books i read in 2021

So, this is nearly 8 months late, but here are all the books I read last year. 2021 was a great reading year for me. It’s funny — since the pandemic started, all of my bookworm friends tend to fall into one of two categories:

• they’ve been reading more than they ever have in their lives
• their Reading Life has perished with barely an ignominious whimper.

Personally, I seem to be swimming in waters of the first category. I don’t remember my stats for 2020 (if you wanna look ’em up, they’re easy to find on this blog, but not so easy I’m gonna do it for you at the moment, hashtag sorry not sorry), but I’m pretty sure I read more in 2021 than I ever did in any single year of my life, including my long-ago escapist teens. But I wasn’t tracking my reading back then, so who knows?

Anyway, here they are in all their (non-)literary glory:

1. THE WITCHWOOD CROWN (Last King of Osten Ard, #1) by Tad Williams
2. SARNY: A Life Remembered by Gary Paulsen
3. WATER LOGIC (Elemental Logic, #3) by Laurie J. Marks
4. AIR LOGIC (Elemental Logic, #4) by Laurie J. Marks
5. THE HORSES KNOW (The Horses Know, #1) by Lynn Mann.
6. SHADOW AND BONE (Shadow & Bone, #1) by Leigh Bardugo
7. BEOWULF by Maria Dahvana Headley
8. SIEGE AND STORM (Shadow & Bone, #2) by Leigh Bardugo
9. WHERE THE FOREST MEETS THE STARS by Glendy Vanderah
10. TIME’S CONVERT by Deborah Harkness
11. LAB GIRL by Hope Jahren
12. THE NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS by Frederick Douglass
13. SPINNING SILVER by Naomi Novik
14. RUIN AND RISING (Shadow & Bone, #3) by Leigh Bardugo
15. ELIZA’S FREEDOM ROAD by Jerdine Nolan
16. A SENDING OF DRAGONS (Pit Dragon Chronicles, #3) by Jane Yolen
17. ANGEL’S BLOOD (Guild Hunter, #1) by Nailini Singh
18. THE LONG WINTER (Little House, #5) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
19. DRAGON’S HEART (Pit Dragon Chronicles, #4) by Jane Yolen
20. HORIZON (Bone Universe, #3) by Fran Wilde
21. UNTAMED by Glennon Doyle
22. THE MYSTERIOUS MADAM MORPHO (A Blud Novella) by Delilah S. Dawson
23. THE PECULIAR PETS OF MISS PLEASANCE (A Blud Novella) by Delilah S. Dawson
24. WICKED AS SHE WANTS (Blud Series, #2) by Delilah S. Dawson
25. THE DAMSEL AND THE DAGGERMAN (A Blud Novella) by Delilah S. Dawson
26. WICKED AFTER MIDNIGHT (Blud Series, #3) by Delilah S. Dawson
27. WICKED EVER AFTER (Blud Series, #4) by Delilah S. Dawson
28. UNBOUND: TALES BY MASTERS OF FANTASY, ed. Shawn Speakman
29. THE LEGACY HUMAN (Singularity, #1) by Susan Kaye Quinn
30. THE ONE-ARMED QUEEN (Great Alta, #3) by Jane Yolen
31. ECHOES OF BETRAYAL (Paladin’s Legacy, #3) by Elizabeth Moon
32. WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens
33. FEED (Newsflesh, #1) by Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire)
34. PAPER WISHES by Lois Sepahban
35. THE WIND DONE GONE by Alice Randall
36. CROWN OF RENEWAL (Paladin’s Legacy, #5) by Elizabeth Moon
37. THE VIEW FROM FLYOVER COUNTRY by Sarah Kendzior
38. ARCHANGEL’S KISS (Guild Hunter, #2) by Nalini Singh
39. THE TENT PEG by Aritha van Herk
40. THE GLASS MAGICIAN (Paper Magician, #2) by Charlie N. Holmberg
41. THE MASTER MAGICIAN (Paper Magician, #3) by Charlie N. Holmberg
42. THE PLASTIC MAGICIAN (Paper Magician, #4) by Charlie N. Holmberg
43. LIFE AND LIMB (Blood & Bone, #1) by Jennifer Roberson
44. A VISION OF FIRE (Earthend Saga, #1) by Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin
45. PURE (Pure, #1) by Julianna Baggott
46. INSURRECTION by Peter Rollins
47. WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT by Isabel Ibañez
48. GET OF(F) THE UNICORN by Anne McCaffrey
49. PERFECT SHADOW (a Night Angel novella) by Brent Weeks
50. FUSED (Pure, #2) by Julianna Baggott
51. THE ORPHANS OF RASPAY by Lois McMaster Bujold
52. THE UNWILLING (The Barrier Lands, #1) by Kelly Braffet
53. THE FIFTH SEASON (Broken Earth, #1) by N.K. Jemisin
54. DEADLOCKED (Sookie Stackhouse, #12) by Charlaine Harris
55. SKY COYOTE (A Company Novel) by Kage Baker
56. YHE STRANGE CASE OF THE ALCHEMIST’S DAUGHTER (The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club, #1) by Theodora Goss
57. NINE PERFECT STRANGERS by Liane Moriarty
58. LORD OF SNOW AND SHADOWS (The Tears of Artamon, #1) by Sarah Ash
59. THE NIGHT BEFORE by Wendy Walker
60. GIRL A by Abigail Dean
61. WHITE RAGE by Carol Anderson
62. THE OBELISK GATE (Broken Earth, #2) by N.K. Jemisin
63. IN THE WATCHFUL CITY by S. Qiouyi Lu
64. THE BONE SHIPS (Tide Child, #1) by R. J. Barker
65. DEADLINE (Newsflesh, #2) by Mira Grant
66. IF IT BLEEDS by Stephen King
67. BLACKOUT (Newsflesh, #3) by Mira Grant
68. THE VIRIDIAN CONVICT by Sam York.
69. THE NIGHTJAR (Nightjar Duology, #1) by Deborah Hewitt
70. THE IDOLATRY OF GOD by Peter Rollins
71. A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES (ACoTaR, #1) by Sarah J. Maas
72. LITTLE TOWN ON THE PRAIRIE (Little House, #6) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
73. A COURT OF MIST AND FURY (ACoTaR, #2) by Sarah J. Maas
74. HALF THE CHURCH by Carolyn Custis James
75. A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN (ACoTaR, #3) by Sarah J. Maas
76. DEAD EVER AFTER (Sookie Stackhouse, #13) by Charlaine Harris
77. THE ECHO WIFE by Sarah Hailey
78. POISON STUDY (Soulfinders, #1) by Maria V. Snyder
79. EVERY HEART A DOORWAY (Wayward Children, #1) by Seanan McGuire
80. THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON by Kelly Barnhill

I always have trouble picking favorites within the media I consume, whether it’s songs, music albums, movies, or TV shows. Books are no exception. But of last year’s reads, the ones that grabbed me and held my attention most were…well, too many to list a second time, as it turns out.

I TRIED, PEOPLE. Bardugo, Moon, Maas, Headley, Yolen, Ibañez, Kendzior, Rollins, Baggott, Hewitt, McGuire…. After last year’s reads, these all are authors I would recommend and will read again (and again, and again…). If you wanna know my specific reasons for enjoying or not enjoying a certain book, ask me about it. Sadly, I have pretty much given up reviewing books — because who has time to review 80 books in one year? Unless you wanna do that full-time, which I don’t.

Anywhich, there they are. I am currently 36 books into 2022 with 4 in-progress reads. Another banner reading year in the making. We’ll see how the rest goes.