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…