My Favourite 2021 Reads
This is probably the earliest I've ever made my best-of books list, but here it is for 2021, my 12 personal favourite reads I read last year, in the order I read them. Hope you find some worthy material here.
Evicted by Matthew Desmond
Incredible ethnographic study/work of gonzo journalistic dive into poverty in an American city, life lived on the margins of housing, the landlords and tenants. It is a hard-edged read, very honest and real assessment of what it means to be housing insecure. The instability that being evicted causes in a family’s lives, the effects and echoes that reverberate for generations.
To Be a Slave by Julius Lestor
Amazing historical documentation of firsthand accounts of slavery, from former slaves. Still very relevant today and enlightening with respect to current race relations in America.
The Ku Klux Klan in Canada by Allan Bartley
Mostly straight reportage, a presentation of years of formidable research into a little-covered topic. It must have been hard at times for Bartley not to editorialize. Fortunately the organization, at least the Canadian version (which infiltrated leading up to WWII, even having a high-ranking MP as one of its leaders), was mostly a clown show (Klown show?) peopled with self-centred con artists rather than a genuine hate movement.
Constant Nobody by Michelle Butler Hallett
My favourite of many books I read for work reasons, this was a great pre-WWII international spy novel/love story written by a St. John’s novelist, set mostly in the Soviet Union during Stalin’s purge. The writing was so, so strong, and the situation so gorgeously taut all the way through.
Greenwood by Michael Christie
I especially loved the middle section focused on the dust bowl thirties, and Everett on the run with the baby (Willow)—from the opium-addicted human hunter. It was kind of Cormac McCarthy meets Woody Guthrie, mixed together with plenty of nature appreciation and contemplation.
The Appendage Formerly Known as My Left Arm by Julie Curwin
I read this primarily because it was on a shortlist with Boy With A Problem. I was very impressed with Curwin’s stories. The two collections actually have much in common. Hers focuses mainly on characters struggling specifically with their mental health—and the many different ways we can become broken, how we attempt to fix ourselves, the mixed results, and also our surprising capacity to love the broken ones.
Before the Parade by Rebecca Rose
An excellent history of LGBT activism in Halifax, how people went about it, and the clever means of fundraising (running a gay bar and using profits for advocacy work) used. Filled with real-life yet larger-than-life characters.
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
Heartbreaking. I loved the multiple storylines and perspectives. Gives a feel for how each individual handles trauma differently. Yet also shows the broad reach of residential schools in Indigenous communities, for generations. The healing stories were particularly powerful and hopeful.
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
Rich storytelling that weaves together many different threads, set in and around Calcutta in the early 1800s just before the First Opium War with China. It’s a slow burn with occasional sparks, illuminating a world that could have existed (some version of which probably did) and I’d have never known without Ghosh’s work.
Chemical Valley by David Huebert
Short stories by one of the best young short story writers around. These have been described as CliFi but that term seems to imply futurism, and these are all contemporary stories, set in Sarnia’s chemical valley, a place of high toxicity. What I love most about these stories is the characters, who are sensitive people and thus troubled by the sickness all around them, and moved to do something about it. Their decisions, of course, are rarely ideal.
Talking to Canadians by Rick Mercer
Another very enjoyable work read. I remember when 22 Minutes first aired and I loved it, it was irreverent and cutting and much better than any Canadian political comedy I’d seen before. Talking to Americans was brilliant. It was fun reading the stories behind these shows, and how Mercer went from directionless class clown type to one of the most successful writers and performers in Canadian television.
Ode to the Unpraised by Abena Beloved Green
Gorgeous collection of vignettes and poems, snippets from the lives of women, mostly in Canada, Ghana and Jamaica. A world apart yet connected in their vulnerability, each offering wisdom and insight.
Evicted by Matthew Desmond
Incredible ethnographic study/work of gonzo journalistic dive into poverty in an American city, life lived on the margins of housing, the landlords and tenants. It is a hard-edged read, very honest and real assessment of what it means to be housing insecure. The instability that being evicted causes in a family’s lives, the effects and echoes that reverberate for generations.
To Be a Slave by Julius Lestor
Amazing historical documentation of firsthand accounts of slavery, from former slaves. Still very relevant today and enlightening with respect to current race relations in America.
The Ku Klux Klan in Canada by Allan Bartley
Mostly straight reportage, a presentation of years of formidable research into a little-covered topic. It must have been hard at times for Bartley not to editorialize. Fortunately the organization, at least the Canadian version (which infiltrated leading up to WWII, even having a high-ranking MP as one of its leaders), was mostly a clown show (Klown show?) peopled with self-centred con artists rather than a genuine hate movement.
Constant Nobody by Michelle Butler Hallett
My favourite of many books I read for work reasons, this was a great pre-WWII international spy novel/love story written by a St. John’s novelist, set mostly in the Soviet Union during Stalin’s purge. The writing was so, so strong, and the situation so gorgeously taut all the way through.
Greenwood by Michael Christie
I especially loved the middle section focused on the dust bowl thirties, and Everett on the run with the baby (Willow)—from the opium-addicted human hunter. It was kind of Cormac McCarthy meets Woody Guthrie, mixed together with plenty of nature appreciation and contemplation.
The Appendage Formerly Known as My Left Arm by Julie Curwin
I read this primarily because it was on a shortlist with Boy With A Problem. I was very impressed with Curwin’s stories. The two collections actually have much in common. Hers focuses mainly on characters struggling specifically with their mental health—and the many different ways we can become broken, how we attempt to fix ourselves, the mixed results, and also our surprising capacity to love the broken ones.
Before the Parade by Rebecca Rose
An excellent history of LGBT activism in Halifax, how people went about it, and the clever means of fundraising (running a gay bar and using profits for advocacy work) used. Filled with real-life yet larger-than-life characters.
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
Heartbreaking. I loved the multiple storylines and perspectives. Gives a feel for how each individual handles trauma differently. Yet also shows the broad reach of residential schools in Indigenous communities, for generations. The healing stories were particularly powerful and hopeful.
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
Rich storytelling that weaves together many different threads, set in and around Calcutta in the early 1800s just before the First Opium War with China. It’s a slow burn with occasional sparks, illuminating a world that could have existed (some version of which probably did) and I’d have never known without Ghosh’s work.
Chemical Valley by David Huebert
Short stories by one of the best young short story writers around. These have been described as CliFi but that term seems to imply futurism, and these are all contemporary stories, set in Sarnia’s chemical valley, a place of high toxicity. What I love most about these stories is the characters, who are sensitive people and thus troubled by the sickness all around them, and moved to do something about it. Their decisions, of course, are rarely ideal.
Talking to Canadians by Rick Mercer
Another very enjoyable work read. I remember when 22 Minutes first aired and I loved it, it was irreverent and cutting and much better than any Canadian political comedy I’d seen before. Talking to Americans was brilliant. It was fun reading the stories behind these shows, and how Mercer went from directionless class clown type to one of the most successful writers and performers in Canadian television.
Ode to the Unpraised by Abena Beloved Green
Gorgeous collection of vignettes and poems, snippets from the lives of women, mostly in Canada, Ghana and Jamaica. A world apart yet connected in their vulnerability, each offering wisdom and insight.
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