This Tuesday, we’re looking at authors who we discovered in 2021 and will be reading more of!
Robert Ruark. A contributor to Field and Stream for decades, Ruark was an accomplished hunter, fisherman, and outdoorsman. His Old Man and the Boy recollects his childhood growing up mentored by his grandfather, who taught him not only how to live off the land, but how to do it responsibly — as a good steward, and not a reckless consumer who destroyed what he loved.
F. Van Wynck Mason. An author of historical fiction, I read a Revolutionary War-era piece of his starring a Quaker woman whose dead Brit boyfriend put her in the family way. I have several more works by him and plan on continuing.
Sue Ward. Her social history of Victorian London lured me into buying several other books by her on London’s history.
Lysander Spooner. His No Treason argues the case for anarchism, but Spooner wasn’t just another theorist: he actively rebelled against the government by creating a letter-delivery service to resist the state’s postal arm (they read your mail for free and deliver it for a fee) .
Ben Kane. Another author of historical fiction, particularly classical-era novels. I was very impressed with his Eagles at War.
Jason Riley. The author of a book on policy blowback (Please Stop Helping Us), he’s also written a biography of Thomas Sowell, economist, social critic, and standard-bearer of black conservatism.
Ayn Rand. I began reading Rand’s fiction years ago, but 2021 marked my entry into her nonfiction. I’m two volumes away from finishing her published nonfiction, the outstanding titles being The Romantic Manifesto and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.
W. Somerset Maugham. Maugham’s Razor’s Edge was one of my favorite novels of 2021, and I’m eager to see what else he’s writen.
Reading Freely 
I like the idea of ‘resisting’ the Post Office. That’s *funny* [lol]
They deserve it, especially these days. They’re a surveillance branch with good PR — they even pry into people’s social media posts!
Wait what?!
Weird, but true:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/apr/23/usps-covert-program-postal-service-social-media
Wow… My paranoia levels are rising this week.
Have you seen the IRS’s plans to implement facial recognition? https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/20/22893057/irs-facial-recognition-taxes-online-idme-identity
Good times, huh.
I hadn’t. Surely there’s gotta be a way to push back against that, especially since many Americans (like myself) live in areas where upload speed is…rudimentary, shall we say. I had to use the library’s satellite connection when ID.me called for video selfie earlier this year. Supposedly you can use the same ID.me account for IRS and Social Security. I haven’t seen it done yet (despite the amount of people I have to help use the IRS/SS websites), though.
Video selfie?! 😮 Yikes.
My only consolation at this point is that due to a past job, the govt already knows all about me. But STILL. This is crazy.
I’ve got a couple of W. Somerset Maugham novels on my list to read this year. One of them is Razor’s Edge. Good to know that it was a favorite read for you.
Other than THE FOUNTAINHEAD, I haven’t read any books by these authors. I actually haven’t even heard of most of them. I’m glad you found some new authors to love in 2021!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I’m not familiar with any of these hehe. Happy reading! My TTT https://readwithstefani.com/2021-reading-year-in-review/