My Top Ten Books of 2021… A Little Late
At the end of each year, many members of the online book community post “wrap-ups,” or posts of all the books they had read that year, or something along those lines. Sometimes they may make one post about all the books they read, or their favorites, or their least favorites. I don’t have a social media account where it would make sense to share that list, but I want to because I really enjoyed the books I read last year, so here are my top five books of 2021!
(This list is organized by the date I read each book.)
One Week in America: The 1968 Notre Dame Literary Festival and a Changing Nation by Patrick Parr (2021)
To read the synopsis: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53125518-one-week-in-america
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway for its release, and I’m so glad I entered because this book was so interesting! Personally, I found it very cool to read about people my age doing something on that large of a scale, with that many big names in the literary world. In 1968, those who organized the literary festival were sophomores in college, and as a rising sophomore reading the book, it made me wish that collegiate literary festivals were still a huge thing, because I would love to attend one, or even possibly organize one! The overall narrative is told chronologically, but within each chapter there is a sort of study of how each individual the book focuses on deals with whatever situation the book might be focusing on at that time. It was a really interesting structure, and I really liked it! It was also the first nonfiction book I read that wasn’t for school, and I learned that I really enjoy the genre, which was exciting!
Darius the Great Is Not Okay (2018) and Darius the Great Deserves Better (2020) by Adib Khorram
To read the synopsis of Darius the Great Is Not Okay: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37506437-darius-the-great-is-not-okay
These two books are a part of a duology, so I’m including them together. Darius the Great Is Not Okay was a reread (I first read it in 2019), but the sequel was released in the fall of 2020, and before I read it, I wanted to reread the first book! One of my favorite parts of this duology is the emphasis on family and how complex it can be. The themes throughout are dealt with so beautifully, and I cried reading both books. Darius is a great character, as well as a great narrator, and the supporting cast of characters are some of my favorites in any book ever. If you like contemporary young adult fiction, but don’t want to read a book that is strictly a romance, I highly highly recommend these two!
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (2018)
To read the synopsis: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39961982-eleanor-oliphant-is-completely-fine
I read this book for my Forms of Literature course, and I absolutely loved it. Reading books for school is a lot different than reading them for leisure, and it was interesting to read a book that I had already been wanting to read as homework. I think discussing it in class and analyzing it made me love it even more. Eleanor’s character arc is something I loved to see develop over the course of the novel, and the relationships in the novel might be some of my favorite. I can’t entirely put my love for this novel into words, but the writing style, characters, and arcs of it are ones that make you feel more human by the end.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy (2019)
To read the synopsis: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46259138-the-boy-the-mole-the-fox-and-the-horse
Winter was approaching when I read this, and this book is the perfect winter read. I read it at the start of winter break in an attempt to read something that wasn’t strictly academic and to decompress. And it worked! The book itself is mostly just gentle reminders, and it was a nice reset at the close of finals season. One of the quotes that stuck out to me in particular (and definitely because of when I read it) was “when the big things feel out of control… focus on what you love right under your nose.” Going from the stress of finals week felt really reflective in this quote, and it stuck with me. Also, the illustrations were gorgeous, and I love the way that color was only used occasionally. This is a short read, and I definitely recommend it if you need a pick me up of any kind!
