best of 2021

 This was a weird year for my reading. I set some some goals that I didn't meet, but I still managed to read and listen to over 75 books this year, and many of them were exceptional. Some were new releases and some were older reads. I also appeared as a guest on What Should I Read Next, which was a true bucket list item for me. As usual, I am compiling my best of list for the year. I would love to hear your thoughts if you've read any of these or have any suggestions of what I should try to read in 2022. And yes, I did a 1A & 1B because I really couldn't choose between these. Asking me to choose my favorite Kristin Hannah book is like asking me to choose my favorite child - not gonna happen. #sophieschoice

1A. The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah. Oy vey, my heart. This one wrecked me in the best way possible. So much truth about first love, loss, and longing for home. I rooted for Leni and Cora the entire time, but I also beat my chest in frustration over the choices they made (or didn't make in some cases). TW: abusive relationships.

1B. The Four Winds - Kristin Hannah. The Dust Bowl and the Great Depression are the major backdrops here, and wow there was so much heartache, but she wrote in such a moving way that you almost don't realize it. Elsa was a true warrior full of grit, determination, and love for her kids. I borrowed a coworker's copy of this, and when I finished it on my lunch break and returned it to her, I was weeping and could not talk about it at first. A truly phenomenal read, even amidst the heartache. I do wonder who hurt Kristin Hannah in her life, though? Like, why do we have all these characters we love only to have to watch them suffer? She is a true master.

3. The President's Daughter - Bill Clinton, James Patterson. If you haven't read this duo's first collaboration - The President is Missing - it's not a must for this one to make sense, but it is helpful. In this installment, we see former President Keating's daughter Melanie get abducted by terrorists. Keating and the remaining Secret Service he has must scour the globe to find her. Throw in some blackballing from the current president who dethroned Keating, and the drama was intense. This was one of my 500+ page reads for the year, but it never felt long. I didn't ever want to stop reading this one.

4. Giver of Stars - Jojo Moyes. This one was a couple years old, but I am so glad I listened to it near the end of the school year. The story centers around the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky, which was an actual thing in the 30s and 40s. I loved all of the main characters, and I despised one of the fathers-in-law more than I have despised a fictional character since Dolores Umbridge. There was heart, drama, and pluck all throughout this one. I enjoyed it immensely. Also - Julia Whelan. Enough said. 

5. Sooley - John Grisham. I love a lot of Grisham's work, but especially his sports stories (seriously if you haven't read Calico Joe and are a baseball fan, please add it to your TBR). Sooley is a young African basketball player who comes to the United States for a showcase and eventually gets a scholarship offer from a small school in North Carolina, mainly as a favor to his national team coach. As he struggles to adapt to college basketball and gets a chance to play, the team makes a positive turnaround and gets a bid to March Madness. Sooley is the star of the team and the tournament as they make an unexpectedly deep run. But grab your tissues. I literally gasped and wept in the car near the end because of the shock and emotion of it all. 

6. Girls with Bright Futures - Tracy Dobmeier. Mean Girls meets Guilty Admissions in this delightfully dark satire. Three vastly different moms at an elite prep school in Seattle are all vying for the last spot available at Stanford - for their daughters. They all go to extreme lengths and betray a lot of people along the way, and in the end justice was served so neatly. I had a book hangover for several days after this one and found myself continually recommending this to my friends.

7. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V.E. Schwab. Fantasy is not my usual jam (and I sort of enjoyed Schwab's magic series this year), so I was not expecting to enjoy this one, but I truly devoured it. Addie makes a deal with the devil in the 1700s to live forever, but the price she pays is that she will never be remembered by anyone she meets. Fast forward 300 years and she meets a young man in a bookstore who remembers her name the next day. Thus begins their relationship, filled with joy and heartache. Schwab expertly wove together 2 parallel yarns into a delightful tapestry that leaves you coming back for more again and again. Seriously, I would re-read this one to get those details again. The story line flashes back and forth between random eras of Addie's past and the present, so if that isn't your thing, then steer clear. Also - Julia Whelan. Enough said. Again.

8. Gentle and Lowly - Dane Ortland. This was a book that I needed in the moment I read it. Ortland takes us through Christ's heart for sufferers and sinners. He opened my eyes to so many truths in scripture about the way Christ cares for us and the way he calls us to care for others. It was a humbling and eye-opening read for sure. I will most definitely re-read it.

9. The Man Who Died Twice - Richard Osman. This was the second book in a series (Thursday Murder Club) about a group of friends in a retirement village in England who solve murders together. This one outshone the first, and we got more character development and the like. The voice of each character is so unique, and I loved the cheeky tones of the diary entries for Joyce, the "second in command" in the group. Osman is a talk show host by trade, but these stories are not at all what one would expect. I can't wait for the next one in the series.

10. Gods in Alabama - Joshilyn Jackson. This was one of Anne Bogel's bonus recommendations on my WSIRN episode, and it did not disappoint at all. Part murder mystery, part coming of age, part Southern thriller - this one checked off so many of my boxes. Anne hit the nail on the head with this one. I don't want to say much more because it will give a lot of things away. If you like Southern authors, I would highly encourage you to check this one out. I read it on paternity leave, and it has stuck with me all year. TW: sexual abuse, language.

I may not have read any books published in 1986, only read 2 "classics," and didn't meet my goal on re-reads of books I read in school, but I surpassed my goal of 50 books for the year. And just reading at all is good for me and my soul. I don't think I am going to do any challenges in 2022, and I will probably lower my reading goal because of some professional goals I plan on tackling. And that is still okay. What books did y'all love in 2021?