The Best 10 Books I Read in 2021

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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:

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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.

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45 Responses

  1. Cloud Cuckoo Land is right at the top of my tbr shelf at the moment – it’s great to hear that you loved it! And Klara and the Sun was wonderful!
    I hope you had a great Christmas and this is my look back at the best and most fun books I have read in 2021.

  2. Anita says:

    I read the Thorn Birds when I was a teenager.It is a book that you don’t forget.

  3. I have Klara and the Sun on my list, and I have intended to read Cloud Cuckoo Land for weeks. I really must give it a read.

  4. I gave my youngest daughter The Trials of Morrigan Crow for Christmas this year, and I may have to borrow it from her and give it a read.

    Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
    https://readbakecreate.com/the-10-best-books-i-read-in-2021/

  5. I’ve heard so many great things about Nevermoor, hope to read it soon 🙂

  6. I’m hoping to start The Faithful and the Fallen series this year. I just recently picked up Malice.

  7. I hardly see anyone commenting on Cloud Cuckoo Land, found it by coincidence just a few weeks ago. Glad to read it’s indeed very good and became an all time favorite! I haven’t read it yet but luckily it’s available at our library, so I think I’ll get to it soon.

  8. Superb list! I’m eager to see the new show on Wheel of Time (even though I haven’t read that series).

    • stefi says:

      The show is not very good to be honest and quite different from the books so far. I’m still hoping there’ll be more season tho.

  9. I read the Morrigan Crow series this year too, and absolutely loved it! Great list this week.

  10. Great list! I have Nevermoor on TBR list. I really want to read it soon. I keep hearing how awesome it is. 🙂

  11. Awesome post! I haven’t read any of these.

  12. Kristine says:

    That’s quite a list! I read The Thorn Birds a year or two ago. Splendid writing. i could always taste the dust and feel the baking Aussie sun. Great choice!

    My post:
    https://pagesandpaws.com/2021/12/28/ttt-top-20-heroes-heroines-from-2021/

  13. You’ve had an amazing reading year! I love that you’ve included some older titles! Thornbirds gave me the biggest book hangover! Cloud Cuckoo Land was an interesting read!

  14. Klara and the Sun is also on my list!

    I love that Cloud Cuckoo Land took your top spot. It’s high priority for me in 2022!

  15. Klara and the Sun was really interesting. I’ve also read The Thorn Birds (I’m Australian, it’s practically a literary institution here but I only read it for the first time in 2020) and really enjoyed it. Cloud Cuckoo Land is definitely on my wishlist pile.

  16. I Capture the Castle is one I’ve been meaning to read for ages. I’m determined to read it in 2022 so I’m excited to see it made your list of favorites. 🙂

  17. I really want to try Nevermoor one of these days. Thanks for sharing and visiting my blog earlier.

  18. Nevermoor will definitely be a 2022 read for me. Glad you had so many amazing reads. Happy New Year!

  19. I read all 3 Nevermoor books this year and thought they were wonderful! One of my fave MGs in a long time.

  20. Great list! Klara and the Sun sounds really interesting!

  21. Rissi JC says:

    Glad you found some new favorites to enjoy in 2021, Stefani! That’s the BEST ever. 🙂 Hope you continue to discover more amazing reads in 2022, and thanks so much for visiting Finding Wonderland this week.

  22. Marg says:

    I definitely intend to read your top two picks in 2022!

  23. I am so glad to see Klara on your list! I need to read it, I want to read it, but I have heard almost nothing from anyone, so I am so excited! Cloud Cookoo Land sounds really good too! Glad you read so many great books last year!

  24. Annemieke says:

    Yeay so glad you loved Nevermoor. It is so good. I read Gwynne’s Shadow of the Gods and I loved that so I’m going to go back to some of his older works.

  25. Cathy says:

    Thornbirds is fun! I read it a long time ago though. I have the comic adaptation of New Spring. I hope I‘ll get to it this year. Klara and the Sun wasn‘t a winner for me. I love stories about AIs and the beginning was good, but it didn‘t grab me in the end-

  1. December 30, 2021

    […] All of these were good read, but didn’t make it to my best of 2021 list for one reason or another. You can see my list of best books of 2021 here. […]

  2. January 25, 2022

    […] I read the most books I’ve ever read, yet coming up with a top ten list at the end of the year was not easy. For a while it felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again and barely anything stood out. Luckily, I read some gems at the end of the year. You can see my top ten books of 2021 here. […]

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