Best Books I’ve Read So Far in 2021

It’s July 16th as I’m writing this and I’ve read a total of 135 book so far this year. I haven’t rated a lot of books 5 stars, but here’s a list of some titles that stood out in no particular order:

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A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson has been sitting on my shelves for so long. This is a pretty good read, packed full of information yet not boring (perhaps due to the excellent audiobook production I listened to). I appreciate the ‘nearly’ in the title as it’s understandably not covering everything from The Big Bang to global warming and everything in between.

I like the style it’s written in, bringing science terms closer to the average reader such as imagining how many sheets of paper it’d take to reach the height of The Empire State Building and so on.

I wish there were a part II to this!

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles was my first 5 star rating of the year. This did not surprise me at all as A Gentleman in Moscow was one of my favorites of last year. This is one I will keep on my shelves and reread and I’m incredibly excited for Amor’s upcoming release later this year.

If you want a book about a young woman making it in New York society in the thirties, this one’s it!

Irmina by Barbara Yelin is a piece of art! World War II from the perspective of a German girl and her subsequent struggles in life…but also so much more. The blue hued drawings were stunning and the story packs a punch, definitely worth checking out! You can read my review in Macedonian here.

The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #1) by Jessica Townsend because it gives Harry Potter vibes, but it’s different at the same time. It plays with the chosen one and magical trials tropes among others and it’s fun to be around Morrigan.

Middle grade has been a breath of fresh air lately and I’m so happy I found this. I didn’t like books 2 and 3 in the series nearly as much but book 1 is a firm favorite.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro was my most anticipated release of the year (alongside Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir). A story about an AF (artificial friend) and its interactions with humans (children and adults). It explores topics like humanity, artificial intelligence, technology and it’s overall a fantastic read.

What are you top reads of the year so far?