It’s still December, but I feel confident in saying 2021 was a good year for books. I read at my usual pace of a book a week, but this year I was lucky enough to get advance copies of several good novels, which led to some good opportunities to keep up on what’s happening in trans lit.
But instead of just saying what books I thought were good this year, I’d like to try something different. This is a list of books that really stuck with me, regardless of when they came out. After all, there’s no reason why a back-catalog book shouldn’t get some praise, too, and you’ve probably already read a bunch of lists of new books.
A Touch of Jen - Beth Morgan
A wild ride through social media and a fandom, with touches of horror and a dash of paranoia, Morgan’s debut novel shows a lot of promise and remains gripping throughout. Come for the daydreaming trip to the Hamptons, stay for the nightmarish ride through NYC.
A Dream of a Woman - Casey Plett
A wonderful collection of stories, Plett’s latest book touches on identity, staying sober, love and missed connections. Doesn’t matter if she’s writing about life in the Canadian prairies, in a gritty mart of New York City or anywhere else - she takes the readers deep inside her characters, making them come alive on the page and draws the reader in.
Matterhorn - Karl Marlantes
A timely read, thanks to the fall of Afghanistan and the end of another war, Matterhorn is a compelling trip into the nightmarish jungles of Vietnam, where soldiers die from stray bullets, the enemy is always lurking in the shadows and the people in charge are incompetent at best. It’s haunting and atmospheric and conveys the feeling of loss and fear these soldiers must have gone through.
Darryl - Jackie Ess
Told in a series of blog entries, Ess’s debut novel follows the adventures of Darryl, a guy who’s deep into cuckold culture and gets mixed up with some unsavory characters like Clive,a guy who’s deeply scary and will remain in your memory long after you’ve finished the book.. It’s suspenseful, interesting and very funny. A remarkable debut.
Boss - Mike Royko
Originally published back when Mayor Daley was still alive, Rokyo’s book is deeply illuminating into the party machine that kept the gears moving in Chicago for decades. Royko knows where the bodies are buried, who’s willing to spill secrets and explains the level of graft, corruption and intimidation that kept Daley in power for so long. And more to the point: it’s never dry or dull. If you liked The Power Broker, this is right up your alley.
Once More With Feeling - Meira Cook
Set in and around Winnipeg, Cook’s novel follows a family after the sudden death of it’s patriarch and covers the sense of loss, anger and grief that follows them around. Told in a series of connected stories, Cook’s WInnipeg is a bright, vibrant place, if a little rough around the edges.
The Atmospherians - Alex McElroy
Another debut novel, McElroy’s The Atmospherians is a wickedly funny satire about a cult formed to reform toxic masculinity, as told by a woman who’s seen her life fall apart thanks to social media. With prose that’s sharp and a plot that’ll keep readers on their toes, McElroy’s shown themselves as someone to watch.
Summer Fun - Jeanne Thornton
Thornton’s latest book is a tale of fandom gone amok and a look into what makes artists tick. Told in a series of letters from a trans woman Gaia to the leader of 60s rock band The Get Happies, Thornton takes readers deep into the lives of narrator and B—-, going into the inner workings of a band, what it takes to make art and, most powerfully of all, into gender and identity
Future Feeling - Joss Lake
Set a good 15 minutes into the future, Lake’s Future Feeling is maybe the most interesting “Internet Novel” I read this year. After an attempt to curse an online influencer backfires, Penfield Henderson has to team up with said influencer to save a young trans man from the Shadowlands, with some help from The Rhiz, a cryptic group that helps trans people figure themselves out. With a plot that mixes magic and witchcraft with internet celebrity and futuristic tech, Lake’s novel is deeply imaginative and compelling.
Playing the Whore - Melissa Gira Grant
A remarkable little book about the politics and power around sex work. Grant deals with the misconceptions, the ways it’s policed (and not just by cops) and offers a way forward for legitmizing sex work. Some of the scenes are interesting, other times it’ll disturb some readers (I’m thinking of the way police treat sex workers and try to entrap them) but throughout it’s an interesting (if a little dated: this was written pre-SESTA/FOSTA, an act that gutted sites like Backpage and continues to have a massive impact on the industry) read. It’s short and concise, too, coming in at just over 130 pages, which means you can bang this one out in an afternoon and come away much more educated on a topic that sees a lot of misinformation and hand-wringing.
John Aubrey, My Own Life - Ruth Scurr
An unconventional take on biography, Scurr’s book posits itself as the journey Aubrey never kept. By using manuscripts, notes and jottings, Scurr has made a compelling and rich tapestry, one that takes readers deep into Aubrey’s life, right down to the fights with family and creditors. Admittedly, it’s not as interesting as the real thing - it seems unfair to compare this to, say, a Pepys - Aubrey’s personality shines through, whether he’s complaining about money, living through a civil war or just hanging out with friends like Hobbes. Well researched an annotated, this is a must for anyone interested in biography, especially for this period of history.