Remember that 44-hour Van Gogh biography I started listening to in October? I finished it this week!! While it was by no means “the best book I’ve read in any genre”, it was a comprehensive (sometimes emotionally exhausting) look at the man, his family, and the historical context surrounding the time. It was fascinating to compare the handed-down mythology of Van Gogh with the meticulously laid out details of his life. Huge spoiler: he likely did NOT kill himself! The lead-up to this fact toward the end of the book alone made it absolutely worth the read. You can google the authors’ evidence-based theory as to what happened. Definitely blew my mind.
Still, I was very excited to be finished. It’s much longer than anything I usually read on audio and I was ready for a palette-cleansing breezy self-help book. But then I listened to the New York Times Book Review podcast announcing their 10 best books of 2021 and instantly queued up another long biography. Red Comet: the Short Life & Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark. Guess what? This one’s 45 hours! I guess this is my life now.
In physical-copy news, I had rather a difficult end-of-year reading slump. I abandoned a record number of books. I didn’t meet my Goodreads goal. My most thrilling reads crested earlier in the year. But I wanted to jolt myself out of all this by listing my favorite reads of 2021. Here they are, in painstaking (but conflicted) order:
The Past by Tessa Hadley (My new favorite author!)
A truly brilliant book about adult siblings getting together for the summer in the English countryside.Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout (My old favorite author!)
I already gushed about it here, but this Olive Kitteridge sequel is even better than the original.The Beggar Maid by Alice Munro (My all-time favorite author!)
Linked stories that follow the same characters throughout. It’s the closest to a novel Munro has written and I’m baffled at how it’s only just now coming across my radar. The way she enters into stories is unlike anyone I’ve read.The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich (My other all-time favorite author)
This Pulitzer-Prize winner is most often described as about a man modeled after Erdrich’s own grandfather, also a night watchman, fighting against a 1953 bill proposing the termination of several tribes. And half the novel is that. But for me, it’s the other half that sings—the chapters with Pixie Paranteau, a fierce young woman finding her place in the world.Idaho by Emily Ruskovich (Do I have too many favorite authors?)
A literary murder mystery! Gorgeous writing. One of my favorite elements of this novel may be that I bought it in Idaho this summer…Vesper Flights by Helen MacDonald (Favorite nature essayist!)
I also wrote about this here. If you like nature, birds, and deep but accessible thinking, this is your next read.A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders (Favorite literary rock star! Yes, there is such a thing and George Saunders is on the shortlist.)
Literally, as I was typing this newsletter, an Instagram friend sent me the link to Saunders's new Story Club substack. Yes, please!
Honestly, all these books absolutely stunned me with their genius. I read some other great stuff too, but these were like 11/10 material. And I’ve already got some great reads lined up for next year! Believing all the supply chain rumors, I rushed out early to buy myself all the books I wanted for Christmas and am hoarding them like 2019’s toilet paper.
Cheers & happy reading,
Lacy
P.S. I’m only mildly embarrassed how long it took me to wrestle the order of the above list. Really, 1-5 are all interchangeable at #1. But decisions had to be made. I apologize for any slights, real or imagined.
P.S. The NYT Book Review List is my favorite list. It has historically aligned with my own tastes and I’ve had huge success reading the recommended books that spark my interest. What are your favorite best-book lists? More importantly, what were your favorite reads of the year? Reply & let’s discuss!
I wanted to read some of these books after seeing your Instagram posts but I kind of got into an end of year reading slump as well. Happy to have them listed here so I can get them for 2022. Tempted by those long audiobook suggestions too. The Van Gogh spoiler alert caught my attention! Intriguing… Thanks! ❤️