Em’s 2021 Reading Roundup: the 34 books read + one-line reviews of my top 10
Total number of books read has dipped sharply in 2021. From 52 to 34 is a roughly 40 per cent drop! Good reasons, however: me releasing and marketing my own debut novel, plus our six-month "holiday" on which I edited my second, gave us very little personal time this year. Some blame must also be apportioned to small human named Augie. Come to think of it though, I have read 8000 baby books not mentioned here, which has given me whole new areas of reading to appreciate, a subject for another post.
Hence, for this reason I won't give a top 10 for fiction and nonfiction but an overall top 10. I have given short teaser reviews here, but have reviewed most of these at length on the blog throughout the year, and you can find these by searching the title on my site.
Five of the top 10 are Australian authors, though you will note in my complete list to follow that I read a lot of debut Australian fiction this year, all of which was of an extremely high standard and is highly recommended. Also, the ordering of the top 10 is somewhat arbitrary as you can’t effectively compare books of this range and quality.
But without further ado,
Em’s Top 10
Crossroads, Jonathan Franzen (Literary fiction. New family saga from the American literary fiction juggernaut, a banquet of a novel; 600 pages and I didn’t want it to end.)
The Bass Rock, Evie Wyld (Literary fiction. Australian Gothic, darkly funny story of ghosts, secrets and violence; winner of the Stella Prize.)
Troubled Blood, Robert Galbraith (Crime fiction, fifth in the Cormoran Strike detective series by J.K. Rowling alias. Immersive, absolutely wonderful, haunting, complex and clever. Where crime fiction meets literature.)
Honeybee, Craig Silvey (Literary fiction, third novel from lauded Western Australian author of Jasper Jones; a pacy, sensitive and humorous tale of a young trans person in trouble.)
Stalking Claremont, Bret Christian (True crime. Impressive, highly readable, accomplished and humane tale of the Claremont murders from the one reporter who could call themselves an insider.)
Smart Ovens for Lonely People, Elizabeth Tan (Short stories. Wonderful, hilarious and wildly creative collection by a young Perth author.)
Disappearing Earth, Julia Phillips (Literary fiction. A masterpiece comprising interwoven vignettes about the disappearance of two little girls in modern Russia).
The Motion of the Body Through Space, Lionel Shriver (Literary fiction. A biting modern comedy sending up the fitness movement and exploring the joys and woes of marriage.)
Billy Summers, Stephen King (Thriller. King continues to break new ground with crime fiction that veers into a war story, about a former sniper turned hired assassin who’s doing 'one last job'. but starts to smell a rat amongst his shadowy employers.)
The Luminous Solution, Charlotte Wood (a highly readable and timely collection of essays about creativity, writing, reading and the inner life.)
My complete reading lists
Fiction
Book of Nonsense, Mervyn Peake
Book of Nonsense, Lewis Carroll
Lucky Ticket, Joey Bui*
Troubled Blood, Robert Galbraith
Smart Ovens for Lonely People, Elizabeth Tan**
Disappearing Earth, Julia Phillips
The Bass Rock, Evie Wyld*
Eye of a Rook, Josephine Taylor**
Everyday Madness, Susan Midalia**
The Killings at Kingfisher Hill, Sophie Hannah
Ready Player Two, Ernest Cline
The Motion of the Body Through Space, Lionel Shriver
The Little Boat on Trusting Lane, Mel Hall**
Where the Line Breaks, Michael Burrows**
Locust Summer, David Allan-Petale**
The Night Village, Zoe Deleuil*
The Survivors, Jane Harper*
I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith
Fail State, John Birmingham*
The Last Guests, J. P. Pomare*
Bridget Jones' Diary, Helen Fielding (re-read)
The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion (re-read)*
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman (re-read)
Better Off Dead, Lee Child
Billy Summers, Stephen King
Crossroads, Jonathan Franzen
Honeybee, Craig Silvey
Nonfiction
The Mystery of Agatha Christie, an Intimate Biography of the First Lady of Suspense, Gwen Robyns
The Grand Tour, Agatha Christie
Come, Tell Me How You Live, Agatha Christie
The Luminous Solution, Charlotte Wood*
Stalking Claremont, Bret Christian**
The Happy Sleeper, Heather Turgeon and Julie Wright
Days Like These, Pip Lincolne*
*Australian author
**Perth author
Read any of these yourself? Leave a comment. I’d love to know what you thought.