Books I read in 2021

Tree from our local library 😀

This year, I read a surprisingly large number of books. I think work must have been really slow, because I don't know how I found the time to read so much considering we moved three times and I trained for a marathon. A lot of the books were quick thrillers, but I read some meaty, thought-provoking books as well. My TBR pile for 2022 is huge already. 

Here they are in the order I read them:

1.The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

2. The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

3. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley - Not as good as the Guest List, but kept me guessing.

4. Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - I love her sweeping novels set in the past and this one was really incredible. 

5. What's Mine and Yours by Naima Coster

6. The Wreckage of My Presence by Casey Wilson - If you know me, you know I love my Housewives and the Bitch Sesh podcast. This book of essays was entertaining and, at times, really heart breaking.

7. The Housewives by Brian Moylan - It read more like a history book and there was a lot of stuff in it I really didn't care about. Moylan was blacklisted by Bravo, so he didn't get many juicy interviews.

8. The Last Flight by Julie Clark - I really loved this book. I always love a good "make yourself disappear" thriller and this one was no exception.

9. Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian - He has been a favorite author of mine since Midwives in the 90s and I love that every book he writes is completely different. This one was set in Massachusetts in the 1600s.

10. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave 

11. What Comes After by Joanne Tompkins

12. Verity by Colleen Hoover - Fun Twist

13. We are the Brennans by Tracey Lange - This book didn't deliver the way I wanted it to.

14. The Push by Ashley Audrain - One of my favorites (and most terrifying) of the year. Glad I didn't read this while I was pregnant.

15. The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix - Reminded me a little of a Chuck Palahniuk book. 

16. In Five Years by Rebecca Serle 

17. Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

18. 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard - One of only two books I read this year that dealt with the pandemic (the other was just hinting at it). 

19. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

20. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro - I normally really like his books and this one popped up on a lot of notable peoples' lists for the year, but it just wasn't my favorite.

21. A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson

22. Beach Read by Emily Henry - Liked this one more than I expected to.

23. Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney - I felt like this book had twists for the sake of having twists.

24. Billy Summers by Stephen King - This book takes place pre-pandemic and was a little more convoluted than I'm used to with a King book. I still liked it.

25. Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena - My first Lapena. I proceeded to read all the rest of her books in about 2 weeks.

26. The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

27. A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena

28. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

29. Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

30. The End of Her by Shari Lapena

31. And Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

32. Abandon by Blake Crouch - I really love him as a writer and this one switches between the old west and modern day.

33. We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz

34. Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid - I always love a good "Sliding Doors"-esq read.

35. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - Both Bill Gates and Barack Obama had this on their list of favorite books of the year and I concur. It made physics palatable and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Would HIGHLY recommend.

36. A flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

 

Books I read in 2020

This year was (obviously) a disaster, but there was some good to come out of it. I had some time to read, and it was definitely an escape to take my mind off all the anxiety and stress I was feeling. Thanks to my library's hot titles section and a membership to BOTM (book of the month), I got a chance to read a bunch of really great new titles. My goal was to read 20 books and I made it through 22. Here are the books I read in 2020...

1. Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano - This was a really sad book to start off the year and it was much harder to read this book now that I have kids. Luckily, I didn't fly on an airplane once this year, so I didn't have to worry about plane crashes.

2. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett - This one had a lot of buzz surrounding it, but I wasn't that impressed. 

3. Ghosted by Rosie Walsh - I really liked the twists in this one.

4. The Devil in the White City - Historical non-fiction that reads like a novel. I thought this book was fascinating.

5. Playing Dead by Elizabeth Greenwood - At the beginning of the year, I watched a lot of "Disappeared" on Discovery channel and was obsessed with the cases where people chose to disappear and weren't kidnapped. 

6. The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian - He is one of my favorite authors, but this book wasn't my favorite.

7. How to Disappear by Frank Ahearn - This guy was a superstar bounty hunter in his day and now knows everything there is to know about how to disappear so nobody can find you. 

8. Untamed by Glennon Doyle - One of my absolute favorite books of the year. It made me cry and laugh and stuck with me for a long time.

9. If it Bleeds by Stephen King - Three stories in one book. It didn't disappoint.

10. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - Like the title, this book was completely fine.

11. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides - This book was talked up a lot and I wasn't that impressed with it.

12. Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas - Not sure I really understood what exactly was going on at this school. The book was just ok.

13. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins - Another one of my top three of the year. This book was heartbreaking and devastating. I didn't want to keep reading because it was so tense and sad, but I also couldn't put it down.

14. I'm thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid - I picked up this book when I heard they were making a movie out of it starring Jesse Plemmons. I still haven't watched the movie, but the book was just ok. Not what I expected.

15. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett - This was named book of the year by a lot of different groups. I thought it was really interesting.

16. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - I am such a fan of his and really loved this book. His writing makes me feel a lot smarter when it comes to science than I really am.

17. The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen - The trend right now seems to be twisty mysteries. This one gave us a couple twists and was somewhat satisfying.

18. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi - This was another one that was talked up by so many people. I thought it was just ok.

19. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab - This was one of my BOTM picks and I really loved it. I read it in just a couple days and couldn't stop thinking about what I would do in that situation.

20. Just Like You by Nick Hornby - I normally love Nick Hornby's books, but this one wasn't my favorite. It dealt with Brexit and age differences in a relationship.

21. The Guest List by Lucy Foley - This was a fun, quick read that kept you guessing until the very end. I'm excited to read The Hunting Party next.

22. Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline - A disappointing follow up to Ready Player One. In this book, it felt like the author spent the entire time trying to prove to the reader how much he knows about 80s pop culture. It was overkill.

Books I read in 2019

I had several New Year's resolutions last year that didn't come to fruition, but I did manage to read 21 books (my goal was 20). I went mostly for bestsellers this year and was lucky enough to read several of them because it timed out that they were available on the "Hot Picks" shelf at the library when I was there. Here's the list...

1. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones - I honestly remember nothing about this book, but I think it was good?

2. Beautiful Boy by David Scheff - I haven't seen the Steve Carell movie, but the book was heartbreaking, especially if you have kids.

3. The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker - I loved this one. Again, having young children made parts of it difficult to read, but in general, very compelling.

4. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood - Not what I was expecting. I don't recommend.

5. Educated by Tara Westover - I read a couple non-fiction books this year and this one was fascinating.

6. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens - It seems like this was the book to read this year and I can see why. Heartbreaking and gripping all at once.

7. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn - They are apparently making this into a movie? I thought it was actually kind of predictable.

8. Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman - A good mystery.

9. The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff - Based off real-life accounts of women who operated radios and worked as spies during WWII, it was a good read.

10. The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian - His style has changed a little bit over time, but I don't hate the mystery path he's taken recently.

11. Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk - Typical Palahniuk.

12. Bad Blood by John Carreyrou - I found this non-fiction account of Elizabeth Holmes and her company Theranos to be FASCINATING.

13. Run Away by Harlan Conan

14. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead - President Obama recommended this book and I saw it on the bestsellers list, so I decided to check it out. Very sad.

15. Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - This book was so well-written that I was halfway through before I realized that it was a novel and not non-fiction. I loved it and wish the band was real so I could listen to their music!

16. The Institute by Stephen King - I like his recent work and this was a good story with a child protagonist.

17. Range by David Epstein - The big takeaway is that our kids should be well-rounded instead of focused on one particular discipline.

18. Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami - He is such a beautiful writer and these short stories were so poetic.

19. Do you Mind if I Cancel? by Gary Janetti - If you don't follow him on Instagram, start. This book was a hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking autobiography about growing up as a gay man in the 70s and 80s.

20. Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson - A story about 3 women who attended West Point and then followed different paths in the wake of 9/11, it took me awhile to get into this one, but it was great by the end.

21. The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian - This one meandered and took awhile to really get to the climax and it just wasn't my favorite by him.

Happy reading in 2020!

Books I Read In 2018

I made it through 13 books last year, which is not nearly as many as I would have liked, but chasing a toddler around and taking care of a newborn don't leave a lot of time for recreational reading (Can I count Little Blue Truck on my list? I read it over 300 times this year). ;)

1. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - This one took me awhile to get through, but I love a story that starts off when the main character is a child and ends with them as an adult.

2. Little Fires Everywhere by Christine Ng - This seemed to be the book to read this year. I thought it was ok.

3. The Shining by Stephen King - I mainly read this so I could read the sequel and I knew that the movie was a lot different than the book.

4. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King - This is the story of Danny Torrence all grown up. It's a lot different than The Shining, but I liked it and am excited to see the movie version.

5. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty - When I find an author I like, I tend to read a bunch of their books in a row. I had already watched the HBO series Big Little Lies and this book was definitely my favorite of hers that I read this year.

6. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty - What if you woke up and 10 years of your life was gone? As a mother of small children, this book really got to me.

7. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

8. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah - I have read a lot of her books and I really liked this one, even though everyone else in my book club hated it. My only criticism is that it seemed to meander a bit. Just when you thought it was over, there was another twist...and then another.

9. Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

10. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin - This was another hot book this year. What if you knew the date you were going to die? Would it change how you lived your life? I thought this book was just ok.

11. The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin

12. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - After watching both seasons of the TV show, I figured I should read the book. Absolutely terrifying to read...especially when pregnant.

13. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty - A departure for her in terms of style, but I enjoyed this book anyway and read it in just a couple of days.

My goal for 2019 is to read at least 20 books. On the list are An American Marriage and A Column of Fire.

Books I Read In 2017

Ok, here's the scoop. I had a baby in late 2016 and therefore didn't have a ton of time to read in 2017, unless you count Hippos Go Berserk and a bunch of other Sandra Boynton books a million times. (I did, somehow, find the time to watch the entire Gilmore Girls revival TWICE as well as the entire series from start to finish). Anyway, the books that I did read tended to be short autobiographies as those were easy to pick up, read a few pages, and come back to them later. Big plans for 2018, but here's my feeble 2017 list:

1) The Girl With All The Gifts - M.R. Carey: In all honesty, I started this one in 2016, but I did finish it in 2017 so that counts, right? Enjoyed it. Curious to see how the movie adaptation played out.

2) Talking As Fast As I Can - Lauren Graham: Since I was very into Gilmore Girls during those long, long days and nights in early 2017, I gobbled this book up. She writes like she talks and I enjoyed all the juicy insights into Parenthood and her relationship with Peter Krause.

3) You'll Grow Out Of It - Jessi Klein: I heard about this book while listening to Jessi guest host on a parenting podcast and it was by far my favorite book of the year. Witty, relatable and just a fun, lighthearted read. A must-read for any woman in her 30s.

4) Mrs. Fletcher - Tom Perrota: I've always been a big Tom Perrota fan and when I saw this book at the library, I immediately scooped it up.

5) Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies - Michael Ausiello: I have worshipped Michael Ausiello since his days writing for Entertainment Weekly. I have coveted his job for many years and wish I had thought to start TVLine. This book was sweet and so, so sad. I can't wait to see the movie adaptation with Jim Parsons.

6) When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi: Why I chose two non-fiction books where someone dies in such a fragile year is beyond me. I had been hearing about this one for awhile and thought it was so beautifully written. I was so happy he got to meet his baby.

What are you planning on reading in 2018?

Books I Read In 2016

The list is a little light this year since I spent a lot of time reading baby books, but here we go. I hope to get back to reading at some point in 2017.

1. The Andy Cohen Diaries by Andy Cohen - A fun read on my honeymoon
2. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
3. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - LOVED this book and can't wait for the movie!!
4. After You by JoJo Moyes - The sequel to Me Before You. Meh.
5. Bird Box by Josh Malerman - If you want to be scared to open your eyes.
6. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
7. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
8. Wayward by Blake Crouch
9. Here's the Plan by Allyson Downey - I read this book because it was of interest to me, but also because I narrated the audiobook for Audible!
10. Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple - Fun book to kill time during the last months of my pregnancy
11. And Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris

Books I read in 2015

So, 2015 wasn't my best year for reading, but it wasn't my worst either. My selections were all over the place and I tried to hit different genres. Station Eleven was by far my favorite book of the year and About Grace my least favorite.


1. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn - The book was ok. The movie adaptation looks terrible. I just wouldn't have cast Charlize Theron in that role.

2. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

3. Yes, please! by Amy Poehler - I listened to the audiobook and I love when celebs narrate their own books. The guest readers made it even more amazing.

4. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - Entertainment Weekly touted this as one of the best books of 2014. I thought it was just ok.

5. In One Person by John Irving

6. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - The "it" book of the year. I loved that the chapters were short so it felt like I read a lot more than I really had each sitting.

7. We are Water by Wally Lamb

8. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - Set in Michigan (!) and dealing with life after a flu virus wiped out 98% of the world. I absolutely loved this book.

9. About Grace by Anthony Doerr - The was nothing like All the Light We Cannot See and it dragged.

10. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - Quick, entertaining read. Emily Blunt is starring in the movie adaptation.

11. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling - I find her super relatable and entertaining.

12. Black Chalk by Christopher Yates

13. Pines by Blake Crouch - This is the first in a trilogy. The TV show Wayward Pines with Matt Dillon is based on the books.


Heading out on my honeymoon, I'm bringing fun, trashy books. Any suggestions for must-reads in 2016?