2021 Reading

Solutions and Other Problems - Allie Brosh. I told multiple people that my favorite cartoonist was publishing a sequel to her amazing Hyperbole and a Half book, and I received TWO COPIES as gifts! It lived up to my very high expectations.

One Day - Gene Weingarten. This is by one of my favorite authors, a feature writer for the Washington Post. He picked a date by random - December 28, 1986, and then researched multiple things that happened that day, and wove them into one incredibly well written book. I met Gene in 2016 in my Stadium Armory neighborhood, not too far from his Capitol Hill home. I recognized him from the car - I had driven my dog the 1 mile to the dog park since I had recently torn my MCL and meniscus. I tweeted him later that day with a photo of my collection of his books, and he responded, which was pretty cool.

We Fed an Island - Jose Andres. I donated some of my COVID stimulus money to World Central Kitchen, and when I saw there was a $12 book, I got it to learn more about what WCK actually does. It's a fast read about Puerto Rico in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Maria in September 2017. Andres is definitely political and name checks people in the U.S. government who weren't moving quickly enough to get aid to the island.

The Thing About Jellyfish - Ali Benjamin This is a Little Free Library YA read. It was sad, but an enjoyable read, with a creative plot.

Look Alive Out There - Sloane Crosley. Another Little Free Library read. It's a collection of short humor stories. I enjoyed some, but not all of it.

Troubled Water - Seth Siegel. I picked this up in the discount section of the local book store, Little Village Toy & Book Shop. I learned A TON, but it was also pretty depressing to learn that the EPA basically hasn't taken any steps to protect people in the last 30 years. They get information about new chemicals, and conduct studies...and don't do anything.

The Testaments - Margaret Atwater. I was excited to receive this sequel to Handmaid's Tale for Christmas and read it in a day or two. It wasn't as good as the original, which is always a challenge, but I enjoyed the story.

Miller's Valley - Anna Quindlen. One of my favorite LFL finds in quite a while. The author tells the story of her family and their hometown, and how it is shaped by the government's decision to flood it. I found myself looking up the (limited) history of how nearby Moore Reservoir was formed in my town. It's part of the Connecticut River, drawing the border between Vermont and New Hampshire, and there is a hydroelectric dam immediately south. I know about 9 towns were flooded to create the reservoir, and I've heard you can find some of the old stone boundary walls if you look carefully while kayaking close to shore.