart's Invisible Furies. It's on the list of my all-time favorites. Don't let the length dissuade you. It's the type of book where it doesn't feel as long as it is. I was actually sad when it was over. It is such a good story and while the subject matter is heavy, the author is so skilled at also including humor so it balances out.

Read it a few months ago and really loved it too.

+1,000. I recommended this book on one of the other threads. I read quite a bit and this might be my favorite book of all time. It is so incredibly good! I agree it was quite funny and sad at the same time.

I can’t see what book it was with the new quotes lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite book I read in 2021 was The Heart's Invisible Furies. It's on the list of my all-time favorites. Don't let the length dissuade you. It's the type of book where it doesn't feel as long as it is. I was actually sad when it was over. It is such a good story and while the subject matter is heavy, the author is so skilled at also including humor so it balances out.

Read it a few months ago and really loved it too.

+1,000. I recommended this book on one of the other threads. I read quite a bit and this might be my favorite book of all time. It is so incredibly good! I agree it was quite funny and sad at the same time.

I can’t see what book it was with the new quotes lol

The heart’s Invisible Furies