My Top 12 Books of 2021

Happy New Year’s Eve, friends!!!! Straight from my Covid cave. Yep, it finally happened to me! Six days ago, on December 26, I officially tested positive. I resigned to a holiday week of quarantine, body aches, and more vitamins and green juice than I’ve consumed in the past three years! Gratefully my case overall is mild compared to those faced by others, and I’m very much on the up. Thank you, Lord! That said, this whole Omicron business is nothing to sneeze at, even though I’m sneezing plenty! The fatigue is no joke, the headaches are awful, and five full days went by before I could stand for longer than half an hour. Be careful out there! Stay healthy, loves!

One silver ribbon on this *little Christmas present*, though? Endless hours of down time—not optional—right at the end of the year. When I’m usually barreling full speed ahead to the finish line. Ahhh. Breathe. Even if those breaths are shaky, I’m feeling more thankful than ever for health and life and air in my lungs. We were supposed to be in Las Vegas for a wild family-friendly vacation this week, so basically, this time has been the dead opposite of our plan! No sparkles, no noise, no itinerary. But plenty of quiet, gratitude, and time to reflect on so many things…

Like my favorite reads of the year!!!

I’ve done this every year since 2016, which solidifies the tradition, I’d say! I love rounding up my top reads of the year and hearing what y’all loved, too!

Every year morphs into its own sort of reading life for me, without fail. I marvel looking back at the books I adored, the ones I didn’t, the genres I reached for, the authors I craved. As always, I have some observations.

First, I learned this year that launching my own book and writing a second required more practical, spiritual, physical, and emotional energy than I ever predicted! I set my annual reading goal at a modest 50 books for 2021. I often read many more than this! And you know what? I didn’t even make it! I only read 42. And I am completely fine with it. I allowed myself the silence and clarity needed to pour own heart into the world, in a way that I never have. 

Books will always be like oxygen to my soul—but this year taught me that there will be seasons when I am exhaling more than I’m inhaling. That I need to clear out, to pour out. My lifelong, nuanced, rich relationship with books will ebb and flow with my seasons, and I think that’s beautiful! Yours likely will, too!

Secondly, I learned that some years are just, frankly, better than others in terms of reading. I wouldn’t say this was a bad reading year, by any means! But it wasn’t my favorite. I read more duds than usual, truthfully. I found my mind wandering more, my heart sticking less. I was even disappointed by some of my most hotly anticipated, pre-ordered picks! 

And that’s okay. 

I pressed on!

If the pandemic has taught me anything about reading, it’s that individual moods, past experiences, inexplicable sensitivities, and long-held dreams play a huge part in each person’s experience of a book. 

It’s that books matter, more than we know.

It’s that we need books now, more than ever!

For what it’s worth, many of my Book Club Babes faced a similar sense of “meh” when it came to their reading lives in 2021. It’s almost like there’s something in the air, you guys!!! Like, ohhh, heyy, two years of a global pandemic and a general sense of what-could-possibly-come-for-us-next?! God’s here. Please don’t fear. I’m just saying that if we’re collectively feeling a wee bit worn out, there is abundant reason and grace!

And there is friendship. There is joy. There is magic, and art. 

There is Y-O-U—thank you so much for being here, guys!!!! 

And there are books.

Which I am always so happy to share with you.

In no specific order, here are my top 12 of the 42 books I read in 2021! I loved them all so much, for widely varying reasons!

I would love to know your favorites, too!

Just Haven’t Met You Yet

I could be biased toward this jewel because it made me smile so huge and cackle out loud from my quarantine bed. But guys, I absolutely wolfed down this enchanting romantic comedy! One accidental suitcase swap becomes a truly delightful, outrageous romp starring lifestyle reporter and faithful-love-seeker Laura. If you want a book to make you grin, this is it. My friend gave me the extremely high compliment that she thought I’d love this one because the style reminded her of my writing. What?! Ugh! Thank you for that undeserved praise, pal! And for this fun book, Sophie Cousens. I loved it so much!!! (Rated a little PG-13) 

Golden Girl

Golden Girl was Elin Hildebrand’s new release for the summer, and an instant favorite for me! After world-famous Nantucket beach-read author Vivian Howe—sound familiar?! #autbiographicalvibes—is hit by a car, she enters a sort of limbo state. She meets Martha, a sassy, Hermes-scarf-wearing “ghost” who grants her a wonderful privilege. Vivian has the chance to watch her three grown children from up above during one final summer. Three times, Vivian can “nudge,” or intervene, in their lives. I simply swooned over this one—so touching, so simple, so clever, so sweet. It made me feel all the feelings and taste all the foods—err, back when I could still taste things. Ha! Elin went out on a limb with this one, and I am so glad I followed her. I loved it so much!

The Midnight Library

I know, I know… Yep! I’m still raving about this one, consumed by me on the shores of Hawaii. Months later, this whimsical pick still stands out to me as an exceptional masterpiece. “Between life and death, there is a library…” Depressed, down-and-out Nora decides to end her life, only to end up with the chance to live a hundred different, alternative lives that sparkle and dazzle and knock the wind right of your chest as you lose yourself inside their pages. This book surprised me in the biggest ways and still brings a twinkle to my eye when I think of it. I can’t recommend it enough!

The Push

Full disclosure, I reviewed The Push earlier this year and it’s the one to which I have received the most divided response! People either LOVE this book or they HATE IT. And truthfully? I understand both. While I personally enjoyed it so tremendously much, I also can’t believe a book of fiction can creep me out to my very last living blood cell. It is a doozy, you guys. Please read all the trigger warnings for postpartum depression, child abuse, miscarriage, infidelity, and more. If those words give you chills, imagine reading about them in vivid color for 6+ hours! But also read when I say this book is compulsive, addictive, brilliant, effecting, and deeply unsettling. The story—and ending!—gives the reader so much to ponder, untangle, consider. About life, love, nature, nurture, death. The Push is essentially a book about some women and motherhood, and their experience of it. Written from the perspective of Blythe, toggling back and forth from past to present, the book unfurls slowly, like a hard-won secret or treasure map. If there’s one thing I can promise, for better or worse, you will FEEL this book, and the struggle of Blythe as she strives to be perfect and questions her own daughter’s goodness. I thought it was SO well done. Remarkable. 

The Paper Palace

I’m going to follow up The Push with The Paper Palace because it’s another 2021 book I absolutely adored—in the end—but that polarized so many avid readers I know. I will admit that this is precisely what drove me to read this one! The title sort of lingered on my TBR until I lost count of the strong opinions and then went, hmmm, do I need to learn for myself?! Duh! Half my Book Club was like, “THIS WAS INCREDIBLE!” While others said it was just too sad, or just irredeemable, or just not something they wanted to read. Everyone agreed that the ending felt open-ended. Well, clearly, I had to find out!

And I did. And… I LOVED IT!

I loved it so much. It was one of my favorite books of this year, with lyrical language, richly drawn characters, and a setting that echoed Where the Crawdads Sing. This book is not for the sensitive souls, friends. No, no, no. It is graphic on every count—and yes, incredibly sad! But it cast a powerful spell on me. The book opens with a woman, Elle Bishop, having an affair with her lifelong friend—see? awful/sad—but the story to follow, told through sparkling prose in a past-present timeline, gripped me from beginning to end. We learn of Elle’s marriage and her friendship with Jonas and the scars that have formed who she is. I really felt these characters and their pain, and to me, this is the evidence of a brilliant book. I loved The Paper Palace to pieces (but I completely understand if you didn’t)!

Swear on This Life

If we’ve spoken in person this year, I’ve probably told you to scoop up this YA joy and let it #bless you, my friend! Swear on This Life is heartbreaking, sweet, and simply a treat. Young love, a writerly plot, all the echoes I need of both Colleen Hoover and Nicholas Sparks… Wait, do I need to go read it all over again?! It’s just divine. When Emiline learns she was the inspiration for a bestselling debut novel—published under a pseudonym—she must face her dark past and the great love she’s tried to forget. Sky full of stars for this one! I can’t wait to read more by Renée Carlino, pronto!

Rock Paper Scissors

I think this was the most disturbing book I read this year, as several of my bookish friends agree! Well, maybe besides The Push. It’s a close one. Ha! Either way, though, Alice Feeney is a queen. Sometimes I Lie and His & Hers are two all-time favorite thrillers of mine, so my expectations are always admittedly high when I crack one of Feeney’s books. This one DID NOT disappoint! Oh, my, wowza! This novel is so unbelievably well-plotted, carefully structured, and perfectly written. Gimme a married-couple-gone-wrong in a deliciously spooky vacation setting, every day of the week! “Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.” That’s all you need to know! Oh, and the fact that facial blindness—the inability to recognize human faces—makes for one heck of a frightening plot point. Go grab this now!

Local Woman Missing

Oh, friends, this is the year I discovered Mary Kubica and hallelujah for that! This was my first one by her, also her newest. Holy twists and turns until the last handful of pages, you guys! Multiple POVs, several kidnappings, too many mysteries to count… I inhaled it! It is moody, atmospheric, and chilling to the core. After this one, I promptly picked up The Other Mrs. and that one instantly shot to the top of my all-time favorite thrillers ever! I can’t wait to keep working through her books. Well done, Mary Kubica! You’ve got a (BIG) fan in me!!!

Wish You Were Here

Forever, I’ve been saying, OMG, NO PANDEMIC LITERATURE FOR ME, PLEASE! No, thanks. But then. I saw that Jodi Picoult (love her) did it. She wrote a book about Covid-19. One with rave reviews and a super-compelling plot. Welp, I guess it took me contracting Covid-19 myself to finally crack this one open, and boy, am I glad I did! I read this book during my quarantine and let me just say—wow. NYC-based art specialist Diana O’Toole is nearly engaged to her surgical resident boyfriend, Finn. When coronavirus hits planet earth, Finn can’t break away from work for the dreamy tropical vacation they had planned—so Diana ends up going alone. I became rapidly invested in the fate of these two: doctor and tropical traveler circa spring 2020. This is both a wildly unpredictable love story and a harrowing play-by-play of the earliest pandemic times. I devoured it in a day!

One note on this book: Read the whole thing, Author’s Note and all, before you form your opinion of it. For a chunk of this book, I was like, “Eh, I’m not sure!” But the experience, ending, and perspective of the author left me genuinely moved and dare I say gut-punched. I hope you love it like I did!!!

Please also note that this book is perhaps not presently for everyone. For lack of a better descriptor, it is, indeed, very Covidy.

Yellow Wife

Yellow Wife might be my favorite book of the year. It’s absolutely my favorite from the twelve we read for my Book Club. It is a marvel, a challenge, a transformative piece of historical fiction. It’s especially moving when you close the book after reading the Author’s Note. Inspired by a true story, the novel follows light-skinned Black slave Pheby as she is forced from her home and her true love into a harrowing prison called Devil’s Half Acre. We follow Pheby through unthinkable atrocities, inhuman heartbreaks, and twisted complexities of her life as a “white” jailer’s wife. She is a strong woman, loving mother, and fighter to the bitter end. So many stars for this book. Read it. Own it. Cherish it. I gained more from this book than from a half-dozen anti-racism nonfiction reads (which are also important to read). This book changed me. 

The Soulmate Equation

Ding, ding, ding… Another rom-com winner of the year for me! I thought this plot was so fresh and fun, especially after writing a dating app book myself! GeneticAlly is a DNA-based matchmaking company that is poised to change the dating game dramatically and forever. When single mom Jess is matched with the company’s handsome founder, River, will she go along with the lucrative plan to pose as his leading lady, even though she can’t stand him? This book is a blast. If you’ve never read Christina Lauren, I also loved The Unhoneymooners and My Favorite Half-Night Stand. Her books are on the rated R-ish side, FYI.

The Happiest Man on Earth

Perhaps the fastest read of the year for me, this might have also been the most heartwarming. In this spectacularly uplifting memoir of life as a survivor of Auschwitz, Eddie Jaku shares his story, his wisdom, his unreal will to survive. We read it for Book Club and our collective rating was: YES, please! We love you, Eddie! I laughed, I cried, I clutched my chest. We were all extra touched by Eddie’s story when we learned that he passed—at age 100—just before we met to discuss this book. Despite the hatred and evil Eddie endured, he died claiming to be the “happiest man on earth.” You know those books that just feel like a joy and privilege? This is one of them. I can almost guarantee you will love it. This book would also make a fantastic gift for anyone in your life, male or female, young or old, anyone with a pulse. All the stars from me!!!!!

I CAN’T WAIT FOR MORE AWESOME READS WITH YOU IN 2022!!!

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Based in Orange County, California, Stephanie Mack is a longtime writer, wife to one, and mom of three little girls. She has been blogging at MOMentary Insanity® since 2014. Her work has also been featured on Scary Mommy, Faithit, Coffee + Crumbs, and more. She holds a Master of Professional Writing degree from USC. When We Blinked is her debut novel.

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