The Best Books I Read in 2021 Are All About Weirdos

Maybe you’ll want to read them too, but it’s OK if you don’t.

I might be a professional writer or whatever, but for many years, I have felt deep shame over the fact that I don’t read enough books. It’s not that I hate books or anything. They’re fantastic! It’s just that in this terrible modern world, being able to focus on a book isn’t easy, especially because I could be watching a movie or a TV show or playing a video game or looking at my phone until I see something that makes me feel bad.

This year, I had more fun than ever devouring books. Part of this had to do with the fact that I spent the last several years reading on my phone, but I went back to paper in 2021, and let me tell ya, not looking at a screen is some really top notch shit. But moreover, I got myself to regularly read this year because I abandoned all notions about what I “should” be reading (the classics, the entries on “best of” lists) and instead, do whatever I want.

I also wasn’t afraid to put down a book if I was getting bored of it and start something new: I had to stop reading a book about the history of ISIS when I was maybe 80 percent through because it got too depressing; while I was enjoying One Hundred Years of Solitude, I kinda wish Marquez would’ve called it a day at 50; and I didn’t finish that biography of Saddam Hussein because as interested as I am in his ascent and demise, the book was way too dense. As it turns out, books are fun and great when you follow your own whims as a reader.

So let me tell you all about my favorite books of the year. I’d encourage you to read them too, but the whole thing I’m trying to convey to you is that when it comes to reading (or any media consumption, really), you should do whatever the hell you want to.

The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden by Peter Bergen (2021)

It’s obvious that Osama bin Laden was evil and murderous, but what often gets lost is how strange he was. Beyond 9/11 being horrible and tragic, there was no other terrorist attack like it. The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden delves into how he went from being the son of one of Saudi Arabia’s richest construction magnates (he had like fifty brothers…