I read 67 books in 2021: Here are my favorites

I made a very lofty reading goal for 2021 of 100 books, which if I could count the ridiculous amount of papers I had to read for my spring and fall classes (especially the four anthropology classes I took) I probably would have reached it. Nevertheless, I was able to read 67 books in the year (and yes audiobooks do count and are a lifesaver for long drives). Below is a complete list and following will be a list of my favorites and why. I definitely tend to go for more fantasy/sci-fi books since most of my school reading is very scientific or historcial, but theres a pretty good mix in this recap.

Please comment below if you’ve read any of my favorites, what books were your favorite in 2021 and any other recommendations you have for me to read in the new year!

At the beginning of the year I went through a phase (obviously) where I wanted to reread almost all of the Rick Riordan books, hence the overwhelming amount of middle/YA mythology books. They are really good (Percy Jackson series is still my favorite) and if you have kids I would recommend them.

“Red White and Royal Blue” is an extremely cute LGBT+ book about the first son and the prince of England falling in love and would highly recommend for all the romantics out there.

I liked the Midnight Library but it missed the mark on a few points, trigger warning for suicide but its a fun concept of exploring a character’s path at the end of their life as they are able to hop into different books in the library of their life to see how things would have turned out in alternate timelines.

V.E. Schwab is one of my new favorite authors and I absolutely loved the multiworld magical British steampunk chaos that is ”A darker shade of magic” series. The characters are complex, wonderful, frustrating, and the storyline is really intriguing. I also read the ”Ninth House” which is an ivy league murder mystery with a dash of dark magic and is such a good book! Definitely a darker tale but worth the read. ”The Invisibile Life of Addie de la Rue” is now up there for me in favorite books of all time, I love the characters and the story (even if there were a few missed opportunities I think its a more realistic outcome than some other immortal books).

Madeline Miller is a new author thats been gaining popularity and I will say her takes on Ancient Greek myths are refreshing and heartwrenching (“Song of Achilles” broke my heart espceailly the audiobook version) but her writing style isn’t my favorite.

Another fun retelling of greek mythology, “LORE” is a Hunger Games meets Percy Jackson murder mystery that is just divine (pun intended as all the descendants in the games are from greek heros or gods).

“Eighty Days to Elsewhere”, “Less”, and “The Little Book of Hygge” are just cute. Would recommend.

“One Last Stop” and “The City We Became” are two New York based sci-fis that did not go where I thought they would but it was a wild ride reading those.

“The Vanishing Half” was a really insightful book about the tale of two sisters that are African American but white passing and their stories of accepting or rejecting their black heritage.

“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” is a documentary style Hollywood romance and so much more—definitely worth the hype.

Hopefully 2022 will bring many more good reads!