My Favorite Books of 2021

 I know, I know...most people put out their favorite book lists of the year in December. I just can't do that. For one thing, I need to finish December reading. I'm always worried a last-minute favorite will sneak in on December 31st. I like to take my time with my list too. I make the list, think about it, let it sit for a few days, and see if I still feel like it's the best representation of my favorites. 

living my best reading life in 2021

But it's finally done! Drum roll please...

ta-da!

When thinking about favorites, the criteria I used was pretty simple. Did the book make me laugh, stick with me for months after I read it, cause me to slow down and think, or fill me up with feelings? If so, I added it. My list is mostly back-list fiction...which is telling. But there are a few new releases that just completely stunned me. 

Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are my favorite books of 2021:

1. The Razor's Edge--My husband has asked me for years to read this classic. I put it off until January of last year. It is rife with philosophy and the storytelling style is inventive. Larry is such an interesting protagonist and I found myself thinking of him often throughout the year.

2. Deacon King Kong--Wow. Brilliant. Funny. Sharp. I've recommended this book more times than I can count. A friend who is currently reading it said it gave her Dickensian vibes and I totally get that. There are a lot of characters, a lot of things going on. The way McBride ties his storylines together and crafts characters who you just know will make stand up and applaud when you close the book. 

3. Beloved--I had never read this classic and after hearing it discussed on the Novel Pairings podcast I decided it was time to read it. Toni Morrison doesn't just write sentences. She paints with words. I highlighted so many passages in this slim novel. It's not an easy book, but it's truly beautiful. 

4. Circe--When this book was chosen for my in-person book club I did not have high hopes. A feminist Greek myth retelling? Nah, I'm good. But I have thought about this book so much since reading it. Miller's writing was so transportive it had me wondering if this was nonfiction. She brought the world of Circe alive and I totally got lost in this book. Now I need to read her backlist. 

5. Pride and Prejudice/Olive Kitteridge/Their Eyes Were Watching God--So maybe this is cheating but I reread these three stellar novels last year and all of them were so good I wanted to include them in this list. Pride and Prejudice moves me every time. Olive Kitteridge was so much better on this second reading (I'm thinking because I'm older now and can relate to some of the themes better). Their Eyes Were Watching God left me speechless and is a masterclass in writing dialect. 

6. The Underground Railroad--I got wind that they were making a miniseries of this book on Amazon so I read it last spring. I still haven't watched the show, but the book was unwaveringly honest about the past and painfully relevant to the present. This should be required reading for all Americans.

7. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies--Short story collections are not at the top of my TBR pile, but almost every time I read one, I fall in love. The first story in this collection was a little shocking for this PG-13 reader, but the way the author wrote about the experience of a handful of Black women was truly stunning. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always beautifully written, every story stirred me. 

8. Lamb--One of my book club friends recommended this to me. It's narrated by Biff, Jesus' childhood friend. This was laugh-out-loud funny but also deep. As a Christian, I loved Lamb's portrayal of Jesus. It really made me think about what it would have been like to be his buddy when he walked the earth. 

9. The Night Watchman--This was my first Erdrich, but not my last. I love learning while reading fiction and this book taught me. I had no idea about the way the government tried to terminate tribes of Native Americans in 1953, I didn't know about the horrific boarding schools Native American children were sent to, and I didn't know about the factory work that was offered to Native Americans along with unfair wages and horrible working conditions. Now I know about these things and I'm grateful to Erdrich for writing this book that wasn't just about these atrocities, but also about hope, the human spirit, the beauty of Native American culture, and the family bonds that get us through the hardest parts of life. 

10. Middlemarch--100 pages every month. Slowly but surely I chipped away at this classic I had never read before. It was so good. Comforting and yet still real. It felt like I was getting all the hot goss from a small town in England and I was here for it. There were characters to love and characters to hate and the way Eliot built the world of Middlemarch left me wanting more. 

11. Empire of Pain--This is tough to put on a favorites list because the subject matter is so dark and infuriating. But, this book kept me riveted the whole time (and it was long). The opiod crisis was not something I knew much about before cracking the spine on this book but now I feel like I have a deep understanding of the insidious roots of the poison the Sackler family unleashed on the world. I will be reading this author again soon.

12. Swimming Back to Trout River--Books about the immigrant experience have my whole heart and this one, which I nearly missed, was such a beautiful marriage of the immigrant theme and music. I flew through this and felt all the things: joy, sadness, loss, grief, and hope.

13. Hell of a Book--Daaaaaaaaaaang. I bought Hell of a Book when Jenna picked it for her book club. It wasn't a good time for me to read it, I was busy, there were so many other books I wanted to read. I waited until I was recovering from a root canal and it completely distracted me from my pain. I love a book with a writer protragonist and this writer was all over the place in the best ways. The narrative is told in a very inventive way and I don't think I read a book this year that made me laugh as hard as this one. But reader be warned: I also cried. A lot. It deals with race and the way our country processes traumitic experiences. Mott isn't mean though, he's sad, and he wants better. I can relate. 

14. Finlay Donovan is Killing it--This is not a classic work of Literature but I enjoyed reading about Finlay so much I had to include it. The woman cracked me up. The plot moved quickly and in directions I couldn't predict. Absolutely cannot wait for the sequel.

15. Fahrenheit 451--My daughter read this one for school and kept bugging me to read it. "Mom, you'll really like it." "Mom, you'll be surprised by how good it is." "Mom, please read it now!" How could I resist? She was right--prescient and searing this book shocked me with how relevant it is. I got lost in the story and couldn't look away. An absolutely brilliant classic that everyone should read. 

Middle-Grade Honorable Mentions:

More cheating, I know...but I read a bunch of middle-grade books this year and here are my two stand-outs. Only two, I swear!

Walk Two Moons--A rollicking ride of a story. Sharon Creech is a master for a reason. In this book a young girl is going on a road trip with her grandparents. Much of her story is a mystery that slowly comes out as the miles fly by. The writing went down so easy and I was completely in love with the characters. 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory--Another reread. Maybe my fourth time going through this classic kid-lit novel. Every single time I read it I am so grateful for the magic Roald Dahl created with this one and Matilda. It is a book that has made all four of my kids fall in love with novels and for that I'm forever grateful. 

Ok...so that was a pretty long list of books I loved last year. What did you love? Tell me please! I'd love to get some new ideas for my 2022 TBR.