Hey everyone! I thought I would share a short list of books I read in 2021 that were 'favorites' or were thought provoking for me. Some were ones that I read and discussed with book groups and some were just my own picks. My reading in 2021 was definitely 'off' in a lot of ways. I was distracted and also busy with moving and settling in a new location. Anyway, I read 83 books in total and 53 of them were read in the last half of the year. As usual, my tendency is toward women writers - 62 were by women and 21 by men. I don't think I have an overall favorite, but each of these 'spoke' to me in some way or another.
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths - read and discussed with mystery book group
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey - read and discussed with mystery book group
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict - again, read and discussed with mystery book group
Bitterroot Lake by Alicia Beckman - change of pace book by author Leslie Budewitz, writer of cozy mysteries - this one isn't so 'cozy' but I liked it a lot.
Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson - another book group discussion - the afternoon book group in Austin that I will miss a lot - quite an odd little book but I liked it.
The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths - latest in this author's Ruth Galloway series - love that series!
Joanna Schaffhausen's books - this author has two series - Ellery Hathaway with 4 books so far (new one out later this month) and one book in her Annelisa Vega series (2nd book out in the summer) - I really liked all 5 books I read. Recommended author and series.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - will be discussing this book with the 'Brown Bag' book group here at my new library in a couple of weeks - very thought provoking book for me - what if you had made some different decisions - what might your life look like? I'll be interested in other members' reactions.
So, that's it for 2021 reading. As I shared in my last post, my new library will be having 4 book groups a month and I'm going to try to be a bit involved in all of them. We shall see. And I also talked about my goal for this year is to stop by here at least once a week and share what I've been up to. Take care and Happy Reading!
Elly Griffiths' Stranger Diaries will be on my favourites list tomorrow too and her The Lantern Bearers narrowly missed. She's such an engaging author.
ReplyDeleteYes, Cath, Elly Griffiths is a great favorite of mine. I'm always excited about a new book from her.
DeleteNothing to See Here was one my favorites in 2020. Definitely a strange premise, and I enjoyed it so much more than I was expecting. The audio was so well done! A couple of the others are on my to read list.
ReplyDeleteJoAnn, I agree about Nothing To See Here. I wasn't sure it would be for me, but I thought it was quite clever and also thought provoking. I was trying to describe it to a new book friend here and struggled a bit. I told her to just try - she might like it! LOL
DeleteI've read Midnight Library and Nothing to See Here - pretty good reads for me. Our library books groups are going the way of ZOOM for January because of all the new virus cases:( not happy here.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, Diane. I do understand. We have not so many cases here in our small town area and the book groups usually have about 8 or so attending. Big room - not many people. Makes it easier for sure.
DeleteI love Joanna Schaffhausen! (Though I haven't started her newest series yet.) And I'm looking forward to finally reading the Midnight Library this year. :)
ReplyDeleteLark, I'll be interested in what you think if you get to The Midnight Library. I think most have liked it. And I did remember that you and I shared a love for Joanna Schaffhausen. I think you'll like her new series when you try it.
DeleteI really want to read The Widows of Malabar Hill. I did read The Midnight Library this past year. I think it would make a great book club pick.
ReplyDeleteWendy, I encourage you to try The Widows of Malabar Hill. I've read it and the next in the series - The Satapur Moonstone. I'm kind of waiting on #3 in the series until #4 is closer to coming out. Sometime this year I think.
DeleteI loved The Stranger Diaries, and hope to read the next in that serie soon. Although I don't expect it to be the same experience. I have the first from her other series (Brighton Mysteries) and the 5th from the Ruth Galloway series on my TBR shelves also.
ReplyDeleteI would not mind trying both The Widows of Malabar Hill and The Mystery of Mrs. Christie. Maybe someday, or if I see them at the book sale next year.
My husband has The Midnight Library and I want to read that. I have several other books by the same author which I want to read.
Tracy, I think you'll have lots of good reading ahead if you try the ones you mentioned. I do love Elly Griffiths, but I will say that I haven't tried the Brighton series (or maybe I did and didn't get pulled in - can't remember).
DeleteI haven't read any of these but I do have Nothing to See Here on my shelves that I got from the library before the holidays and I've been curious about The Widows of Malabar Hill for a while. Wishing you a very good year ahead in reading!
ReplyDeleteAthira, I do encourage you to try The Widows of Malabar Hill. Very informative as well as a good crime novel. Nothing To See Here is just plain weird, but good - ha!
DeleteI enjoyed both The Midnight Library and The Widows of Malabar Hill. Happy New Year, and happy reading in 2022, Kay!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Robin. Looks like most who have read The Midnight Library enjoyed it. Hope that holds true for our book discussion next week.
DeleteDelighted to make your list, Kay -- you've put me in such excellent company! Happy Reading in this new year.
ReplyDeleteLeslie, I'm so honored that you stopped by. I loved Bitterroot Lake. Hope more to come from part of your author persona - ????
DeleteThanks, Kay. And yes, Alicia's second novel, tentatively titled BLIND FAITH, will be out this fall. Two women whose paths crossed years ago discover they share keys to a deadly secret that exposes a killer—and changes everything they thought they knew about themselves. (Crooked Lane Books, Oct 11, 2022)
DeleteLeslie - I'm so excited about Blind Faith (or whatever it ends up being called)! I'll definitely be watching for it. Thanks for the news!
DeleteI tend to read more female than male authors, too! The Mystery of Mrs. Christie sounds really good!
ReplyDeleteThe Mystery of Mrs. Christie is indeed good, Angela. Hope you get to try it this year.
DeleteI've had The Stranger Diaries on my audio list for quite some time now. Glad you enjoyed it so well.
ReplyDeleteNothing to See Here is an odd book, but it was outstanding on audio. I loved it!
I recently read The Midnight Library and enjoyed it a lot, too. It's very thought-provoking, isn't it?
I plan to put my "Best of" list up tomorrow. I've been on jury duty all week and am happy for a weekend! :)
Oh wow - jury duty. I'll be curious about your experience there if you can even talk about it much. Yes, I'm looking forward to the discussion of The Midnight Library this next week.
DeleteI see some favorites on here - the Elly Griffiths, Sujata Massey and Joanna Schaffhaussen. Some of your other favorites have been on my radar so I need to move them up! I do love these best of the year posts. Of course they just add more to my reading list :) Here's to a lot of great books this year! Oh and tell us more about your library reading groups - different genres?
ReplyDeleteYes, different genres or mostly. I'll try to keep everyone updated on what's going on with those groups. What I know right now is that this past week the first meeting of the historical fiction group, then there's the 'Brown Bag' group which reads fiction/non-fiction, 3rd week will be the mystery book group (Yay!), and 4th week is the 'Talking Texas' book group (reading books set in Texas or Texas authors).
DeleteThe Midnight Library made my favorite list too. It left me contemplating my own life for a few days and the seemingly small decisions that were anything but. Loved it as much for what it left for me after closing the book than for the story itself :)
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Stacy, I'm glad to know what you thought about The Midnight Library too. I'll be in a book discussion of it this week. We'll see what everyone thought.
DeleteGood list. I liked the Kevin Wilson book too. I think I would enjoy Massey's novels so I'm on the list at the library. They seem popular now. Happy 2022.
ReplyDeleteI bet you would like Sujata Massey's stories. Hope you'll try them!
DeleteMidnight Library is a book I'd love to discuss with others. I hope you will share the thoughts of the other people in your book group, Kay.
ReplyDeleteNothing To See Here is a book I have here and that I keep meaning to read.
Deb, I'll share what this week's group thought about The Midnight Library in my post next week. Nothing To See Here is more than a bit weird, but it's a good one I think.
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