My Favorite Books of 2021
I’m writing this a week or so before Christmas, and I realized that I haven’t finished a book in a month. That’s a shame. And also normal.
As you read this list or any others, as you look at your stack of library holds or Kindle hoards, here’s your permission to let your reading life exist without judgment. We all ebb and flow, and you’ll get your groove back.
Maybe a few of the titles I share will do the trick.
If you want to jump to the titles, be my guest. Scroll just a bit, and have fun.
If you want a little more context of my reading life this year, here it is.
MY READING LIFE
I read a lot, but a lot is relative.
As of today, here’s my book count for 2021:
I’m in the middle of three, I’ve quit three, and I’ve finished sixty-three.
Sixty-three is a ton for some people and not bad for others. I’m pretty sure I wanted to read more than that this year, but I’m also fine that I didn’t.
I also found it super interesting how many books I read each month. (Maybe “super” is generous, but I still dig it.)
January - 11 (I mean, good golly.)
February - 4
March - 3
April - 5
(spring was DRY, y’all)
May - 8
June 6
July - 4
August - 5
September - 5
October - 9 (this number jumped because I had Covid early in the month and then later was on a lot of airplanes)
November - 3
December - 0 (literally zero)
I own around 250 books, so there is no shortage on my next pick. I’m a proud book collector, but sometimes the size of my unread stack (metaphorically) is a struggle.
That said, I’m hopeful I’ll hit a stride soon.
Of the sixty-three books I finished this year, eighteen were nonfiction, and forty-seven were fiction.
I’m gonna shoot you straight. I don’t like “ranking” my favorite nonfiction picks of the year because I’m friends with a lot of nonfiction authors. This is the truth. It feels weird to love a friend’s book but not put it in my top ten, so I’m going to abstain from sharing nonfiction. If you don’t get my newsletter, I share reviews of everything I’m reading (including what I don’t like) every month.
Here are my top ten favorite fiction reads of 2021 in dramatic countdown order:
#10. The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup
This is the perfect thriller. Perfect.
A series of gruesome murders are connected to the killing of a politician's daughter when the girl's fingerprints are found on chestnut dolls at current crime scenes over a year later.
This story is so easy to imagine, great setting, is cinematic, and the plot twists totally pay off. I cared enough about the two detectives to want good for them, but I don't even remember their names. Which feels important to say because the story, not the characters, is king here. The definition of a pageturner. It's enormous (I didn't know that because I read it on my Paperwhite), and I started it one morning and finished it the next night. It's an "ignore your family" kind of book.
Content headsup: strong violence and a scene of graphic sex.
#9. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Stunned by this book. Stars stress me out, but this is easily a five-star read. Gifty is a scientist trying to find answers. Her big brother Nana dies of a heroin overdose, and her way of processing the grief and reckoning with her faith is in the study of neurons, rewardseeking behavior, and how people actually make their choices. It was so alive from end to end. A masterpiece.
#8. Deacon King Kong by James McBride
Deacon King Kong is so beautifully weird that I couldn't get enough. The story opens with an old church deacon nicknamed Sportcoat walking up to the neighborhood drug dealer and shooting him point-blank. The neighborhood (which is its own character) gets tossed about as people try and figure out why Sportcoat would do this and figure out how and who to protect. It's such a funny book with characters that just jump off the page. The writing is unique, almost stream-of-consciousness but not in an annoying James Joyce way. It's unlike any book I've ever read and worthy of all the awards it got. Such a wild story.
#7. Who Is Maud Dixon by Alexandra Andrews
HOLY MOLY.
I read this in a day and a half, and it only took that long because I have children and a job.
A sharp, psychotic thriller that felt like if All About Eve was modern and way darker. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll stop. But if you like thrillers, I think you'll love this.
#6. The Lost Man by Jane Harper
The Lost Man is basically the perfect novel. Set in the remote Australian outback, a family finds itself in upheaval when one of the three brothers is found dead in the desert. His death defies logic, so the mystery element is strong. The family has a lot of relatable darkness in its past, so the character development soars. The setting is so perfectly captured which is one of Jane Harper's strong suits: making the setting a character itself. The writing is descriptive enough for prose lovers but succinct enough for people like me who just want the story to roll. And the story itself is compelling and interesting. A real page-turner with a gratifying conclusion. No huge content warnings either. Seriously, it's the perfect novel.
#5. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Loved. LOVED.
The strength of this novel is the writing, the pace, and the characters, and I absolutely loved the characters.
Four lateteen/earlyadult siblings have led quite a life. Their mother is dead, and their father is a Frank Sinatra type, worldrenowned and completely disengaged from their lives. The oldest, Nina, is a famous model and is throwing her annual summer party in 1980s Malibu. There are so many intersecting storylines, alternating timelines and perspectives (but well labeled so you're not lost), a ton of drama both celebrity and ordinary, and a beautiful look at what it means to be a family.
On a personal note and as an oldest daughter who had a dad that left, the ending to this book was so meaningful to me.
#4. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
My sister, Hannah, told me to read this book years ago, and I just now got to it. And it was one of my favorite books ever. I wept at the end. WEPT.
It's as if The Ocean at the End of the Lane, The Hazel Wood, and The Chronicles of Narnia had a baby. A boy who believes in magic finds himself in a dangerous, magical world, as his grief for his dead mother manifests itself into an adventure through treacherous lands. It's beautiful.
#3. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Project Hail Mary IS MAGNIFICENT.
This guy wakes up on a spaceship with some dead people, and he has no memory. It's WILD. It's also funny and charming and fascinating and full of math and science that didn't make me fall asleep or make my brain explode. It was just... it's masterful. And a delightful surprise.
The movie rights have already been bought, and the movie is in pre-production with the lead already cast PERFECTLY as Ryan Gosling. I read the book knowing he was cast, and he's going to nail it. He's seriously perfect. I also made Emily Blunt the woman in charge of the whole spaceship operation situation, and she paid off, too.
#2. The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas
This is my favorite book series of all time. More than Harry Potter. More than Red Rising. More than all of them.
If you haven't read it, here's why you might want to:
If you like immersive stories, especially ones that build new worlds and have magic and witches and dragons in a super cool way, you'll love this.
If you need something to dive into and lose yourself in, this series has seven Very Long Books. And there's not a single wasted word. The writing is ridiculously good and worth every bit of time you'll dedicate to it. And I'm talking for the first chapter. There's no "you gotta get into it." Nope, you're in it right away.
If you love caring about characters, you'll be shocked at the expanse of characters in this series that you will come to know and love and root for and understand. I've never cared so deeply about so many characters before, let alone in one series
I don't even want to give you an idea of the plot because it's seven books of plot, twists, surprises, and characters you will absolutely fall in love with. But in case you're new around here, it checks all of my book boxes: a teenage girl taking down the patriarchy with magic and kingdoms and unrequited love all over the dingdang place. No circuses, but you can't have everything.
I am not lying when I say I sobbed for the last quarter of the final book. Went through a dozen tissues. Couldn't believe how much I cared. Couldn't believe that Sarah J. Maas was just a teenager when she started writing this series and continue to marvel at her ability to weave a story so powerfully.
It's just magnificent.
It also gets real steamy about book five, so if you're a parent of a kid reading this, it's violent from the start and wildly sexy toward the end. It's also weirdly funny which is a perk.
Thank you, Chelsea Brennan of Smart Money Mamas, for sending me the first book, knowing how much I'd love it. It's my favorite series of all time.
#1. Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
There are some books that can only be described accurately and deservedly by the authors that wrote them. As it were, only Wendell Berry can describe the beauty of Hannah Coulter.
I honestly don't know how to describe this book. I made the mistake of saying Jayber Crow was just a beautiful story about a barber. Is it fair to say that Hannah Coulter is just a beautiful story about a woman's life? I mean, kind of. But also obviously not. Don't hire me to write your novel's back cover copy, guys.
There is just something so disarming about the way Wendell Berry writes and the characters he brings to life. I'm a plot person, and this book doesn't really have one other than the plot points of Hannah's life. But it's the most tender, living thing to read. I frankly don't even understand how a simple book about a simple woman could be so lifealtering for me, but here we are. It's a masterpiece.
I’m looking forward to another great reading year in 2022. I’ve got some plans on how to adjust things, but no big systems yet. Just one little thought at a time. I’ll share more in future newsletters. Until then, cheers to you and your reading!
P.S. There are affiliate links in this post, but you know that because you’re a smart internet person.
