I’m a little late in sharing this, but if you’d like to see what I read in 2021, here they are!
The Searcher by Tana French – 4 stars
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn – 5 stars
A Murder of Magpies by Judith Flanders – 3 stars
Cary Grant – A Brilliant Disguise by Scott Eyman – 5 stars
The Perfect Wife by Blake Pierce – 3 stars
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing – 4 stars
Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane – 4 stars
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – 4 stars
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – 4.5 stars
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold – 4 stars
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger – 5 stars
Rabbit, Run by John Updike – 5 stars
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards – 3 stars
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison – 5 stars
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin – 3 stars
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt – 4.5 stars
The Last Flight by Julie Clark – 3.5 stars
The Home Place by J. Drew Lanham – 4.5 stars
The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth – 4 stars
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner – 3 stars
Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland – 3.5 stars
The Bone Hunger by Carrie Rubin – 4.5 stars
My Brief History by Stephen Hawking – 4 stars
The Early Stories of Truman Capote – 5 stars
The Lost Man by Jane Harper – 4 stars
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough – 4.5 stars
“The Casual Car Pool” by Katherine Bell – 4 stars
Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney – 3 stars
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz – 3.5 stars
The Stranger in the Mirror by Liv Constantine – 3 stars
We Must Be Brave by Frances Liardet – 3.5 stars
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel – 4 stars
The Lying Room by Nicci French – 3.5 stars
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones – 3 stars
The Address by Fiona Davis – 4 stars
Furious Hours by Casey Cep – 5 stars
The Pocket Wife by Susan Crawford – 3.5 stars
There There by Tommy Orange – 5 stars
Elizabeth and Monty by Charles Casillo – 3.5 stars
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell – 5 stars
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie – 4 stars
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders – 5 stars
Defending Jacob by William Landay – 3.5 stars
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway – 5 stars
Capote’s Women by Laurence Leamer – 3 stars
Date with Death by Julia Chapman – 3.5 stars
The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen – 4.5 stars
If you’d like to see what I’ve read in other years, you can follow these links which are also in tabs at the top of the page:
I didn’t read as many books this year, but some of them were long ones! I feel like I’d gotten away from reading longer books, so reading these reminded me of the nice feeling of really sinking into a story like The Thorn Birds.
Stay tuned for an updated list of my all-time top reads. I went from Top 10 to Top 15 a few years ago. I’m probably going to have to up it to 20 because I read some great books in 2021. Do you have lists of all-time favorite books? What’s your number one favorite? If you don’t know by now, my all-time favorite book is Youngblood Hawke by Herman Wouk. That’s a long one too!
Leave a comment and tell me your favorites 🙂
Thanks for visiting – come back soon!
Book Club Mom 
Looks like it was a great year! 🙂
We share many “books read” in your 2021 list–not surprising.
I riffled through my notes and reviews and found these favorites: Where Do You Hang Your Hat about writing process by Bella Mahaya Carter; All the Ways we said Goodbye, a spy story bout the intertwined fates of three women, written by 3 co-authors; Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life by Jesuit James Martin.
My favorite was Breath Taking by pulmonologist Dr. Michael J. Stephen — who doesn’t want to know more about an organ frequently affected by the Corona virus?
Some brilliant reads here Book Club Mom! Here’s to another successful year! Xx
An impressive and diverse list!
I just finished The Plot
I’m a little late in asking, but did you like The Plot? I thought it was a good summertime read.
To be fair I got it way too quickly, and I didn’t think it was good enough writing to keep me enthralled nice I figured out the “twist”
Yeah, I get that. I actually read it on a train. Kept me entertained.
It was a quick read, which was what I needed when I read it
Same
Great list, Barbara! The Thorn Birds will always be one of my favorites. Have a great weekend!
Thank you, Jill. Yes, I can see myself reading The Thorn Birds again! Hope you had a nice weekend, did I see you got snow? I’m a little behind, as usual, on the blogging news!
I never reviewed The Thorn Birds, but I’m guessing if I had I have given it the same rating. I see we also agree on The Memory Keeper – meh!
Haha – yes, I re-read The Memory Keeper because I was doing a program at work on books set in Pennsylvania. That was such a hot book when it came out, but I thought it was pretty average.
Average is about right… I still don’t get what all the fuss was about it. Great cover, though!
Yes, I agree. Great cover. My second read of the book felt dated. It’s hard to write a timeless book. I wonder if authors even strive for that? Did the great authors like Hemingway and Steinbeck think like that or were they too just writing in their moments?
Good question. Probably just writing in their moments, I guess. I doubt authors think about longevity when they’re writing. Most are just hoping to get published!
Yes, you’re probably right. Maybe it’s a lucky strike when a book becomes a classic. It will be interesting to see which newer books earn that status, given the times we’re in.
That’s quite a list, of which I have read just 4
I’m going to guess which ones: The Hound of the Baskervilles, And Then There Were None, Rabbit, Run, and For Whom the Bell Tolls. Did I get any right? 🙂
Three right. The Catcher in the Rye instead of And then there were None. 🙂
Ah I thought that could have been one!
I’m so pleased with myself that I’ve read many of these, old and new! Great list if I do say so myself!
Oh thank you!
That’s pretty impressive!
Thank you, Ann!
An impressive list!
Thanks, Jeff!
You read some great books!! Five Little Indians was one of my favourites from last year. Reading The Brothers Karamazov was my biggest reading accomplishment last year.
Two books I’d like to read! Thanks for stopping by, Darlene!
I loved There There – one of my top books of last year.
Yes, it was excellent. Thanks for the visit, Cathy!
You had a great reading year. I’ve read a few of these. Some of them are blasts from the past like The Thornbirds. I love The Hound of the Baskervilles and the Lovely Bones and I also read a Jane Harper last year – the Survivors, which was good. Hope 2022 is as good to you.
Lynn 😀
Thank you, Lynn and the same to you!