Best of 2021: The Books I've Read This Year

This year I've spent a lot of time going into bookshops and picking out a random selection to take home with me. I love not knowing what I'm coming to come out with. Sometimes it's the front cover of a book that makes me go back and pick it up, other times it's an author I recognise but have never read. 

I'm the type of bookworm who buys a couple of new books, reads them all, and then goes out and buys more. I don't like having a whole bookshelf full of stuff I haven't read because I know if I keep adding to it some books will never get picked.

But this has been the first full year in quite a while that hasn't involved university seminars and lectures, so it's been fun having the time to choose what to dive into next.  

I've ranked all my 2021 books in this post (it took me ages to decide on this order!!), so I hope you enjoy reading and maybe it will encourage you to give them a go if you haven't already read them. See you all in 2022!

16. The Girls by Emma Cline

The Girls is the only book on this list that I didn't enjoy reading. This surprised me because the narrative is certainly intriguing and dark, inspired by the Manson Family and the murder of Sharon Tate. It follows Evie Boyd, a teenage girl who in the summer of 1969 is captivated by an enigmatic group of girls. The girls spend their time shoplifting and dumpster diving, and to a bored, unhappy teenager they are the epitome of cool and interesting. Evie spends much of her time wanting to impress the group on their ranch, specifically Suzanne, and as the summer progresses she becomes drawn into their unusual and often manipulative ways. 

I found the observant role of Evie to be an interesting perspective because it allows Cline to explore the workings of a cult with a character who moves in and out of its circle. However, I wasn't a huge fan of Cline's writing style and it's one of those books that has its main character make bad decisions constantly. This means that I found myself getting annoyed all the time and I didn't sympathise with any character. As a reader, it's important to me that I care about the characters or at least find them interesting but in the case of this book, I just tried to get through it as fast as possible.

15. Olive Kitteredge by Elizabeth Strout

I picked this book up randomly a few months ago and had no idea what to expect. It takes the form of short stories that help to build a picture of a community, but it's the character of Olive that ties everything together. Although I enjoyed having a different set of characters to focus on each chapter, with each family/story rife with emotion and conflict, I found it hard to remember what was happening and who I'd already read about each time I picked it up. The collection of stories are all interrelated but it means that as soon as one story gets going we are then moved on to another, so I found the novel didn't have much momentum or excitement. It was a pleasant read but not something I'd ever pick up again. 

14. The Confession by Jessie Burton

I've written about The Confession in one of my previous posts here but I'm surprised at how low down this book came to be on my list. I'm a huge fan of Jessie Burton and I still really enjoyed this book, I just didn't think it was as good as her others. I love books that have narrative time shifts and this is something Burton does exceptionally well, but unlike her previous novels, The Miniaturist and The Muse, the dual time frame here is more recent and thus for me not as interesting. However, I especially enjoyed the conversations between Constance and Rose at the end of the novel and found their friendship to be my favourite part of the book. 

13. Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton

Afterwards follows one mother, Grace Covey, as she witnesses her children's school go up in flames during sports day. Grace races to find her children and later, to find the identity of the arsonist. It's a powerful novel, mainly about the love between a mother and her child but the constant out-of-body experiences Lupton writes get quite frustrating. We only learn about events piece-by-piece but this happens so slowly that the crime-solving aspect of the novel gets lost. 

I think it's an interesting way of structuring a book, with second-person narration and conversations happening in a spiritual in-between, but after a while, I found it annoying. Despite this, the twists and turns were enough to keep me reading and I really liked the ending.

12. Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton

Three Hours takes place in the middle of a blizzard when a school is under siege by armed gunmen. The terrifying three-hour period is detailed with different narrative strands that come together to show the collective effort of everyone involved to keep the school children safe. I really liked how every chapter is time-stamped to show how quickly things are unfolding, and this also created pace and excitement. Even though that are frequent shifts in perspective, I was still able to connect with all the characters. 

11. Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

I've been meaning to read this novel for a number of years after first reading Hardy whilst at university. I loved The Mayor of Casterbridge and so I was hoping I'd love this just as much. Tess is just as beautiful and as tragic a story, with Tess's misfortune and sadness only intensifying. As a modern reader, you can feel yourself getting angrier at the injustice of Tess's life and you end up hating every male character. 

I enjoyed reading this but I spent most of the book in disbelief as to what was happening and ultimately I didn't feel as emotionally connected to events as I had anticipated. I was deeply moved by the end of Casterbridge and Hardy made me empathise with his protagonist even though he behaves appallingly throughout, but I didn't feel the same depth of emotion when reading Tess. I'm not sure whether this is because I find Hardy's prose more convincing when he is writing from a male perspective, but regardless I thought it was a good book just not one that I loved.

10. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Another classic book I've only just read, Little Women is a firm favourite! I loved the 2019 film version and the novel was such a comforting read. I felt an immediate affection for the March sisters and it's fun reading about their adventures as they grow from girls to young women. Their chaotic family dynamic is so great to read, the characters burst from the pages and you feel like they could just as well be modern-day heroines rather than characters who were written over 150 years ago.

9. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

I read A Little Life during the summer and it genuinely took me about 2 months to read. Not because it wasn't any good, quite the opposite. It's the most profoundly moving, heartbreaking, beautiful book I've ever read and it's so well written but it was at times for me just too much. 

The book starts with four best friends who move to New York, all with different ambitions and personalities. Over the course of the novel, we follow them through the decades as they grow, love and experience life. Most of the novel is centered on Jude, a talented actor who is constantly haunted by his traumatic past.

I completely concur that the book should be award-winning, but the reason why I haven't put it higher on my list is that I found it too traumatic. I didn't know anything about the story before I started reading it and I really wished I had taken heed of the trigger warnings. There were times I didn't want to pick it back up because it was so depressing. That's not to say it isn't a beautiful book, and I definitely recommend it but I would suggest reading it cautiously and with a box of tissues at hand.

8. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson

The first of three Kate Atkinson novels on this list, A God in Ruins relates the life of Teddy Todd. He is a World War II bomber pilot and the novel delves into his experiences during the war and his family life back home. 

As it is a companion piece to Atkinson's earlier novel Life After Life, I suggest you read that first if you're wanting to delve into this. I'm a huge fan of Atkinson and this novel, while not as good as Life After Life, presents a poignant nostalgia for the past. Atkinson writes Teddy as a young boy and we follow him as he grows up and grows old, witnessing his strained relationships with his family and his struggles with civilian life. One of the best parts of the novel relies on Atkinson's research into the period, as she details Teddy's experiences in combat, fearing that every day may be his last. 

7. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

I was obsessed with the BBC adaptation of North and South, because who wouldn't be when it has the gorgeous Richard Armitage in it?? I can't believe that it came out 17 years ago but the novel beats that by having been published in 1854.

As a proud Northerner, I love that the story is set in a Northern town and the characters and story feel real to me in ways that Pride and Prejudice never quite managed. Don't get me wrong, I love Jane Austen but North and South manages to explore romance whilst also being a social novel, focused on the working classes. The conflicted relationship between Mr Thornton and Margaret Hale is so compelling, and I love how both characters are given equal attention by Gaskell, which allows us to see their vulnerabilities and you hope that by the end of the novel they swallow their pride and get together.

6. Transcription by Kate Atkinson

Transcription opens with its main character, Juliet Armstrong, being hit by a car in 1981. If that doesn't grab your attention as an opener, then I don't know what will! We then go back in time to a younger Juliet as she is reluctantly recruited into the world of espionage during the height of World War II. Rather than having a Bond-esque role in the operation, Juliet is tasked with transcribing meetings between low-level Nazi sympathisers. 

I haven't read many spy novels, but this one is surprisingly not that fast-paced, but rather than that being a disadvantage I think this adds to the tension and allows Atkinson to develop her lead character. Everything about the novel is mysterious and murky and I was never sure which characters I could trust. There are funny moments too and moments that show Juliet's naivety in a world full of deceit. 

5. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

It seems like everyone on social media has read this book before me but I'm glad I waited a while before reading it. After the traumatic end of A Little Life, I needed a pick-me-up and first off, the dark opening of this book left me thinking I'd made a bad choice. It opens with Nora about to take her own life, yet at the stroke of midnight, she finds herself transported to a library. But this isn't your usual library, for the books on the shelves represent all the different lives Nora could have experienced had she made different decisions. 

It's a cool concept and one that makes you stop and think about where you are now in your own life. Although sad at times, the novel is ultimately uplifting and comforting because you follow a character who is learning to love and appreciate life again.

4. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

The next four books are some of my favourites I've ever read, so deciding which order to put them in was hard! Life After Life was my first introduction to Kate Atkinson and it's a book that's stayed with me months after first reading it. It relies on a similar structure to The Midnight Library in that it plays with the idea of alternative possible lives, but the lives Atkinson explores come to us far more rapidly and with darker twists. 

The main character Ursula Todd has many iterations of her life, with most seeing see her die in tragic circumstances. As the novel progresses she gains foreknowledge of events and is able to change her future by making different decisions. The multitude of lives Ursula experiences gives Atkinson the opportunity to write about so many aspects of the war experience, from the rise of Hitler in 1930s Germany to the work of civilians during the Blitz. The novel is a testament to Atkinson's skills as a writer and I can't wait to read it again.

3. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

This is a book that when reading it I cried pretty much the whole way through. It is as much about loneliness and social isolation as it is about kindness and friendship. I fell in love with the title character as she's so endearing and vulnerable. Eleanor Oliphant is a woman in her 30s who has no friends, is seen as a recluse at work, spending her weekends downing a bottle of vodka alone in her flat. Over the course of the novel, I found Eleanor's transformation from a solitary, socially awkward woman to someone who finds true friendship and experiences the kindness of others incredibly powerful. I still can't believe this is Gail Honeyman's debut novel, it's that good!

2. Hamnet by Maggie O' Farrell

I couldn't wait to read Hamnet, having heard so many good things about it and I'm so glad it didn't disappoint. Taking William Shakespeare's son as inspiration, O' Farrell creates a fictionalised account of his childhood and the events leading up to his death at only 11 years of age. 

Little is known about the real Hamnet Shakespeare, so the novel fills in the gaps for us in an inspired way, as we follow the little boy through the streets of Elizabethan England and meet his parents. The novel is immersive and holds so much emotion within it that the final chapter had me sobbing. I was also struck by how Shakespeare is only in the periphery of the story, with his wife Agnes being given centre stage.

1. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Finally we come to the book that holds the number one spot for this year - Station Eleven. This book ironically came out in 2014 before Coronavirus became the only topic mentioned on every news channel, and reading it during our very real pandemic in 2021 was pretty eery. 

The book opens with a performance of King Lear on a snowy night in Toronto. That same night a deadly virus takes hold suddenly and the entire city is shut down within a matter of days. Over the next few weeks the virus devastates the world, killing most of the population. 

It might seem on the surface that the book is just going to be all doom and gloom, but it manages to be a celebration of culture, art and life. Much of the focus is on a group of travelling actors who, twenty years on from the collapse of civilisation, are moving around the settlements that are left performing Shakespeare.

I just love the thought that if the world as we know it ended abruptly, people would still rally to put on performances of Shakespeare. Rather than just being about the virus itself, Station Eleven is more concerned with how and if society can re-build itself again, and whether there's anything left to save. I couldn't put this book down, so it had to be my number one choice for this year.