The Best 10 Books I Read in 2021

Today’s topic is best books of 2021. I’m including books read this year, not necessarily published in 2021 as it’ll become clear once you see the list. I’ve also counted down from 10 to 1, number 1 being the best book of the year for me. Here’s the list:

10. Irmina by Barbara Yelin – a fictional biography giving a glimpse into the life of women around the Word War II and its aftermath. The art is stunning and Irmina is among the best graphic novels I’ve ever read.

9. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson – a brilliant non-fiction book covering things from the atom to world history (not the most recent one of course as it was published several years ago). I highly recommend the audiobook.

8. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough – I was very skeptical about this one and ended up liking it quite a lot. In retrospect, my favorite historical fiction novels do follow the same family through the generations, plus the New Zealand / Australia setting was so interesting to read about.

7. Rules of Civility: A Novel by Amor Towles – I loved everything from the main character and her independence, to the NYC setting and the love of books and comments given about specific titles and authors. If you’re looking for books about books (though the plot is not entirely about books), this is want to check out!

6. New Spring: Prequel to the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan – what a surprise this was. I’d read books 1 and 2 in The Wheel of Time series before circling back to the prequel and I’m so glad I did so. This gives some much needed background into Morraine’s and Lan’s characters and it’s a must read.

5. I Capture the Castle: Deluxe Edition by Dodie Smith – a true gem among all the classics I’ve read recently. It’s about a poor family that lives in a castle that’s practically falling apart. One of the daughters has writing aspirations and we follow the story through her POV and it’s very, very interesting.

4. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, 1) by Jessica Townsend – hands down the best middle grade I’ve read this year (and I did read a lot of them). It’s reminiscent of Harry Potter but also very much stands on its own. It follows the adventures of young Morrigan Crow in a fantastical world and there may or may not be a school of magic.

3. Malice (The Faithful and the Fallen, 1) by John Gwynne – I loved the whole series, gave each of the books 5 stars, but for a top ten list, including the first book in the series made the most sense. The world Gwynne has created is amazing. Not going to lie, there’s a lot a characters and world building to wrap your head around in the beginning, but stick with it. I promise it’ll make sense and you will not regret it.

2. Klara and the Sun: A novel by Kazuo Ishiguro – I searched high and low for a signed copy, that’s how much I loved it! (Signed copies are a tad expensive when paired with shipping to my location, therein this being such a big deal). It’s the story of Klara, an AF (artificial friend) accompanying a sickly girl through life. Klara’s observations of life, humanity, etc is at moments deeply moving, at others so philosophical. Definitely one to make you think.

1. Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel by Anthony Doerr – the best of the best. This one gets a spot not only on my 2021 faves list, but also among my all time faves. Spanning multiple genres, timelines and POVs, it all comes together brilliantly in the end. You can read my full review here.

Check out my reviews of 3 romances popular on TikTok. Would appreciate some feedback on this type of post, would you like to see more of them in 2022?

What are your best books of 2021? Let me know in the comments.