As I look back on 2021, I started to feel bad about not completing my goal of reading a nonfiction book each month. As you can see, I only read 5 this year. And then I thought: I read five nonfiction books. That’s five more than I normally read! So no I didn’t meet my goal, but I’m still incredibly proud to have gotten through these 5 books because y’all know I struggle with nonfiction. And what’s even greater is I really loved these 5 memoirs. I listened to all of them as I got ready in the mornings and it was so nice to sit down and listen to the authors reading their own words.
Here’s what I thought about each of these books.
A Promised Land by Barack Obama: My biggest accomplishment was completing this 750+ page NONFICTION read. I loved this book so much. Yes, I did think it was a big long and some of it could have been edited down, but I loved hearing President Obama read his thoughts about some of the major political events that happened during this presidency. “Magic beans, baby” will forever be one of my favorite lines from a book. 🙂
Becoming by Michelle Obama: Hands down, my favorite nonfiction read. Listening to this book was like sitting down with a cup of coffee to chat with a friend. I learned so much about our former first lady and what it was like for her to step away from her successful career as a lawyer to support her husband. I loved how honest she was about her struggles. It was a fabulous book.
What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton: This book has been on my shelf since it came out in 2017, and I’ve been terrified to read it. I’ve also been terrified to post about it because man, do people have some strong opinions about this woman. I know we all feel differently about what went down in 2016 and the aftermath of that election, but I personally was devastated. I was so interested to hear her thoughts about what happened, even though I knew it was going to be tough to read. And it was. It oddly also made me respect her more/like her less-which I realize it such an odd combo. I have always admired HRC, but I will admit sometimes she doesn’t come across as the most likable, which she addresses in her book. This was a fascinating read, and I’m so happy I read it.
Spoken From the Heart by Laura Bush: When President Bush was in office, I was in high school, and high school me did not follow the news or politics. I knew who the Bushes were, of course, but I didn’t follow them or keep up with the news like I do now. All this to say I never really knew anything about Laura Bush but after reading the first three political memoirs, I decided to pick up hers. Out of all 5 of my nonfiction reads, I liked this one the least, BUT I still enjoyed it. I loved hearing about Laura Bush’s life before she met and married George, and I loved hearing about how much she loved to read. Reading her book made me love Laura Bush.
Everything Beautiful in its Time by Jenna Bush Hager: I LOVED this book. Jenna Bush Hager’s narration was much like Michelle Obama. It felt like I was chatting with a friend. I loved hearing about her grandparents and what an impact they had on her life. I also became fascinated with JBH after reading this. I never really paid attention to her because like I said, I was too young to really pay attention when she and her family were in the spotlight, but now I love her! I want to read the book she wrote with her sister next.
So there you have it! Those are the five nonfiction books I read this year. I attempted to read Promise Me, Dad by Joe Biden but I could not stop crying after I listened to chapter 1 and trying to put on makeup while crying is quite difficult lol. I do want to get through that one though, but I know it’s going to be so sad.
Do you have any nonfiction recommendations I should read in 2022? I’d love to hear them! 🙂
Amazon affiliate links were used in this post.
