Welcome to another round of the Best Books of the Year so Far, where halfway through the year, I name the titles I read that I feel are the best of 2021. This year, I am switching things up a bit. Instead of listing all the best books I read in one post, I will be breaking them up by genre! So every Tuesday until mid-August, catch my favorite reads of 2021 that will make you want to rush over to your list and add to your ever-growing TBR pile!
Just like with the Young Adult List, there are not that many nonfiction titles I have read this year. However, with nonfiction, since they are always immersed with so much information, I want to take my time to absorb what I am reading. So, this list may be small, but that means I was able to choose titles that really wowed me. I know that the nonfiction genre may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but hopefully the following titles will change your mind!
Nonfiction
Where Hope Comes From: Poems of Resilience, Healing and Light by Nikita Gill
If I could give this book ten stars, I would. This delightful book may be small, but it packs an emotional impact tenfold. I already know that this book is one of my favorites of 2021. Filled with inspiration, hope and love, this poetry collection is one that readers will return to over and over again.
The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
Matt Haig has the gift to write inspirational and poignant words that will stay with you always and “The Comfort Book” is no different. In this quick read, you will find the perfect sentences and soothing mantras to get through not only the day but most importantly through life.
What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition by Emma Dabiri
This was an insightful and well-researched nonfiction book on how white people can really provide allyship for minorities and conduct a true coalition that goes beyond the neoliberal agenda and focuses on how to really change the platform and the agenda to make it more coherent and workable. I found myself underlining and nodding at all the important and poignant statements Dabiri was making. The part of the note that I found to be relevant was that she didn’t want this book to be just another part of anti-racism literature or part of “diversifying your feed.”Allyship is more than just creating the booklists but actually putting in the work and Dabiri highlights that fact so well. This is a book that everyone definitely needs to read.
If God Is A Virus by Seema Yasmin
Based on original reporting from West Africa and the United States,and the poet’s experiences as a doctor and journalist, If God Is A Virus charts the course of the largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic in history, telling the stories of Ebola survivors, outbreak responders, journalists and the virus itself. Documentary poems explore which human lives are valued, how editorial decisions are weighed, what role the aid industrial complex plays in crises, and how medical myths and rumor can travel faster than microbes. (Credit: Haymarket Books)
I Am the Rage by Dr. Martina McGowan and illustrated by Diana Ejaita
Such a powerful and emotional collection of poetry. And the combination of the haunting illustrations make this one poignant and memorable anthology. You can feel and the rage of the writer and that is the whole point. Even if you are not a poetry reader, you should definitely read this book.
To Star the Dark by Doireann Ni Ghriofa
Do our passions control us or us them? These poems find themselves asking such questions in hospitals, in cellars, in Parisian parks and American laundromats, inside our screens and beyond them. Poems of blood and birdsong, of rain and desire, of aftermath and ambivalence, each spoken by a voice, which – like the starlings – sings, at once, both past and present. (Credit: Dedalus Press )
