Once again, it\u2019s time for the list of the best books of 2021. As with previous years<\/a>, this is a list of the books I read, not the best books it was possible to have read, or the best books that were published in 2021. No doubt such lists exist; this isn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n Fiction<\/strong><\/p>\n The Horror Stories of Robert Howard<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>I suppose it goes without saying that anything by Robert Howard is going to be excellent. But I\u2019m going to say it anyway\u2013the stories collected here are really fantastic, and should be added to any short story collection. And speaking of excellent short story collections\u2026<\/p>\n Owls Hoot in the Daytime<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Manly Wade Wellman. I discovered Manly Wade Wellman through a story of his in\u00a0The Dark Descent<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(yet another excellent short story collection), and had it in the back of my mind to look up more by him. When a deal for Audible came along and his stories popped up as recommended for those who like H.P. Lovecraft, I went ahead and grabbed this volume. I\u2019m glad I did, both because the stories in it are really, really good\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>because his work isn\u2019t easily available elsewhere. Hopefully Audible continues not to realize what a treasure it has made cheaply available, because I\u2019d hate to see them jack up the price.<\/p>\n Fellowship of the Talisman<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Clifford Simak. Of the\u00a0Lord of the Rings\u00a0<\/em>knock-offs out there, this is definitely one of them. Okay, that\u2019s not fair\u2013Simak is an excellent writer, and this little book is genuinely well written and interesting, if not completely original.<\/p>\n Theology<\/strong><\/p>\n An Ark for All God\u2019s Noahs on a Gloomy Stormy Day<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Thomas Brooks. (Reviewed here<\/a>)<\/p>\n Deeper<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Dane Ortlund. (Reviewed here<\/a>)<\/p>\n Corporate Worship<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Matt Merker (Reviewed here<\/a>)<\/p>\n Rejoice and Tremble<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Michael Reeves (Reviewed here<\/a>)<\/p>\n Christian in Complete Armor Volume 1<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by William Gurnell. Yes, I\u2019m a bit ashamed to be reading an abridgement, and yes I\u2019ve only read the first third of the abridgement. But it\u2019s really excellent, and I\u2019ll likely review it on here at some point. I\u2019ll also likely read the whole thing, given the time\u2026<\/p>\n Biography<\/strong><\/p>\n On the House<\/em><\/a>, John Boehner. If you want to remember a time when Congressmen were professionals who cared about passing good legislation, this is the book for you. I realize that time is swiftly passing, but it\u2019s still nice to remember 1) that there was such a time and 2) that it wasn\u2019t all that long ago\u2026 And also, this quote: \u201cIt\u2019s fun to vote out of anger\u2013\u2018Let\u2019s send this clown to that capital with a pack of matches and some gasoline\u2019\u2013but it\u2019s also dangerous. There are people we are electing who will destroy this country if we aren\u2019t careful.\u201d<\/p>\n The Making of C.S. Lewis<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Harry Lee Poe (Reviewed here<\/a>)<\/p>\n It\u2019s a Long Story: My Life<\/em><\/a> Willie Nelson. I read a bunch of Country music autobiographies this year, and I think out of all of them Willie Nelson is the one it would be the most fun to spend time with. Specifically this is because he seems to be a genuinely decent guy (unlike others who will remain unnamed here). And while I don\u2019t agree with him about everything, he\u2019s always got interesting things to say and has certainly led an interesting life.<\/p>\n Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n We the Fallen People<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Robert Tracy McKenzie. This book is critical for Evangelicals who care about the American Founding and how we ought to look at the nation as Christians. If I could force everyone who claims to care about recapturing what the Founders thought about America to read this book, I would.<\/p>\n Fashionopolis<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Dana Thomas. Just when you think buying a pair of pants is no big deal, Dana Thomas has to go and ruin it for us all. Specifically, your clothes (and mine) were almost certainly made somewhere that is using nearly-slave labor and destroying the local environment. Either that, or you paid more for your clothing than most people make in a year. So, you know, don\u2019t read this book to feel good about yourself. But do read it to help you think carefully about the ethics of our clothing.<\/p>\n Under a White Sky<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Elizabeth Kolbert. And speaking of the environment, no, you and I can\u2019t fix it. In fact, everything we do to try to fix the environment just makes more problems arise. This little book is both well-written and useful as a way to show how poor we are at environmental stewardship on any kind of large scale.<\/p>\n High Conflict<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Amanda Ripley. Just how can we get around the issues that divide us? We can\u2019t. But maybe we can deescalate things a bit. If you want to know how, read this book.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s it. Read those books in 2022 and your literary year will be at least as literarily fulfilling as my 2021 was.<\/p>\n Dr. Coyle Neal is co-host of the\u00a0City of Man Podcast<\/a>\u00a0an Amazon Associate (which is linked in this blog), and an Associate Profess<\/em>or of Political Science at\u00a0Southwest Baptist University<\/a>\u00a0in Bolivar, MO<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" …or what you should be reading in 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1469,"featured_media":5320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[738,1293],"class_list":["post-8733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","tag-best-of","tag-best-of-2021"],"yoast_head":"\n