Good books I’ve read in 2021

As I’ve done in previous years, my first post of the year will outline some good books, photo books, and graphic novels I’ve read this year. In total, I’ve read 21 books, 8 photo books, 11 graphic novels, skimmed 51 academic paper out of which I’ve read 20 completely and 12 in review-level detail which makes it a somewhat average year (and nowhere near people like Merlin), but it left me with a vague level of accomplishment and a nice way to sum-up the year.

Books

This year was (for some reason) heavy on audio-books, mostly historical-fiction (and heavily influenced by P.G. Woodhouse). However, I think I took the most out of the non-fiction, hard to read and digest ones.

Davor i Anđela Rostuhar: Ljubav Oko Svijeta
(eng. Love around the world)

The authors try to answer what is love in a modern world. They share the stories over multiple cultures, interviewing people from various backgrounds and from different social arrangements. It is an eyeopening book, especially for those coming from cultures that live under a rock (such as the Croatian one), and for me it raises a lot of questions, which I thing any good book should. I can’t help but to feel like Davor’s writing has gone a bit…pretentious… in recent years. To an extent I long for simple, yet thoughtful, travel writing from the days of “Samo nek se krece”. Having said that, a big congrats to them on this project. It is incredibly produced, well photographed, and finally an amazing idea.

(See more about the book and buy it here)

Haruki Murakami: Men Without Women

I bought this book on a book fair in Oxford (from an amazingly interesting history PhD student whose name I can’t recall, but really wish I could take them for tea and chat about all the books they were selling). Critics have said it is a “Murakami on autopilot”, and “how little can he try to produce a good book”. Whilst they might (or might not) be right, I really, really enjoyed this book. It felt like good old Murakami’s, that you devour in one sitting. I’m particularly interested in a movie whose script is based on couple of these stories that came out late 2021.

(see the movie trailer here)

Angela Saini: Inferior

Some of us grew up in countries where we’ve been told taht men and women are fundamentally, biologically different. In this important and fascinating book, the author sheds the light on the controversial research, flaws in the scientific arguments (on all sides), and uncovers how women are being rediscovered by modern science, after being systematically ignored for centuries. It is a fascinating write-up on the entire body of literature in the field of “sex-differences” and I feel as if every man should read it. On the separate note, I really wish Davor’s “Ljubav oko svijeta” was written in the similar fashion to this book.

(from the author)

P.G. Woodhouse: the Jeeves collection, the Blandings Castle collection
(currated by Stephen Fry, read for Audible)

Stephen Fry summarised PG Woodhouse better than I ever could, so instead of a diatribe that would be in-character for a young and budding academic such as myself, I’ll rather share his introduction to the author from the Jeeves collection:

Had his only contribution to literature been Lord Emsworth and Blandings Castle, his place in history would have been assured. Had he written of none but Mike and Psmith, he would be cherished today as the best and brightest of our comic authors. If Jeeves and Wooster had been his solitary theme, still he would be hailed as the Master.
If he had given us only Ukridge, or nothing but recollections of the Mulliner family, or a pure diet of golfing stories, Doctor Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse would nonetheless be considered immortal. That he gave us all those - and more - is our good fortune and a testament to the most industrious, prolific and beneficent author ever to have sat down, scratched his head and banged out a sentence.

My only complaint as such, is that after 8 books straight, the stories, or at least their premise, do become … predictable. Unlike other authors though, the quality of writing easily gets you to the end of the book and you somehow find yourself in another one in a jiffy.

Yuval Noah Harari: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

In general, I don’t like the books that boast numbers. I also don’t like the books that have large sweeping statements. The thing is, on almost all the points, there is an ounce of truth in them. Obviously, there are areas that I don’t necessarily agree with him: data being the most important asset for example (I feel as if knowing what to do with data would be more important), lacking nuance in discussions on community, and data privacy. The brilliant thing about Harari though, is that even when I disagreed with his writings, I wanted to keep thinking about the future.

Graphic novels:

This year, my family caught on with my graphic novel obsession, and many were given to me as presents. The list is composed of well established and loved authors such as Lepage and Larcenet, with the new ones I was happy to discover.

Manu Larcenet: Brodeckov Izvjestaj
(eng. Brodeck’s Report; orig. Le Rapport de Brodeck)

This was arguably my favourite graphic novel of the year. Larcenet’s departure from funny, satyrical and self-deprecating caricature was an adaptation of Claudel’s novel of the same name. He uses strong black and white technique that fascinates me in photography to depict the brutality of the landscapes and living condition in post-war France. All of this wrapped in an absolutely exquisite edition by Fibra.

Jeff Lemire: Sweet Tooth

Now, I’ve never read or heard of Lemire. Sweet Tooth emerged amongst the recommendations following Netflix’s adaptation in 2021, dubbed as “Mad Max meets Bambi” type of comic. It was somewhat ironic reading about the pandemic during the pandemic. Whilst I’d not put it up there with the masterpieces of fiction, it was gripping and entertaining.

Sophie Michel, Emanuel Lepage: Oh Cure

A touching and beautifully drawn story by one of my favourite illustrators, I’ve enjoyed the story of growing up from three different perspectives. Their differences connect them, and show that experiences being a kid and a teenager are universal. Whether in Pariz, or in Zagreb, you are defined by whom you surround yourself. Beautiful.

Photo books:

Harry Borden: Single Dad

This book of intimate portraits of single-parent fathers alongside their children and stories of love and loss. It is my favourite photo book of the year, not because of the photos themselves, but because of the stories and emotions it evokes.
(see more here)

HCB: Europeans

There is little to be said about the HCB and the Europeans that haven’t been said. So I won’t say anything — it’s quite simply one of the masterpieces of 20th century photography.

Joel Meyerowitz: Wildflowers

I believe that there is no photographer who cannot find himself in Joel Meyerowitz’s photography. And to be honest, I’ve never got Joel Meyerowitz’s street photography — I loved his self-portraits, adored Cape Light. But not really his street photos. Wildflowers, to me is not a masterclass in photography — it’s a masterclass in editing. Finding a common theme that flows and works as a photobook in a sequence of images that on-their-own don’t really work for me is a sign of a genius.