New year, new reading list: The 10 best books of January 2021
January is nearly always a great month for books, as readers emerge from the holidays eager to dive into fresh piles of books. And this year is no different.听聽
1.聽Better Luck Next Time聽by Julia Claiborne Johnson
Set in 1938 on a dude ranch catering to wealthy women seeking Reno divorces, Julia Claiborne Johnson鈥檚 novel channels Hollywood screwball comedies. Narrated 50 years later by a retired doctor whose job it was, in his 20s, to squire the guests, the book captures both the high jinks and heartache of his pivotal last summer there. Full review here.听
Why We Wrote This
鈥淭urning over a new leaf鈥� for book lovers means excitedly digging into a stack of new books. From madcap comedy to deep explorations of race, the 10 best books of January offer the opportunity to begin again.
2.聽The Yellow Wife聽by Sadeqa Johnson
Sadeqa Johnson鈥檚 novel is a layered look at the journey of Pheby Brown, a biracial woman born into slavery and, ironically, privilege. Johnson probes deeply into the roots of color, class, and gender in the 1800s. The book strips bare what it means to struggle to survive as an 鈥渙wned鈥� woman. Full review here.
3.聽The Ex Talk聽by Rachel Lynn Solomon
This satisfying romantic comedy tells of two 20-something radio producers in Seattle. Shay already has 10 years of experience while Dominic, fresh out of grad school, is certain that he knows more. Natural adversaries, they鈥檙e assigned to host a program that offers relationship advice from the vantage point of two exes. Of course, they scramble to maintain the ruse when the animosity melts and their romance begins.
4.聽No Heaven for Good Boys聽by Keisha Bush
Keisha Bush weaves an 鈥淥liver Twist鈥�-like tale of pain and faith drawn partially on her experiences living in Dakar, Senegal. Ibrahimah is a boy living an idyllic life with his family. That all changes one day when he and his cousin are sent to Senegal鈥檚 capital to study the Quran. Bush poses essential questions about free will and liberation. Full review here.听
5.聽The War Widow聽by Tara Moss
In postwar Sydney, Australia, war correspondent Billie Walker reinvents herself from a bereaved widow to private eye when she reopens her late father鈥檚 agency. With a crackling plot and vibrant prose, Tara Moss concocts a first-rate noir detective mystery.
6.听贵别补迟丑别谤丑辞辞诲听by Charlie Gilmour
Charlie Gilmour describes with wit and tenderness his unplanned adoption of a baby magpie, which becomes an object of fascination. He uses the episode as a springboard to a discussion of family bonds, principally his relationship with his absentee biological father. This absorbing memoir is touching, painful, and honest. Full review here.
7.聽Long Time Coming聽by Michael Eric Dyson
Michael Eric Dyson excavates the centuries-old mechanics of white supremacy and lays them bare. Five chapters, written to Black 鈥渕artyrs,鈥� chisel out the bedrock of American mainstays such as police brutality. Dyson asks a necessary but difficult question: Are we really ready to talk about race? Full review here.
8.聽Robert E. Lee and Me聽by Ty Seidule
Ty Seidule, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general, doesn鈥檛 just knock his boyhood idol off the pedestal. He issues an uncompromising, searing, full-throated indictment of Robert E. Lee as a historically misrepresented figure and denounces the many institutions that have given currency to the 鈥淟ost Cause鈥� mythology through the years. Full review here.听
9.聽The Eagles of Heart Mountain聽by Bradford Pearson
Bradford Pearson delivers a meticulously researched and powerful history of Japanese American internment during World War II. He highlights the absurdity of the imprisonment with the tale of an undeniably all-American football team created at the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp in remote Wyoming. Full review here.
10.聽American Baby聽by Gabrielle Glaser
Gabrielle Glaser tells the heartbreaking story of Margaret Erle, an unwed teen coerced into surrendering her infant son to an adoption agency in 1961. The empathetic account alternates between Margaret and her son David, up through their poignant reunion, while also illuminating the disturbing history of adoption in postwar America. Full review here.
