We asked our staff across the city for their favorite nonfiction books published in 2021 — and what a great list we created together! Here’s a tease of some excellent nonfiction for adults, with a link at the end to the full list of 29 recommendations from your library staff.
A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib
At the March on Washington in 1963, Josephine Baker was 57 years old, and past her most prolific days. But in her speech she was in a mood to consider her life, her legacy, her departure from the country she was now triumphantly returning to. “I was a devil in other countries, and I was a little devil in America, too,” she told the crowd. Inspired by these few words, essayist and poet Abdurraqib has written a profound and lasting reflection on how Black performance is inextricably woven into the fabric of American culture.
We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration by Frank Abe, Tamiko Nimura, Ross Ishikawa
In this groundbreaking graphic novel, readers meet three Japanese Americans who changed American policy: Jim Akutsu, the inspiration for John Okada’s No-No Boy, who refuses to be drafted from the camp at Minidoka when classified as a non-citizen, an enemy alien; Hiroshi Kashiwagi, who resists government pressure to sign a loyalty oath at Tule Lake, but yields to family pressure to renounce his U.S. citizenship; and Mitsuye Endo, a reluctant recruit to a lawsuit contesting her imprisonment, who refuses a chance to leave the camp at Topaz so that her case could reach the U.S. Supreme Court. You can see Abe, Nimura, and Ishikawa in conversation at this recording of an SPL online event celebrating the release of We Hereby Refuse.
Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Elvira
Back in the 1900s — early 1980s to be exact — Elvira was born after Cassandra Peterson answered a casting call for a “sexy Morticia Addams type” to add some personality to a weekly lineup of horror flicks. Peterson, who signed off each evening by wishing viewers “unpleasant dreams,” created a character with a mix of camp and innuendo that became part of ’80s culture. Our staff member recommends this for people who want breezy non fiction. And if you already know Elvira, you might enjoy her narration of the audio version of the book.
We Do This ’til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba
This book of essays and interviews asks: what if social transformation and liberation isn’t about waiting for someone else to come along and save us? What if ordinary people have the power to collectively free ourselves? Kaba reflects on the deep work of abolition and transformative political struggle.
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
What do Jonestown, SoulCycle, Scientology, and (some) influencers have in common? Montell offers a fascinating look at how cultish group leaders use language as a form of power, and also addresses the fake notion of “brainwashing.” From the publisher: “Incisive and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of ‘cultish’ everywhere.”
Appropriate by Paisley Rekdal
A timely, nuanced work that dissects the thorny debate around cultural appropriation and the literary imagination. How do we properly define cultural appropriation, and is it always wrong? If we can write in the voice of another, should we? And if so, what questions do we need to consider first? Rekdal, a creative writing professor, won the 2021 Washington State Book Award for her poetry collection Nightingale. Her presentation after receiving the book award is delightful (and it includes a craft cocktail demonstration), and you can see it here on SPL’s YouTube channel.
Our Work Is Everywhere: An Illustrated Oral History of Queer & Trans Resistance by Syan Rose
Over the past 10 years, we have witnessed the rise of queer and trans communities that have defied and challenged those who have historically opposed them. Through bold, symbolic imagery and surrealist, overlapping landscapes, queer illustrator and curator Syan Rose shines a light on the faces and voices of these diverse, amorphous, messy, real and imagined queer and trans communities.
Secret Seattle by Susanna Ryan, a.k.a. Seattle Walk Report
What an extra delight to know that the fabulous writer/illustrator behind the Instagram account Seattle Walk Report works here at Seattle Public Library! Ryan’s library background and love of research comes into play in this fascinating insider look at the neighborhoods and buildings of Seattle. And, as the subtitle says, it’s an illustrated guide to the city’s offbeat and overlooked history. It’s a treasure! AND it’s a Peak Pick right now.
White Magic by Elissa Washuta
In this collection of intertwined essays, Washuta writes about land, heartbreak, and colonization, about life without the escape hatch of intoxication, and about how she became a powerful witch. She interlaces stories from her forebears with cultural artifacts from her own life—Twin Peaks, the Oregon Trail II video game, a Claymation Satan, a YouTube video of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham—to explore questions of cultural inheritance and the particular danger, as a Native woman, of relaxing into romantic love under colonial rule. (An excellent summary from the publisher of this book, a current Peak Pick!) Washuta was a finalist for the 2020 Washington State Book Award, along with Theresa Warburton, for Shapes of Native Nonfiction: Collected Essays by Contemporary Writes.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
This memoir, by the musician you may know as Japanese Breakfast, is a true staff fave, making its way onto four of SPL’s recommended lists during 2021. Zauner writes about growing up Korean-American, losing her mother, forging her own identity — and food. It’s a current Peak Pick (if you’re lucky enough to see it!) and a wonderful audiobook with Zauner reading it. Library Journal wrapped up a glowing review by saying “This memoir of loss and identity is both personal and universal.” And isn’t that exactly what we want from a memoir — the personal and the universal, with delectable food memories tying it all together.
(Descriptions for the titles above include notes from publishers)
Find 19 more of our favorites at Seattle Staff Faves 2021: Nonfiction.
~ posted by Linda J.
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