Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Best Books I Read In 2021.
According to Goodreads, I have over 40 books that I rated 5 stars in 2021! I guess it truly was an excellent year for reading. Excluding all the re-reads in the mix, that still leaves me with way more than 10 — and since this is a situation where my list, my rules apply, I’m going to go with 20 of my favorite reads (and even that hurts my heart, having to leave out so many others!).
In no particular order, my top TWENTY books of 2021:
- The Fall of Koli by M. R. Carey: A fabulous wrap-up to a compelling trilogy. (review)
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir: Everyone raved about this book, and with good reason! (review)
- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah: This book about the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression was a tough read, but so moving and powerful. (review)
- This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger: Simply a beautifully written historical novel — and yet another reason to be thankful for my book group’s terrific reading choices.
- That Summer by Jennifer Weiner: Totally engrossing contemporary fiction. (review)
- Flash Fire by TJ Klune: Book #2 in the author’s Extraordinaries YA series moved me to tears and to hysterical bursts of laughter. I love these books. (review)
- The Apocalypse Seven by Gene Doucette: I feel like this was an under-the-radar book for 2021, but I thoroughly enjoyed this strange apocalyptic sci-fi tale. (review)
- The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline: Another powerful historical novel, with a focus on transportation of British prisoners to Australia. (review)
- Emily of New Moon trilogy by L. M. Montgomery: These books are beautiful and optimistic and just all around wonderful. (review)
- Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean: This YA novel, kind of like The Princess Diaries but set in Japan, is sweet and funny and just so good. (review)
- The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: This author writes in so many genres, and while I’ve enjoyed quite a few of her books, I think this one is my favorite. (review)
- The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo: Sensitive and sweet contemporary romance about family and heritage and connecting the past with the present. (review)
- Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon: Another great YA read! (review)
- The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey: Ooh, this sci-fi thriller really got to me! (review)
- Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti: I’m actually at about 90% as of when I’m writing this post, but I’m loving this book enough to include it on my “best of” list!
- Horseman by Christina Henry: Terrific, spooky retelling of the Headless Horseman legend. (review)
- So Many Beginnings by Bethany C. Morrow: As the subtitle says, this is a “remix” of Little Women, and it’s wonderful. (review)
- Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill: The aftermath of a robot uprising, starring an animatronic tiger nannybot. What more do you really need to know? (review)
- A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny: This is going to be my new annual Halloween tradition. (review)
- The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict: Fascinating historical fiction about a real event in the life of Agatha Christie. (review)
I could go on… but this gives you a sense of what books I loved best in 2021.
What were your favorite books of 2021? Do we have any in common?
Share your link, and I’ll come check out your top 10!
Bookshelf Fantasies 
Exiles, Four Winds, This Tender Land — all excellent. Oh yes, and Project Hail Mary. We read a lot of the same books. My 2021 Favorites
It’s always nice to meet readers with similar tastes! So many excellent books in 2021!
I love that Project Hail Mary is on so many lists! It deserves it!
I actually just bought a copy of Dava Shastri’s Last Day, so I am happy to see it here. Can’t wait to read it!
I just finished Dava Shastri, and loved it! Can’t wait to hear what you think.
Flash Fire! That series is so good! Glad you loved these ❤
I love Flash Fire and The Extraordinaries so much!! Can’t wait for #3!
I need it!!!
I know generally about that painful “event” in Christie’s life, but I’ve always wanted to read a biography — looks like I should pick up Benedict’s book. Thanks for the rec and the great list!
I really knew nothing about her life before reading this book, so it was very eye-opening for me! I haven’t read very many of her books, and I’d definitely like to read more.
I would struggle to get 40 books down to 10 too. What a great reading year.
This Tender Land was terrific! Love your header graphic!
My post: https://pagesandpaws.com/2021/12/28/ttt-top-20-heroes-heroines-from-2021/
Awww, thanks! This Tender Land was so wonderful, and I had the pleasure of getting to meet with the author in a Zoom book group meeting earlier this year!
Love seeing your faves! I really need to read Project Hail Mary and So Many Beginnings!
Both are wonderful! Project Hail Mary seems to be showing up on a lot of people’s lists this week– such a fun read!
Yes, makes me even more keen to pick it up!
The Four Winds was a great book, but so sad. Especially for the time it was released.
I agree completely. It was almost too heavy, in terms of everything else going on this year. Still, I’m glad to have read it!
I currently have Tokyo Ever After out from the library, so I’m hoping to read it soon. I also really want to read Emily of New Moon at some point; Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorite books of all time, so I’ve really been wanting to branch out into Montgomery’s other books.
Here’s my TTT: https://ofpensandswords.com/top-ten-contemporary-ya-books-i-read-in-2021/
I’m a latecomer when it comes to L. M. Montgomery — I never read the Anne books as a child, and only “discovered” them a few years ago. I loved that series, and I’ve been wanting to read more of her books ever since!
It looks like 2021 was a wonderful reading year for you! I’d really like to get to So Many Beginnings.
I really recommend it! It uses Little Women as an inspiration, but it’s really something new and different. Happy New Year!
Excellent list! I’m so glad to see The Fall of Koli on here, that book was brilliant. I may try to get to The Apocalypse Seven next year, I remember how much you loved it😁
I hope you check out The Apocalypse Seven– I think you’d really enjoy it. I loved the Koli trilogy. Can’t wait to see what he writes next!
Love the variety you have here.
And it sounds like you had a really great reading year with all these favs.
Thank you! I hope you had an amazing reading year too!
project hail mary was great! And definitely want to read the four winds 😀
The Four Winds was so good, but really brutal to read at times.