2021 Book List

This was a pretty epic reading year. I finished 117 127 books and "DNF-ed" 30. The downside to this year's reading efforts is that I read a lot of mediocre, forgettable books. 

I'm sure I'll finish a few more books before the year is through, but I wanted to go ahead and post my reading list for 2021. I've included my star ratings on most of the titles, but as always, there are books I didn't rate. This is usually because I have a hard time rating memoirs and people's personal stories, and sometimes I have a biased reason to rate a book a certain way, so I just don't rate it at all. Missing ratings aside, you should never rely on my judgement alone to choose a book to read. Something as simple as a bad hair day or a touch of PMS can completely change the way I feel about a book, so don't trust me. I also tried to indicate which books I listened to (audio) since that can affect a reading experience drastically (say you have a narrator that sounds just like your neighbor, Chuck, or a reader who sounds like he's doing a bad Bill Clinton impersonation). I included links to blog posts I've written featuring the books as well.

Without further ado, here are the books I read this year in my greatest attempt at alphabetical order (my brain hurt after alphabetizing over 100 book titles, so there are probably some errors):

After You by Jojo Moyes (audio) ***

All the Forgivenesses by Elizabeth Hardinger (audio) ***

All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat *****

Almond by Won-Pyung Sohn **

The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson ****

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins***

Among the Lesser Gods by Margo Catts ****

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman *****

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty (audio) ***

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz**

The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O'Neal **

Before I Called You Mine by Nicole Deese

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman ****

The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (audio) ****

The Breakdown by B.A. Paris ****

As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner (audio) ****

The Boys in the Boat (junior adaptation) by Daniel James Brown

Broken Harbor by Tana French (audio) **

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor **

The Cay by Theodore Taylor (audio) ****

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (audio)

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor (audio) ***

The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup ****

Confessions of a Domestic Failure by Bunmi Laditan (audio) ***

Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World by Harold S. Kushner *****

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (audio) ***

Defending Jacob by William Landay (audio) ****

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (audio) ****

The Divines by Ellie Eaton *

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley **

The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon ***

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (audio) ****

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards *

The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar (audio) ****

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (audio) ****

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah ****

Girl Gone Mad by Avery Bishop *

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey **

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica**

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth ****

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey ****

Ground Zero by Alan Gratz (audio) ****

Her Last Breath by Hilary Davidson ***

His & Hers by Alice Feeney (audio) **

The Holdout by Graham Moore ***

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (audio) ***

House Rules by Jodi Picoult ***

The Husbands by Chandler Baker**

The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty ***

I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell ***

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh ****

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd 

I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon ****

Just Like That by Gary D. Schmidt ***

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (audio) ***

The Law of Moses by Amy Harmon***

The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson ***

Memories in the Drift by Melissa Payne ***

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (audio) ****

The Mixtape by Brittainy C. Cherry **

Mr. Penguin and the Lost Treasure by Alex T. Smith*** 

My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward by Mark Lukach

New Kid by Jerry Craft ****

Night Music by Jojo Moyes **

The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald ***

Not One of Us by Debbie Herbert **

Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang ***

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt ****

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse ****

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton ****

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz ****

The Power of Ritual by Casper ter Kuile 

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown (audio) ****

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz ****

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir ***

Puberty is Gross, But Also Really Awesome by Gina Loveless

Real VS Rumor by Keith A. Erekson (audio) ****

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa

Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney (audio) ****

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Shadow Fall by Audrey Grey ***

The Silence by Susan Allott ***

Singapore Sapphire by A.M. Stuart ***

The Smallest Part by Amy Harmon ***

The Snow Gypsy by Lindsay Jayne Ashford ****

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman ***

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney (audio) ***

A Splendid Ruin Megan Chance **

Still Me by Jojo Moyes (audio) ***

The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury by Marc Levy **

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid ***

Survive the Night by Riley Sager**

The Sweetness of Water (audio) by Nathan Harris ***

The Therapist by B.A. Paris (audio) ***

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera (audio) ***

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer (audio) **** (additional post here)

Three Single Wives by Gina LaManna **

Timothy of the Cay by Theodore Taylor (audio) ***

Took: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn **

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher *

Undivided by Neal Shusterman ***

Unsouled by Neal Shusterman ****

Unwholly by Neal Shusterman ****

Unwind by Neal Shusterman ***

Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Chelho *

Wait Til Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn****

Weasel by Cynthia C. DeFelice ****

What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon ****

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi****

Wholly Unraveled: A Memoir by Keele Burgin **

The Wife and the Widow by Christian White ***

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks 

A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers *

The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns ****

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg (audio) ****

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Books I read after this post was published:

The Dry by Jane Harper***

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell****

The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell***

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn***

The Nowhere Child by Christian White****

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin****

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore****

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier****

Watching You by Lisa Jewell***

Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen****

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I often get asked how I'm able to read so much. Here's a post I wrote this year about how I fit reading into my life, but just know that you should read to your own wants and needs. I do it because it's my hobby of choice - no one should feel like they need to read 117 books a year (I truly believe you should read something though...)

I also often get asked if I have a favorite book. My favorite books for several years running have been The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Giver by Lois Lowry. My favorite book from this year was probably Anxious People by Frederik Backman.

If you have a favorite book you've read this year, I'd love to know!