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