It’s time for our best books of 2021. In Part 2 of our special end-of-year double-episode we’re looking back over the books we’ve read outside of book club this year. The ones we got to pick and choose for ourselves. The ones that didn’t feel like homework (although don’t get us wrong, we love our book club reading – and for more on that don’t miss Part 1). Which books were our favourites? Which would we recommend? Listen in as we each run through our longlists before picking out our top three.
We also hear from our book club members as they give us their best books of 2021. And we’re joined by Chrissy Ryan of London’s most social bookshop, Bookbar, and Elizabeth Morris of the fabulous Cribnotes, the newsletter for new and busy mothers. These two women are always ahead of the reading curve so listen out for their top picks.
And we look ahead to 2022. What books are we waiting for? Listen in to find out.
No time to listen to the show and just want to know our best books of 2021? Read on.
Kate’s top three books from 2021
Don’t Touch My Hair, Emma Dabiri
A Ghost in the Throat, Doireann ní Ghríofa
Lean, Fall, Stand, Jon McGregor
Laura’s top three books from 2021
A Life’s Work, Rachel Cusk
Miss Iceland, Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese
Kate’s longlist of favourite reads in 2021
The Moth and the Mountain, Ed Caesar
Writers and Lovers and Euphoria, Lily King
Real Estate, Deborah Levy
The Library Book and The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean
All My Friends are Superheroes, Andrew Kaufman
Owls of the Eastern Ice, Jonathan C. Slaght
Don’t Touch My Hair, Emma Dabiri
Fun Home, Alison Bechdel
Parisan Lives, Deidre Bair
Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder
Early Morning Riser, Katherine Heiny
Love Letters, Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West (Alison Bechdel, ed.)
A Ghost in the Throat, Doireann ní Ghríofa
Re-Educated, Lucy Kellaway
Pew, Catherine Lacey
Happy All the Time, Laurie Colwin
Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri
Sorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason
Lean, Fall, Stand, Jon McGregor
Assembly, Natasha Brown
The Stranding, Kate Sawyer
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers
Empire of Pain, Patrick Radden-Keefe
Matrix, Lauren Groff
The See-Through House, Shelley Klein
Laura’s longlist of best books in 2021
His Only Wife, Peace Adzo Medie
Miss Iceland, Hotel Silence and Butterflies in November, Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese
On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong
Homeland Elegies, Ayad Akhtar
No-One is Talking About This, Patricia Lockwood
Great Circle, Maggie Shipstead
D: A Tale of Two Worlds, Michael Faber
Graceling, Kristin Cashore
A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
The Annals of the Western Shore, Ursula Le Guin
The Book of Hidden Things, Francesco Dimitri
Frederica, Georgette Heyer
Conundrum, Jan Morris
A High Wind in Jamaica, Richard Hughes
The Rules of Civility, Amor Towles
Chrissy Ryan’s best books of 2021
Open Water, Caleb Azumah Nelson
Assembly, Natasha Brown
Detransition Baby, Torrey Peters
Elizabeth Morris’ best books of 2021
Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder
Book club best books of 2021
The Summer Book, Tove Jansson
The Mermaid of Black Conch, Monique Roffey
Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë
A Dance to the Music of Time, Anthony Powell
The Siege of Krishnapur, J. G. Farrell
The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst
Isaac Steele and the Forever Man, Daniel Rigby
Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer
Albert and the Whale, Philip Hoare
Trieste or the Meaning of Nowhere, Jan Morris
The Bass Rock, Evie Wyld
Autumn, Ali Smith
The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan
The Offing, Benjamin Myers
Circe, Madeleine Miller
Three Women, Lisa Taddeo
My Dark Vanessa, Kate Elizabeth Russell
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Upcoming books in 2022
We also discussed our inordinate desire for The Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss to finally be published, and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, and mentioned The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak.
Notes
‘Pole’ or ‘Pow-ell’? Read all about it
Lightly grind your teeth while watching Patrick Rothfuss putter around on Minecraft in this six-hour twitch video. Don’t get us wrong, though, the man is a genius. Despite our pod grumbles, in reality we will wait patiently until the day we die.
Over to you
Comment below and let us know your favourite reads of 2021. What books did we miss?
2 Comments
Absolutely love your podcast which has got me out of a reading block. Looking forward to working my way through some of these
So pleased you’re enjoying the shows and happy to hear you’re out of your reading slump. I’ve been stuck on The Magic Mountain for weeks – having just finished it I now have this thrilling sense of all the other books I can now dive into!