As 2021 draws to a close, readers the world over are taking stock of the books they loved most during the year—including the folks at Booklist. The book review journal of the American Library Association has compiled all of the books featured in its “Reviews of the Day” online column for 2021 and made them accessible for easy browsing by dividing them into four categories (adult books, books for youth, audiobooks, and graphic novels).
The lists feature the best books from 2021, covering a spectrum of genres and topics. Among the selections are The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World by Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation; First Person Singular by the great Haruki Murakami; the audiobook of The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, by Nikole Hannah-Jones; the graphic novel Run: Book One, by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, which the first in a series that traces Lewis’ life and career after the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and YA fiction novel A Boy Named Isamu, by James Yang.
You can read reviews for these books and more at Booklist Online before checking them out at your local library.
Year-End Listening
For those looking to listen to their favorite authors, musicians, and artists discussing their new books and the impact of libraries on their lives, check out the December episode of Call Number with American Libraries, the podcast of American Libraries magazine.
Featured in this installment are never-before-released clips from conversations with Fox Sports analyst and former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho (Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man), acclaimed writer Isabel Allende (The Soul of a Woman), reggae musician and philanthropist Ziggy Marley (Music Is in Everything, My Dog Romeo), Top Chef host and producer Padma Lakshmi (Tomatoes for Neela), bestselling horror author Max Brooks (World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Deevolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre), Dance Theatre of Harlem alumni Judy Tyrus and Paul Novosel (Dance Theatre of Harlem: A History, a Movement, a Celebration), and lawyer and speaker Savala Nolan (Don’t Let It Get You Down: Essays on Race, Gender, and the Body).
Listen to the episode on the American Libraries website. And, after listening, be sure to find all of these works and more at your local library!
