robbie arnott’s rain heron
text publication
This book transported me away from the pandemic into a totally absorbing allegorical world. It seems post-apocalyptic, but the story isn’t about what happened to cause social and environmental collapse; it is about the inner world of the characters, the acts of brutality they commit to survive, and the survival of their humanity. – lenore taylor
You are reading: Books you can t put down 2021
for more: in brief: the rain heron; a long and beautiful summer; the nickel boys – review
min jin lee’s pachinko
harpercollins
A friend of mine refers to reading this book as “pachinko pills”. addictive is too weak a word. Galactic in scope, written in an almost mythological voice, Min Jin Lee’s masterpiece becomes your world as you read it.
My partner and I read it earlier this year, and started setting aside hours every night for “pachinko time”: just sitting quietly and taking it in. even before closing, it’s the kind of book that makes you wave. remove other distractions. Crucially, it also teaches you about the history of Asia, the differences between Japan and Korea, and destroys any concept of them being homogeneous. -naaman zhou
for more: pachinko by min jin lee review – rich history of the immigrant experience
no one talks about this for patricia lockwood
bloomsbury
Social media timelines are based on an addictive mechanic of unpredictable reward. refreshing them brings a pile of junk for every flash of gold. Lockwood’s book accomplishes what no algorithm can: quick hits of brilliance without junk. the first half is compulsively scrollable: funny, weird, and poetic, often all at once. then the background falls away and the plot and prose deepen. it is the most effective piece of art about being online that I have come across. just like the internet, it’s easy to waste hours on it. But unlike the internet, these are hours you won’t regret. -alyx gorman
for more: nobody’s talking about this by patricia lockwood review – life in the twittersphere
intimacies by lucy caldwell
allen and unwin
I’m not usually a story reader, but I was so fascinated that I couldn’t go to bed. Lucy captures something very specific about womanhood for me, and the moments of total terror, total ecstasy, and total monotony that can make up everyday life as a mother of very young children.
The stories are loosely linked by themes and maybe a couple of characters. after I finished, I thought about moments in the stories for months at random intervals. I felt that I had read something special and true. -jabour bride
for more: lucy caldwell intimacies review: too close for comfort
by will mcphail
axe
for years i loved will mcphail’s funny and incisive caricatures for the new yorker (and his instagram account). I read this, his first graphic novel, in one sitting and it was the first book in a long time that made me laugh out loud.
its central character, nick, is an illustrator who lurks in hipster coffee shops (“‘gentrificchiato’ offers an unwelcoming atmosphere and twelve varieties of milk, none from a udder”) and strives for meaningful encounters with people. the book pleasantly lampoons adulthood, but also speaks to the apathy of modern life and the poignant value of genuine connection. – donna lu
for more information: “who do we perform for?”: will mcphail on the strange art of small talk
leave the world behind by rumaan alam
bloomsbury
This book was an absolute moment on my instagram – I felt like everyone was reading it at once. A wealthy and trendy white couple take their teenage sons on vacation to Long Island and purchase a luxurious assortment of wealthy and trendy deli meats. everything is going very well, until a black couple knocks on his door.
What begins as a tense psychological drama unfolds into a thriller that fuses racial politics, technological dystopia, and geopolitical and ecological panic with vivid and horrific scenes that have since resurfaced in nightmares. I can’t recommend it if you want something relaxing, but I’ve never flipped through the pages so fast. -steph harmon
for more: leave the world behind by rumaan alam review – impressive and prophetic
the signature by john grisham
random penguin house
The second novel by former lawyer John Grisham was the one that made him famous and sold millions of dollars. I picked it up again recently from a vacation rental, and that was it: I couldn’t put it down until it was finished. It’s a cat-and-mouse thriller, but also a morality tale about the perils of easy money.
mitch mcdeere, a cocky harvard law graduate from a poor family, is seduced by the big salary, bmw rental, and other juicy perks of a small memphis tax law firm. he is so good that no lawyer has ever left (alive). – brigid delaney
See Also: Pricing Books – List of Top 10 Pricing Books [Updated 2022]
for more: a life written: john grisham
on earth we are briefly beautiful by ocean vuong
penguin
On Earth We’re Briefly Beautiful, by the Vietnamese-American poet Ocean Vuong, is hard to describe. On the surface, it is a letter from a son to his migrant mother that delves into her family history in Vietnam and her relationship to her single mother, grandmother, as well as race, masculinity, and class. but vuong weaves incredible emotions from his words, weaving a devastating tapestry from his memories and thoughts, capturing together what it means to be a second generation migrant, to be floating between identities and realities. most importantly, it is true and honest. – mostafa rachwani
for more information: on earth we are briefly beautiful by ocean vuong review – portrait of the artist as a teenager
the brown sisters series by talia hibbert
axe
I’m often wary of contemporary romance novels, which can have the sexual and body politics of an early season of Sex and the City.
There is none of that nonsense with the brown sisters. the cast is diverse, the characters have agency, and the barriers they face are so real it made my chest ache. the books also feature characters dealing with chronic pain; burly men with bisexual wife energy; and fat characters with stretch marks having amazing sex. really, genuinely, a lot of sex. talia hibbert is only 25 years old and has written about 20 novels. they’re all equally excellent, including the one with the werewolf. – calla wahlquist
for more: how i fell in love with romance novels
terry pratchett’s discworld books
penguin
I always flip through terry pratchett’s comic fantasy disco world books, no matter what they are, and go back to them whenever I need a pick-me-up. maybe it’s the fast pace, the plethora of puns and puns, or the searing rage at the core of each book; But each and every one of them is eminently readable, whether it be religion (little gods), rock music (soul music), mail (going postal), revolution (night watch) or even australia (the last continent). somehow I always end up reading them in one day, even if I meant to do otherwise. gnu terry pratchett. -patricio lum
for more information: neil gaiman: “terry pratchett is not cheerful”. is angry’
the song of a goat by dermot healy
allen and unwin
The word “tragedy” comes from the Greek goat (gulps) – and song or ode (ōidē). Goats, Dermot Healy writes in his sad and funny novel, uttered a “mourning cry” when separated from females in heat.
the tragedy of jack ferris, a catholic, is that his girlfriend catherine has left him. so he proposes to recreate her by writing her life story and that of her father, her Protestant policeman, who asks her Methodist mother to marry him like this: “would you like to be buried? with my people?”. – helen sullivan
for more information: dermot healy: “I try to stay out of it and let the reader take over”
farewell to arms by ernest hemingway
penguin
I’m usually late discovering Hemingway, and tonight I was late at a party in Bangkok (where he lived) when I found myself engrossed in a battered paperback of A Farewell To Arms. I took the book in a taxi, but when I got there I still had a handful of unfinished pages. Totally captive of the fate of the protagonists (I’m being careful not to give away the ending), I politely asked the taxi driver, in my hideous farang thai, to go around the block, twice, so I could finish the book. . -ben doherty
for more: a farewell to arms reported in the guardian, December 13, 1929
sadness and joy of meg mason
harpercollins
something is wrong with martha, but she’s not quite sure what it is. She emerged into young adulthood, and now, at 40 and with her marriage in shambles, she’s finally trying to figure out why she keeps messing things up.
Warning: Meg Mason’s second novel contains much more pain than happiness, but it is fast and smart, surprising and funny, poignant, poignant and full of heart. I sped it up in a day or two, and I still find myself thinking about it months later. – stephanie convery
for more information: meg mason: ‘sorrow and bliss was a post-hope project. he was convinced that no one would ever see him ‘
Little Mistakes: How We Truly Apologize in Love, Life, and the Law by kate rossmanith
hardie grant
small mistakes is about the role of remorse in the justice system: kate rossmanith quizzes judges and lawyers on how they really know if a criminal is remorseful and therefore deserves a reduced sentence, but it’s much more than that . it’s also a personal meditation on the intense vulnerability of early parenthood.
I’ve never really bought into the idea of parental blame: Parents shouldn’t feel guilty; they are mostly doing a very hard job very well! – but I found your description of how being responsible for someone else’s life changes you so compelling. the last line still makes me cry. – marni cordell
the silent patient by alex michaelides
axe
See Also: 10 Things to Study Before Engaging Black Hebrew Israelites — Jude 3 Project
I don’t have time for people who say audiobooks aren’t really reading. i listened to alex michaelides silent patient and it made me go out for a run longer than i planned because i couldn’t stop listening. full of suspense, unpleasant but compelling characters and mystery. – melissa davey
for more: The Best Recent Crimes & Thrillers: Review Roundup
liam pieper’s sweetness and light
penguin
unless you’re joe hockey or mathias cormann, international travel is still out of reach for most aussies. Conveniently, Liam Pieper’s page flip will remove any residual travel errors. Predominantly set in India (with jumps to New York and Newcastle, NSW), its protagonists are some of the nastiest characters you might have the misfortune to meet on the Western tourist circuit: the hustlers, the gurus, the drug dealers, the souls lost – and those who take advantage of them. Bubbling with tension and hedonism, this harrowing work of fiction is the anti eat pray love. you’ll never want to book a vacation again. -janine israel
for more information: I used to live to travel; in fact, I just wrote the book on it. but there is no escape now
douglas stuart shuggie bathroom
macmillan bread
alcoholism, abuse, abject poverty, all set against a backdrop of Glaswegian Thatcherism, where mines are closing and men take it out on the women and children around them. It sounds pretty depressing, and maybe it’s not the ideal book to get the reader out of the sadness of confinement, eh?
but shuggie bain is equal parts (well, almost equal parts) heartbreaking and hilarious, in a way that Irish writers seem to have a monopoly on. Told largely from the perspective of a boy – a boy dealing with an absent father, a seductive but alcoholic mother, and a reputation for being “wrong” like other children – Scottish writer Douglas Stuart’s debut deservedly won the award. booker 2020. -kelly burke
for more information: douglas stuart’s victory in booker heralds the arrival of a fully formed voice
nine perfect strangers by liane moriarty
macmillan bread
I haven’t read much in the last year because I have a baby who doesn’t like people to read books unless they read to her. I randomly grabbed this off my shelf and packed it up for a vacation. I broke it.
the premise: nine people arrive at a luxury wellness retreat run by a crazy woman who will do anything to make them healthier. It’s not intellectual, but it’s funny and silly and menacing, and all I wanted to do when my son was napping was read another chapter. a great book for people who have been away from books (or at least books that don’t feature talking animals) for a while. -kate lyons
for more: liane moriarty on diversity, #metoo and nine perfect strangers: ‘it’s a tough time to be a writer’
the ballad of songbirds and snakes by suzanne collins
If you, like me, were a little fan of teen dystopian fantasy, may I recommend diving back into the world of The Hunger Games? This book is a prequel that follows antagonist President Snow as an impoverished teenager trying to train a girl from District 12 through one of the earliest iterations of The Hunger Games.
i got so into this book that i muted coverage of the capitol hill riot just so i could finish a chapter. Best of all, it will make you want to revisit the original books, and to my surprise, reading them as an adult made me appreciate them more, not less. *cough* unlike harry potter *cough* – matilda boseley
the neapolitan novels of elena ferrante
allen and unwin
After remaining stubbornly indifferent to the Elena Ferrante phenomenon for years, I finally chose My Brilliant Friend, the first of her four Neapolitan novels. I had finally cleared my social calendar, desperate to know what was next for lenu and lila. I felt the protagonist’s ups and downs so viscerally that at one point I texted her friend who recommended it, berating her for not warning me that the book was emotional abuse. “It is, but isn’t it also wonderful?” She answered. “Why is pain so real and inescapable?” Yes Yes Yes. – shelley hepworth
for more: elena ferrante: the world literary sensation that nobody knows
red rising through perforated brown
axe
red rising has one of the most ridiculous premises for a science fiction book: it’s basically a mashup of the hunger games with the addition of harry potter-style “houses” that have their own characteristics, plus it’s set in mars and involves a worker-led revolution against a ruling caste. It shouldn’t really work, but it does, and it’s extremely entertaining if you’re into this sort of thing. -nick evershed
in my defense, i have no defense for sinéad stubbins
assert
When you’re an anxious, thoughtful weirdo with a tendency to think ridiculous thoughts and memories of dumb things you once did, it’s great that the government keeps locking us in our apartments due to a deadly virus.
If this is you too, then I think this collection of hilarious and insightful thoughts, essays, and anecdotes is perhaps your perfect lockdown book. There are few things I have read that have made me feel so seen, comforted and validated, and also made me laugh out loud irl. – Helen Davidson
for more information: “a hand grater will make guests want to have sex with you”: the anatomy of an adult apartment
What was the last book you couldn’t put down? Join us in the comments, because we all need more to read.
See Also: Plant-Based Diet Books to Read ASAP | Food Revolution Network