My Top Reads from 2021 (Part 2)
Wherein you find the delightful reads #57
Because the books we’ve loved this year simply cannot be squashed into a mundane and commonplace “Top Ten” list. You deserve more than ten, my little reading rainbows. Ours go to 13!
Last week gave you Part 1 of this series, which included some fantastic, if harrowing, selections across fiction, memoir, and non-fiction. It also included the very handy “Little Lamb” ratings explanation which, in short, provides you with the diagnostic tools you need to decide exactly how to spend your one wild and precious reading life.
While I loved each and every book on both parts of this list, some are sadder or more challenging to read, while others are lighter and more charming. The Five Lamb rating means it’s basically a holiday book cookie - excellent but more on the delightful and easier to digest side of things. (One-Lambies are great too but just require more emotional fortitude, which, if you have some to spare after this week of Oh-NO-Micron trends, I can only quote Joe when I say, ‘god love ya.’)
And, lastly, in this time where we seek comfort and joy, I feel compelled to remind you that just because something is fun to read, or happy, does not mean it’s not Good Writing. Hope and happiness are radical acts, after all (LOOK INTO IT, Shuggie Bain.)
Enjoy Part 2!
If you haven’t shared YOUR top book of 2021, you still have time!
Yes, so, I almost gave The Splendid and the Vile three lambs until I came to my senses and realized that a saga about the brutal destruction of the Blitz, and Churchill’s first year in power, was perhaps not THE cheeriest. And the banal evil, the loss, the ongoing fear are unavoidable, pervasive, and well-rendered. But somehow this is tempered by the unbelievable courage and fortitude of the RAF and Churchill’s circle, not to mention the extraordinary use of language in every sentence of this book. SO good.
Oh, tell you more about this book? Okay here’s just like a whole post about it.)
To me, Great Circle is a capital-N Novel - a historical fiction saga about a female aviator in the early 1900’s (woven in with a story of a modern-day movie star.) It’s beautifully researched, spans continents and numerous characters with swooping ease, feels honest but also ambitious. (Read more about why I loved it here.) A deeply substantive read that kept me absolutely riveted.
Yes, I was predisposed to love this because anxious people are, in fact, MY people (do the rest of you not read the news) but I don’t know anyone who didn’t love Anxious People. Though I do know a lot of people who looked at the book font and figured it would be kind of a fluffy read. This book about a Swedish hostage situation on New Year’s Eve is delightful, witty and madcap. But it’s also woven through with tremendous humanity, sweetness and vulnerability. And the ping-pong dialogue is a complete and utter joy. Check it out! (I also liked A Man Called Ove, by the same author, but I prefer this by a mile.)
For more on this and other delightful reads, go here.
At the beginning of this year, I went through a total fantasy phase, which is absolutely not my usual genre. Hmm, I wonder why I craved escapism in January 2021. Guess we’ll never know.
Anyway, while I liked a lot of the popular fantasy series including this author’s Shadow and Bone, this - this! - I loved. About a college student who is mysteriously recruited to Yale for her even more mysterious background and capabilities, Ninth House perfectly weaves the modern world with magical world building, offers social commentary without being pedantic, and is a keep-you-reading thriller that pulls you out of this world.
Since All Creatures Great and Small has been around for 50 years, I figured I might give it a whirl. I honestly thought it would be a bit old-fashioned and trudging but I loved every. single. page of this book. The cover uses the words “warm, joyful, and beloved” and, well, that just about summarizes this absolute masterpiece of a memoir by an English country vet. Herriot is a gifted storyteller, where you don’t see one bit of the considerable writing work. Yes, you probably might want to like animals to try this, but this is much more about humans, in all the best ways. Perfect to read on a cozy holiday, and, all puns intended, a Five Lamb rating.
Despite The Thursday Murder Club having “murder” in its title and at its core, this and its sequel, The Man Who Died Twice, are absolute pleasures in every single way. About a group of unlikely friends in a retirement community investigating cold cases until one occurs in their very midst, these books are warm and empathetic, laugh-out-loud funny and perfectly plotted, and deeply chaaaaarming. I simply cannot recommend these enough. Read them before there’s a movie starring Dame Judi Dench.
If you want more mystery series, why not check out my very second newsletter with all my favorites? It’s here.
And - that’s a wrap on 2021! From me and my italicized parenthetical phrases, happy holidays to you. Be safe out there.
And lastly:
As always, these links go to Bookshop.org, which supports indie bookstores. A better way to buy books!
To maintain a culture of compliance I will tell you that these are affiliate links, which means that I can make (and donate) a few pennies if you buy through them. No one has yet so I’m not yet a Professional Book Influencer.
If you’re new in town and are looking for other suggestions, genres or recommendations, you can find 56 other weeks of suggestions in the archive! So that’s fun.