So far this year, I’ve read 27 books. At this point, I’ll be lucky if I read three more, and probably they will be from two murder mystery series I’ve been reading throughout the year. So I’ve decided to go ahead and share my favorite books of 2021.
Without further ado, here they are:
- Broken: In the Best Possible Way by Jenny Lawson
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
I both read and listened to Lawson’s book. I found it to be the perfect salve to the continuing craziness of this year. I had heard Weir’s book was very good, but I was still very surprised.
I also have two honorable mentions. They are:
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
- Invisible Differences: A Story of Asperger’s, Adulting, and Living a Life in Full Color by Julie Dalchez and Mademoiselle Caroline.
I enjoyed Haig’s book very much, but I thought it was a little long. I don’t read many graphic novels, but I made an exception for Invisible Differences, and I’m glad I did.
As for the rest of what I read this year, other than one biography and a few books of poetry, I read mostly two murder mystery series with the characters of Inspector Montalbano and Rabbi Small. I also read two books in the Murderbot Diaries, a science fiction series, a series that I have yet to finish.
I know many of you bloggers who are reading this probably will do your list of favorites during the last week of the year. So I’ll ask instead what were your most-read genres this year? For those of you who don’t care about revealing the closely-guarded secret of your favorite books of the year, what were your favorites?
Next Sunday, December 12, I’ll share my favorite TV shows and movies I’ve watched this year, and then the following Sunday, December 19, I’ll share my favorite albums of 2021. Finally, on Sunday, December 26, I’ll share my favorite moments of 2021 in photos.
Still an unfinished person... 
Project Hail Mary will probably be my favorite scifi of the year. But I only publish my favorites early January. At this point, I may be able to read 10 more books, so you never know!
At this point, mystery is the genre I read most this year (38%)
LikeLike
Well, I’ll look forward to seeing your list in January.
LikeLike
I just got off a long hold list for Hail Mary and look forward to reading it. I checked and see that the Jenny Lawson book is already on my TBR.
I haven’t worked on my end of year stuff yet so I can’t answer your questions at this time. lol
LikeLike
This was a good reading year for me, but not an outstanding year. I haven’t chosen a favorite and often cheat by choosing a favorite in numerous categories such as YA, nonfiction, adult, thriller, etc. I haven’t decided on any favorites yet though.
LikeLike
I’ve read mostly fiction this year and am going to have a hard time narrowing down my favorites… so many great books! Still hoping to read a few more, so I will wait until the last week of the month to finalize the list. Haven’t read any of yours, but The Midnight Library is on my wish list.
LikeLike
I haven’t bothered to keep track of favorites, this year, but the Andy Weir book was definitely one of them.
LikeLike
To tell the truth, I don’t have any books that stand out as exceptional this year. I have plenty that I enjoyed, but none that I’ve felt will stick with me as great. I think a lot of that has to do with my personal mood and health issues this year, though. It’s one reason I pick monthly favorites on my list of books for the year, so I can go back and really think about this more clearly.
LikeLike
I scribbled down a list of my favorite reads from last year this morning. It looks like I read a lot of fiction last year, and that’s odd for me. I’m surprised to see how many classics turned out to be among my favorites of the year. My favorite book published in 2021 is probably Klara and the Sun, but I haven’t completely decided yet. I also read a lot of books on healing that I really liked, if that’s a genre, especially The Listening Road.
LikeLike
All of your favorites are on my want-to-read list, including — surprisingly! — Project Hail Mary. I heard a great review of it on a book podcast I listen to (From the Front Porch) and it sounded like something different that I might enjoy. We’ll see. In what comes as no surprise, my most-read genre in 2021 was memoir. Little Matches by Maryanne O’Hara and Wife|Daughter|Self by Beth Kephart are going to be high on my list, along with a memoir I read last week, Small Animals by Kim Brooks.
LikeLike
I’ve wondered about The Midnight Library, glad to see it’s at the top of your list. I haven’t looked over my reading yet for the year but I can tell you that one of my favorites is a new mystery series by Alice Henderson about a field biologist who collects data on endangered species. They’re outdoorsy and have wonderful nature writing and great action. The first in the series is A Solitude of Wolverines and the second just recently came out, A Blizzard of Polar Bears. I haven’t been this excited about a series in a long time.
LikeLike