The Books I Read in 2021

Reading is my #1 hobby and despite the breadth of all the things on my to-do list this year I was able to read almost double the number of books I consumed in 2020.

A few things I learned:

• I was able to read about 22 books in total in 2021.
• This list doesn’t capture the number of articles, newsletters, magazines, research papers, tweets, social media posts, podcasts, and academic articles that I consume.
• Over 90% of books I read were written by women authors.
• Audiobooks became a mainstay format for me.
• I continue to be a fan of memoirs
• My reading list includes a more balanced list of fiction and nonfiction this year as I challenged myself to read more “just for fun” stories and novels.

Reading is a huge part of my life and I’ve challenged myself to double my “book” reads for 2022. That’s about 40 books this year or about two books per month. I look forward to the challenge.

What was your favorite book to read in 2021?

Let me know in the comments.

The List

1.  The Black Friend: On Being A Better White Person | Frederick T. Joseph
2. Summer People | Ray Elkins
3. Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators| Ronan Farrow 
4. In the Dream House: A Memoir  | Carmen Maria Machado
5. Bevelations: Lessons From A Mutha, Auntie, Bestie | Bevy Smith
6. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent | Isabella Wilkerson
7. The Guilded Ones | Normina Forna
8. Professional Troublemaker: The Fear Figher Manual | Luvvie Ajayi Jones
9. Wired In | Toby Neal
10. The Martha Rules: 10 Essentials for Achieving Success as You Start, Build, or Manage a Business| Martha Stewart 
11. Laziness Does Not Exist | Devon Price 
12. Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body and Spirit | Mary Frances Winters 
13. What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat | Aubrey Gordon
14. Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America | Ijeoma Oluo
15. The Adjunct Underclass: How America’s Colleges Betrayed Their Faculty, Their Students, and Their Mission | Herb Childress
16. Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide to Lecturing, Presenting and Engaging Students | Norman Eng 
17. A People’s Curriculum for the Earth | Bill Bigelow & Tim Swineheart
18. Chronically Fabulous: Finding Wholeness and Hope Living with Chronic Illness | Marissa Zeppieri 
19. Shark Cove | Toby Neal
20. Sex Object: A Memoir | Jessica Valenti
21. The Vanishing Half | Brit Bennett 
22. The Body Is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self Love | Sonya Renee Taylor 

(he/his/him) Calvin Eaton is a disabled community educator, content creator, and social entrepreneur, whose area of expertise includes antiracism, equity, justice, instructional design, and program development. In 2016 Mr. Eaton founded 540WMain, Inc. a virtual non-profit organization and antiracist education brand that promotes justice for all. The organization encourages individuals to broaden their horizons and learn more about multidisciplinary issues and topics that impact the world. 

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