November's book club title Benjamin and Jon was a simple, heartwarming tale about a lonely old man and needy young boy. School-age children would enjoy this book as well.
Now we've come full circle, with everyone picking a book and the year almost over. I wasn't sure if we'd decide to continue, but it seemed we all wanted to! We agreed to pick up again in January, and I was able to choose our next book without much internal debating. Which brings me to the next part of this post - my top 5 books of 2021!
Thanks to Goodreads wonderful feature "My Year in Books" I have a list of titles I've read so far. Although I've read more this year than ever, I never felt like I found the one that completely captivated me. I found myself reading a lot of mediocre, average books which never quite reached that level. I also reread more of my favorites this year than ever before, and found they still met my expectations! However, I didn't want to include any rereads in my top 5 books for 2021. I was also hoping this list would not include any books I've mentioned in my blog this year, but it wouldn't be a true top 5 list then!
Top 5 Books of 2021
*To see a description of each book, click on the blue hyperlinked book name.
My review: I did not expect to be so moved by this book. It's written in a way that you can feel what August goes through. There's awful, cruel people; but also wonderful, kind people in his life. And kindness wins.
A life-changing book for me!
Thanks to a book club discussion, I decided it was high time to read the series. I had no idea what I was missing out on! If I had to choose which was my favorite, it would be a tie between The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and The Last Battle. I'll definitely be reading the series again!
I'm a fan of Kate Quinn's historical fiction novels The Alice Network and The Huntress, and when I saw she had a new book, I expected it to be good too!
My review: Another smashing historical fiction novel by Kate Quinn! I was sucked in to the story and even felt a bit of envy towards the characters - their work breaking codes sounds like the perfect job.
The fact that the code breaking and other parts of the story actually happened, is fascinating! I also loved how the wedding of Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth was woven into the story.
The audiobook narrator, Saskia Maarleveld, does a marvelous job and made the story even more captivating.
Another one I've already reviewed here.
I'm still going to mention the rereads that were every bit as marvelous (and even better!) than the books listed above.
Rereads that didn't fail me:
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
The Blue Castle - L.M. Montgomery
The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah
I love reading your blog for many reasons, but do keep including the book posts! They inspire my to revisit my bookworm self from years of old.. I HAVE done better this year with reading. Lately I’ve been listening to the “Anne” books read by Karen Savage. 🥰 I’ve never read The Blue Castle!
ReplyDeleteOh, you need to read The Blue Castle!
DeleteI enjoy your book posts too! And Blue Castle is a yearly read for me as well!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's so neat! I love to hear what other people's favorites are!
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