Top Ten Reads of 2021 (So far!)
Well, the year isn't quite over, but it's now got to that time where people are beginning to share their favourites from 2021. The lead up to Christmas is a great time to do this, because if you're anything like me, you're looking for those hidden gems you might have missed throughout the year to ask Santa for, or shopping for tricky to buy for relatives who seem to already have (or have read) everything.
My reading in December tends to be a lot of tying up loose ends anyway. Finishing off those reads that have been abandoned earlier in the year, or going back to backlist books that I've been telling myself I'll get to since January 1. Currently, I'm reading three things: I'm finishing Dracula which I started on Halloween, I'm reading Roger McDonald's 1915 and I just started the companion book to the ABC TV program, Books that Made Us. All very interesting, and yet somehow, I don't think any of them are contenders to bump anything out of the top ten!
I can see a few themes in my reading this year when I look at my top reads. I'm obviously drawn to strong female characters, and narratives about women taking back control in situations that feel dangerous. I'm drawn to things that remind me of The Handmaid's Tale. Unsurprisingly, I love things about bookshops and libraries. And as always, I am a sucker for a good short story collection, of which there are two in this list. I haven't tried to order them within this top ten, because I think that would just be too hard!
My top reads of the year for 2021 are:
The Hush by Sara Foster
The Riviera House by Natasha Lester
She is Haunted by Paige Clark
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
Hold Your Fire by Chloe Wilson
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
Outlawed by Anna North
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
And of course, I want to give a few honourable mentions to:
Love and Virtue by Diana Reid
Reputation by Lex Croucher
The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson
Widowland by CJ Carey
You be Mother by Meg Mason
The Last Bookshop by Emma Young
Animal Wife by Lara Ehrlich
Normally I would link these ones to Booktopia or something like that, but by the time you see this, they probably won't be able to supply any orders before Christmas so instead, I'll link a few of my favourite WA based independent bookshops here.
Have you read any of these, or did you have a favourite that didn't make this list? Tell me all about it in a comment down below. My TBR is ever-growing, with your help.