My Favorite Reads of 2021

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Well, hello there! As we turn the corner of another new year in the midst of this pandemic, I find myself wanting to return to this space that felt like a chore in summer 2020. I still the community and conversations on bookstagram, but I also find myself longing to keep an easy to access record of my reading in one place. I have some ideas about how I can use both spaces in ways that bring me joy and don't feel like a burden, but part of that is not making public commitments about how I use this space or when. 

As I was working on my favorite reads of 2021, I realized this space has them every year from 2009 through 2018. So what better time than to revisit this space with a wrap-up of a year's worth of reading? In 2021, I read 138 books. I try not to get too caught up in numbers. I read some short books and some long books, and I care more about enjoying reading than chasing an arbitrary goal. 

Favorite Manifesto I Didn't Know How Badly I Needed: 
The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor

Favorite Nonfiction:
The Barbizon by Paulina Bren

Favorite Memoirs:
Love and Trouble by Claire Dederer, The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy, So Sad Today by Melissa Broder, & You Got Anything Stronger? by Gabrielle Union

Favorite Nonfiction Comics:
Seek You by Kristen Radtke and Wake by Rebecca Hall


Favorite Poetry Collections: 
What to Miss When by Leigh Stein and What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer
 

Favorite Short Story Collection:
So We Can Glow by Leesa Cross-Smith


Favorite Mystery:
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave


Favorite Graphic Novels:
The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg and Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Favorite Romance Novels:
Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory (reread), Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, & Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Favorite Novel That Doesn't Come Out Until 2022:
Book Lovers by Emily Henry


Favorite Novels of 2021: Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, Sea Wife by Amity Gaige, Self Care by Leigh Stein, U Up? by Catie Disabato, and No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

My Overall Favorite Book of 2021 That I Can't Wait to Reread:
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

 Want to read for yourself? Buy any of these titles from my list on Booksthop.org, an independent bookstore or Amazon (if you must.)  Several titles are also available from Book of the Month. Join now and get your first book for $10!

As an affiliate, I receive a small commission when you make a purchase through any of the above links. Thank you for helping to support my book habits that bring more content to this blog!

Comments

  1. Melissa F.January 1, 2022 at 7:34 PM

    So glad to see you back in my feed reader! Many of your favorites are on my TBR (and What Kind of Woman is next on my Kindle). Happy New Year and may 2022 be another great year of reading!

    ReplyDelete

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