It was another challenging year on many fronts. As 2021 rolls into 2022, we are nowhere near the end of a pandemic that enters its third year. While I did get out more in 2021, I still spent a fair amount of time at home, thankful once again for 80 books that helped me pass the time, as well as entertain and enlighten me. And about reading as a hobby… A study of 3,635 older adults found that book readers had a 23-month survival advantage and 20% lower mortality risk compared with nonreaders.
So as we begin a new year, grab a seat, a book and sit back and lengthen your lifespan. Here’s my 2021 reading list, which includes 28 works of fiction, as well as memoirs, spiritual books, and a few self-help titles:
| Just Kids by Patti Smith |
| My Wife Said You May Want To Marry Me by Jason B. Rosenthal |
| Girl Gurl Grrrl: On Womanhood and Belonging in the Age of Black Girl Magic by Kenya Hunt |
| Do You Mind If I Cancel (Things That Still Annoy Me) by Gary Janetti |
| Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler |
| The Beginner’s Goodbye by Anne Tyler |
| The Best of Me by David Seders |
| American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins |
| Clock Dance by Anne Tyler |
| Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri |
| Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb |
| Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give by Ada Calhoun |
| Tiny Beautiful Things—Advice On Love and Life From Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed |
| Empty: A Memoir by Susan Burton |
| The Midnight Library by Matt Haig |
| The Last Days of John Lennon by James Patterson |
| Show Me the Way by Jennifer Luck |
| Sanctuary—A Memoir by Emily Rapper Black |
| Why We Can’t Sleep—Women’s New Midlife Crisis by Ada Calhoun |
| Chronicles of A Radical Hag (With Recipes) by Lorna Landvik |
| Me Before You by Jojo Moyes |
| Leave Out The Tragic Parts by Dave Kindred |
| After You by Jojo Moyes |
| Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins |
| Bookends by Jane Green |
| If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood by Gregg Olsen |
| The Apology by Eve Ensler |
| Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain by Portia De Rossi |
| I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley |
| The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron |
| Paris For One & Other Stories by Jojo Moyes |
| Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad |
| Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney |
| That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man on Death Row by Jarvis Jay Masters |
| Everyday Grace: Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness, and Making Miracles by Marianne Williamson |
| On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross & David Kessler |
| We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngoni Adichie |
| When Harry Met Minnie by Martha Teacher |
| The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney |
| Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich |
| The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs |
| From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke |
| My Remarkable Journey: A Memoir by Katherine Johnson |
| Pack Up The Moon by Kristan Higgins |
| Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig |
| Notes On Grief by Chimamanda Ngoni Adichie |
| Open House by Elizabeth Berg |
| The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary |
| The Wheel of Life: A Memoir of Living and Dying by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross-Ross |
| Healing Lessons by Sidney J. Winnower, MD with Nick Taylor |
| The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore |
| The Astonishing Power of Emotions (Abraham Hicks) by Esther and Jerry Hicks |
| The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield |
| Ask and It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks |
| There Are No Accidents: Synchronicity and the Stories of Our Lives by Robert H. Hock |
| Another Door Opens: A Psychic Explains How Those in the World of Spirit Continue to Impact Our Lives by Jeffrey A. Wands |
| The Lightworker’s Way: AwakeningYour Spiritual Power to Know and Heal by Doreen Virtue, PhD. |
| Little And Often by Trent Preszler |
| The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary |
| Dancing at the Pity Party: A Dead Mom Graphic Memoir by Tyler Federal |
| It’s OK That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand by Megan Devine |
| Untethered by Julie Lawson Timer |
| Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age by Sanjay Gupta, MD |
| Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life by Susan David |
| A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries 2003-2020 by David Seders |
| Five Days Left by Julie Lawson Timmer |
| It’s Better This Way by Debbie Macomber |
| Staying at Daisy’s by Jill Mansell |
| Furnishing Eternity: A Father, a Son, a Coffin, and a Measure of Life by David Giffels |
| Dalton and Grace: Whimsical Short Stories of Life in Charleston by Bill and Ann Stevens |
| Barnstorming Ohio (To Understand America) by David Giffels |
| The Gate House by Nelson Demille |
| The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom |
| Smashed: Story of a Drunken Childhood by Koren Zailckas |
| 37 Seconds: Dying Revealed Heaven’s Help by Stephanie Arnold with Sari Padorr |
| ‘Tis by Frank McCourt |
| The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave |
| Spiritual Graffiti: Finding My True Path by MC Yogi |
| Tell The Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt |
| The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray |
Joan's Jottings 