Reading Recs

I read 28 books in 2021. 95% of them were wonderful reads. Just as in 2020, I’m getting better at using my intuition to choose and finish books that really appeal to me.

I’ve listed the books in the order in which I read them. In past years, I’ve picked my top ten books for the year, but this year, instead of focusing on a number, I decided to highlight as many that felt right to recommend. So, I’ve chosen my top six and these books are in bold and are also hyperlinked for your convenience.

1. See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
2. Displacement by Kiku Hughes
3. Change Me Prayers by Tosha Silver
4. The Shadow Box by Luanne Rice
5. Sheets by Brenna Thummler
6. Wintering by Katherine May
7. Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey
8. Okapi Loves His Zebra Pants by Terri Tatchell & Ivan Sulima
9. Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett
10. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
11. Healing the Gut by Shepherd Hoodwin
12. Find Me by Anne Frasier
13. Nomadland by Jessica Bruder
14. The Light Through the Leaves by Glendy Vanderah
15. She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper
16. Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
17. Amoralman by Derek DelGaudio
18. Launch by Jeff Walker
19. Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler
20. The Miraculous by Jess Redman
21. The Golden Bird by Edith Brill
22. Boy: Tales from Childhood by Roald Dahl
23. Retreat and Grow Rich by Darla LeDoux
24. Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo
25. The Half-Acre Homestead by Lloyd Kahn & Lesley Creed
26. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
27. We Hereby Refuse by Frank Abe, Tamiko Nimura, Ross Ishikawa & Matt Sasaki
28. Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall

* = I’ve read this book before

I read some excellent graphic novels in 2021 and there are two that I especially recommend. They are Displacement by Kiku Hughes and We Hereby Refuse by Frank Abe, Tamiko Nimura, Ross Ishikawa & Matt Sasaki. Both books focus on the internment of Japanese-Americans in concentration camps during World War II, and while the former is fiction and the latter is nonfiction, they both tell engaging, personal stories about what it was like to survive such an incredible injustice. I find that Americans are generally pretty bad at learning from history in order to not repeat history. Through the power of personal stories, these two books can help us to face history and learn from it, rather than ignore it.

Nomadland by Jessica Bruder has a great subtitle: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century. That is what it’s about. It’s not about admiring vast landscapes shot at dusk or the romanticization of van life. It’s about the “invisible casualties of the Great Recession” and how everyday people are trying to survive in a country that would rather forget that they exist. It’s a very engaging read, and something that I’m feeling the pull to read again this year.

She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper is my favorite fiction pick from 2021. This thriller is summed up well by the book jacket’s first sentence: A propulsive, gritty novel about a girl marked for death who must fight and steal to stay alive, learning from the most frightening man she knows–her father. It’s one hell of a ride. Not for the faint of heart. Highly recommended.

Most people have read a book or two or three by the amazing children’s book author Roald Dahl, but I bet 99% of his readers have no idea what his childhood was like or what inspired him to write his stories. If you’ve enjoyed any of Dahl’s books, I implore you to read Boy: Tales from Childhood by Roald Dahl. It’s quite amazing.

Now we’re at the end of my list. As luck would have it, the universe saved the best for last and gave me a gift during the last, dark, snowy days of December 2021. It was during that time that I read Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall and it quietly and profoundly changed my life. This sentence from the book’s jacket sums it up well: From the best-selling author of Born to Run, a heartwarming story about training a rescue donkey to run one of the most challenging races in America, and, in the process, discovering the life-changing power of the human-animal connection. Read it. I bet you’ll enjoy it. Then later this year, I’ll share how it changed me.

Hope this list gives you some good ideas for books to read in 2022. If you’ve read any of these already, please let me know what you thought of them in the comments box. I’d love to hear from you.

Wishing you a marvelous and healthy new year filled with loads of fantastic reading!

Peg Cheng is the author of Rebel Millionaire, a guide for how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income, and The Contenders, a novel that asks, can enemies become friends? She is also the proud owner of Plaid Frog Press with her husband Marcus Donner. Born in Southern California to Taiwanese parents, Peg currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

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Photo by Susan Q. Yin.

Something remarkable happened with my reading this year.

I read 45 books.

That’s not the remarkable thing.

What’s remarkable is that instead of picking my Top 10 books from the list to recommend to you as I do every year, this year–this unbelievable, strange, and tragic year of 2020–I couldn’t do that because nearly every book I read this year was one that I would recommend.

This has never happened to me…ever.

What changed?

I listened to my intuition.

If after reading the first chapter or two of a book I didn’t feel engaged with the story or the content, I let it go. In the past, I’d read 30, 50, 100 pages, sometimes even the whole book, before stopping. I’d keep rationalizing to myself and thinking, maybe the next chapter will be better?

Can you relate?

This year, I let my intuition guide me. If I wasn’t engaged within the first 5-10 pages, I no longer rationalized why I should keep reading. I allowed myself to realize the book wasn’t for me and I let the book go. That gave me more time to find other books that I might like better.

Doing that one simple thing led me to having the best year of reading I’ve probably had in my life.

Here’s what I read in 2020.

1. Dead is Good by Jo Perry
2. Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield-Thomas
3. Tough Without a Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart by Stefan Kanfer
4. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
5. Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
6. Soulful Simplicity by Courtney Carver
7. Dark Horse by Todd Rose & Ogi Ogas
8. Get Rich, Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield-Thomas
9. Chillpreneur by Denise Duffield-Thomas
10. Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki
11. The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson
12. Seattle Walk Report by Susanna Ryan
13. The Empath’s Journey by Ritu Kaushal
14. Figgs & Phantoms by Ellen Raskin *
15. The Carry-On Traveler by Erin McNeany
16. E-Squared by Pam Grout
17. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
18. Late Bloomers by Rich Karlgaard
19. The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer
20. The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
21. Educated by Tara Westover
22. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
23. Penny Nichols by MK Reed & Greg Means & Matt Wiegle
24. My Town by David Lee
25. A Glorious Freedom by Lisa Congdon
26. The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman *
27. All That You Leave Behind by Erin Lee Carr
28. Daily Rituals: Women at Work by Mason Currey
29. You Were Born For This by Chani Nicholas
30. Adventures of a Pangopup by Terri Tatchell & Ivan Sulima
31. Living Color: Angie Rubio Stories by Donna Miscolta
32. Conscious Creativity by Philippa Stanton
33. Tarot: No Questions Asked by Theresa Reed
34. The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer
35. Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien
36. Broken Places by Tracy Clark
37. Forest Bathing by Dr. Qing Li
38. Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic. by Lisa Lister
39. Odessa by Jonathan Hill
40. Bloodline by Jess Lourey
41. Camp by Kayla Miller
42. Anne of Green Gables: a graphic novel by Mariah Marsden & Brenna Thummler
43. The Bad Seed by Jory John & Pete Oswald
44. Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
45. The Astrologer’s Daughter by Rebecca Lim

* = I’ve read this book before

While I enjoyed almost every book I read this year and would recommend close to 90% of them, there are a few that changed my life in substantial and beneficial ways that I’d like to say a few words about. They are…

Dark Horse by Todd Rose & Ogi Ogas. Dark Horse inspired me so much I decided to open a career coaching practice so that I could work with the dark horses of the world.

Get Rich, Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield-Thomas. Get Rich, Lucky Bitch helped me unearth money blocks that I didn’t even know I had, some as far back as when I was six years old. I’m now recognizing them when they come up and doing my best to acknowledge and heal them.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is a popular book about decluttering and organizing that’s also a brilliantly subversive book about developing one’s intuition. This book helped my husband and I to declutter our house from top to bottom. (And no, I didn’t force my hubs to do it! I just read the book myself and started decluttering, my closet, desk, and papers. Marcus was intrigued and read the book on his own. Then, on his own volition, he slowly and steadily decluttered and organized his closet, desk, and the entire garage over the span of six months.)

You Were Born For This by Chani Nicholas. You Were Born For This helped me dissect and understand my astrological natal chart in amazingly accurate and heartfelt ways. I felt seen and understood in ways that I’ve never felt before.

Forest Bathing by Dr. Qing Li. Forest Bathing set my husband and I on the path of using trees and nature to heal ourselves and boost our immune systems. Since reading this book, we’ve now wandered through the forest more in the last three months than we have in the 13 years we’ve been together.

If you’re looking for suspenseful reads for the new year, I highly recommend the mysteries Broken Places by Tracy Clark and Bloodline by Jess Lourey; and the memoir Educated by Tara Westover. All are excellent, page-turning reads!

I hope this list gives you some good ideas for books to read in 2021, and also hope that my experience this year encourages you to use your intuition when deciding whether you want to keep reading a book or not.

Wishing you good health and a new year full of enriching reading!

Peg Cheng is the author of Rebel Millionaire, a guide for how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income, co-owner of Plaid Frog Press, and a career coach combining intellect with intuition. Born in Southern California to Taiwanese parents, Peg lives in Seattle.

I learn so much from other people’s personal stories and love reading memoirs, autobiographies, and narrative nonfiction. When I read an especially good memoir, I marvel at how honest, revealing, and vulnerable the author is willing to be with me. The Empath’s Journey by Ritu Kaushal is one of those books.

The book’s subtitle describes it well: What working with my dreams, moving to a different country and learning about Carl Jung taught me about being an empath. It was fascinating to read about Ritu’s journey of moving from India to the U.S. and her many personal stories about how she learned she was a HSP (highly sensitive person) and empath, what her dreams revealed to her, and how those experiences and knowledge shaped her into the author-artist she is today.

As I was reading The Empath’s Journey, I felt like I was walking along a mandala-shaped labyrinth. I’m a fast reader but found that I couldn’t rush through the book like I usually do. Ritu’s language and imagery was so beautiful and rich that it literally made me slow down my mind as I read every sentence and paragraph like I was taking a mindful, meditative walk.

Instead of reading a chapter a day, I’d read part of a chapter and then give myself several days to let the stories and examples sink in. It took me two to three weeks to read each chapter and several months to finish the book. At first, I was alarmed that I wasn’t reading at my usual speed, but once I surrendered to this experience, I realized that this was what Ritu’s story was trying to teach me: slow down, take your time, notice what’s happening inside you.

Here’s an example of one of the many passages that I loved.

In the music of our dreams, in the dance of their stories, we can find these lost fragments. We just have to risk beginning the adventure, with its frightening, snarling creatures, with its breathtaking cosmic vistas. We have to decide to ride its crests to see where it takes us.

And another one.

Then, I think I can meet the world as it is instead of projecting nice things onto it, instead of believing that niceness will protect me from the turbulence of the world. I am learning now that the real harbour is inside myself and that what really protects me, in the end, is me.

Even though I haven’t been through the same external experiences as Ritu, I could relate to many of her inner experiences. I’m grateful to Ritu for writing so openly about her life. The Empath’s Journey made me feel seen, affirmed, and comforted.

If you’ve ever been labeled “sensitive” by other people, or told that you “take things too personally,” I think you’ll really enjoy this book. Get yourself a copy of The Empath’s Journey today. The journey of reading this book will be well worth your time.

ps. To learn more about Ritu and her creations, check out her site, Walking Through Transitions, and subscribe to her blog.

Peg Cheng is the author of Rebel Millionaire, a guide for how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income, co-owner of Plaid Frog Press, and a career coach combining intellect with intuition. Born in Southern California to Taiwanese parents, Peg lives in Seattle.

This post is the start of my blog series called LIFE RAFT where I share the books, podcasts, music, movies, art, and other creations and activities that help keep me afloat when I’m having a hard time in life.

I’ve been wanting to write about my life raft for more than a year now but I haven’t made the time for it. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic happening, it feels like the right time to be doing this.

Today, I’m sharing the books and one magazine excerpt that are part of my life raft.

HARRIET THE SPY by Louise Fitzhugh

I remember my teacher reading Harriet the Spy to us when I was in fourth or fifth grade. Harriet is a girl who has a neighborhood spy route where she observes her friends, neighbors, and classmates, and writes about them in her notebook. But then one day her notebook falls into the wrong hands and suddenly, all her friends and classmates have read the truthful things she’s written about them, some of which are awful, and they shun her. Feeling completely alone, Harriet has to figure out what to do. I enjoyed hearing this book read aloud when I was a kid and even thought about becoming a “spy” myself after hearing it, but I already kept a diary and was too preoccupied with drawing, making up stories with my stuffed animals, and hanging out with my friends to begin a spy route. But I always remembered that book, and when I became an adult, I read it and was floored by it. All the things that I didn’t (couldn’t, really) understand as a child, became crystal clear for me as an adult. The way that Louise Fitzhugh weaves together the intricacies of human nature, love, friendship, class, truth, and lies is masterful. Also, I love the original illustrations done by the author. After reading it several times, the armature of the book took me by surprise. If you read the book, email me and let me know what you think it is and I’ll reveal what I think it is as well. Harriet the Spy was written for children but the message in it is just as relevant for adults of any age. It’s a book I turn to when I feel alone and like no one understands me.

FIGGS & PHANTOMS by Ellen Raskin

Another middle-grade novel? Yep. Another one. I didn’t read Figgs & Phantoms by Ellen Raskin when I was a kid. I didn’t even know about The Westing Game, the Newberry Award winner and way more popular novel by the same author. Nope, somehow both these books escaped my sphere even though I was a voracious reader in grade school. It wasn’t until my late 30s that I found Figgs & Phantoms, a story about Mona, an ordinary girl that can’t stand all the attention that her extremely eccentric family brings to her. But when her beloved Uncle Florence hints that he will soon be headed to Capri, the Figg family heaven, Mona must traverse a path that she’s never been on before, one that shows her the truth about life…and death. This novel is as wacky as the characters in it and it definitely isn’t for everyone. I’ve read it many times and I discover something new every time I read it. I don’t know how to categorize it because even though it’s written for children, it’s something I think adults would enjoy even more. I read this book when I need to feel uplifted and also grateful for the unique strangeness of life…and people.

CARTWHEELING IN THUNDERSTORMS by Katherine Rundell

What? Yet another middle-grade novel? Geez, Peg, do you like children’s literature or what?! Yep, I do. I’m not ashamed of it, in fact I’m proud of it. This is my life raft and I’m not trying to impress anyone with my selections; I’m just telling the truth. Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms (published as The Girl Savage in the UK) is a novel that I picked up just a few years ago from my local bookstore, Secret Garden Books, because I liked the cover and because the back cover copy intrigued me: Living half-wild on an African farm with her horse, her monkey, and her best friend, Will feels that every day is beautiful. But when her home is sold and Will is sent away to boarding school in England, the world becomes impossibly difficult. When my days start to feel “impossibly difficult,” I read this book. Not only does it whisk me away to a beautiful, magical place, it also reminds me that hard things often happen when I least expect it, but I have the strength to survive.

OUTRAGEOUS OPENNESS: Letting the Divine Take the Lead by Tosha Silver

I’m not going to write much about Outrageous Openness here because I wrote a whole blog post about it which you can read here. This is one of my favorite nonfiction books of all time. Whenever I need a reminder that the universe is at work, that I’m going to be okay, I open to a random chapter of Outrageous Openness and read the story before me. Helps me every time.

Yann Martel’s interview in WRITER’S DIGEST, July/August 2010

I saved this magazine from ten years ago and every now and then, I read this one passage from an interview with Yann Martel, author of the bestselling novel, Life of Pi, and it comforts me. Now it looks like Pi was this big monumental work, but when I was writing it, I was a poor writer living in Montreal. Two years before I finished Life of Pi, my income was $6,000 for that year, so I was way beneath the poverty line. Now, I had roommates; I didn’t smoke; I don’t drink; I didn’t have a car; I didn’t need much money; I had my parents who lived just down the road, and so I did my laundry with them and I’d eat their food sometimes. I got by absolutely fine. I was totally happy.

I hope that reading about the books and the one magazine excerpt that have helped me over the years will inspire you to think about what favorite books, essays, or articles might be a part of your life raft. When things get rough, remember, there are stories available to help you weather those waves and keep going. Read on, my friends, read on.

Peg Cheng is the author of Rebel Millionaire, a guide for how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income, co-owner of Plaid Frog Press, and a career coach combining intellect with intuition. Born in Southern California to Taiwanese parents, Peg lives in Seattle.

I read 33 books in 2019.

I read less books this year, but enjoyed way more of what I read. I’m getting better at choosing books for myself and I’ve also been getting great recommendations from people who have similar interests.

I’ve listed the books in the order in which I read them. As I did in 2018, I picked the Top 10 Books that I especially enjoyed. These books are in bold and I highly recommend them. But, I have to tell you, it was hard to narrow it down to ten because I enjoyed so many of these books!

1. Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson & Megan Lloyd *
2. Make Trouble by John Waters *
3. Diana, Herself by Martha Beck
4. Dodging Energy Vampires by Christiane Northrop
5. How to Write for Animation by Jeffery Scott
6. It’s Not Your Money by Tosha Silver
7. Dead is Better by Jo Perry
8. 3 Word Rebellion by Michelle A. Mazur
9. Dead is Best by Jo Perry
10. Outrageous Openness by Tosha Silver *
11. The Warrior Ethos by Steven Pressfield
12. How to be Everything by Emilie Wapnick
13. Keep Going by Austin Kleon
14. Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
15. The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
16. Old Souls by Brian McDonald and Les McClaine
17. I.M. by Issac Mizrahi
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling *
19. Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara
20. Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart
21. Signs by Laura Lynne Jackson
22. The INFJ Revolution by Lauren Sapala
23. Brunhilda’s Backwards Day by Shawna J.C. Tenney
24. Wee Sister Strange by Holly Grant & K.G. Campbell
25. SKULLS! by Blair Thornburgh & Scott Campbell
26. Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey & Júlia Sardà
27. Arthur’s Halloween by Marc Brown
28. Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween by Mélanie Watt
29. Mouse and Mole: A Perfect Halloween by Wong Herbert Yee
30. How to Make Friends with a Ghost by Rebecca Green
31. Thirst by Heather “Anish” Anderson
32. The Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith
33. Tru & Nelle: A Christmas Tale by G. Neri
34. Ever Faithful to his Lead by Kathleen Pooler

* = I’ve read this book before

Looking back, if I could only read three books from this list, I’d choose Dodging Energy Vampires by Christiane Northrop, How to be Everything by Emilie Wapnick, and The INFJ Revolution by Lauren Sapala. These books had a profoundly positive effect on me. They’re helping me to live a healthier, more energized life by teaching me how to let go of the people, thoughts, and things that have been draining me and dragging me under. I am so grateful to Christiane, Emilie, and Lauren. I highly recommend all of them and I know I’ll be reading these books again.

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out my favorite fiction books for the year. They were the excellent mystery Dead is Best by Jo Perry, the gripping graphic novel Old Souls by Brian McDonald and Les McClaine, and the terrific mystery Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara. I highly recommend them all.

Hope this list gives you good ideas for books to read in 2020. And if you’ve read any of these already, please let me know what you thought of them in the comments box.

Happy New Year and happy reading!

Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a novel that asks, can enemies become friends? She is currently writing a book about how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income. Peg is also the creator of Fear & Writing, a workshop for procrastinating writers from all walks of life.