As you can tell by my very clever title, I am going to tell you the best and worst books from this year.
My Best Books– these books are in the order that I read them this year- I could not give you a favorite of my favorites. The bottom line is that all of these books made me feel something-
- The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
- The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
- The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
- Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance
- The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
- Here for It by R. Eric Thomas
- Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
My Worst Books- again just in the order that I read them this year. Though, some of these made the list because they were SO OVERHYPED and did not meet my expectations. There are also 14 instead of 10 because I couldn’t decide which were actually the worst.
- The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes (Moyes should stick to what she does best and not delve into historical fiction because she’s convoluted at this genre)
- American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins The most interesting thing about this book was all the hype surrounding it.
- Writers and Lovers by Lilly King- Nothing worse than a book that tries to be literary fiction
- Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown- First- this book was not what I expected, so this is a case of it being tagged wrong. Secondly- the ending was horrendous and didn’t make sense with the rest of the book
- Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore- This was sooooo boring. I really didn’t care.
- Topics of Conversation by Miranda Popkey- Clearly this was the worst book I read this year. It’s so full of itself. Again, a case of literary fiction gone soooooo wrong
- Conjure Woman by Afic Atakora- Just bored me
- Normal People by Sally Rooney- Over hyped- Don’t know what the big deal is/was over this book
- The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard- I don’t think I like multi generational sagas
- Parakeet by Marie-Helene Bertino- Tried to hard to tell a story but failed to tell a story
- THe Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis- Ridiculous non historical historical fiction
- Death by Tea by Alex Ericson- I like cozy mysteries. I don’t know what this was
- The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams- I get very bored by books that rely on sex to get from point A to point B
- The Cold Millions by Jess Walter- I do not know what people like about this author
Let’s take a look at my Goodreads stats:
I read 177 books.
Total pages: 55,261
Average Book Length: 312 Pages
Average Rating: 3.6
My reading goal for 2021 will be 100 books.
If anyone would like to be my Goodreads buddy, email me at:
177 books, OMG! That’s nearly one every two days. Have you ever thought of having a (additional) blog that just does book reviews? Now that I think about it, knowing you were going to review a book might spoil the enjoyment of reading. Anyway, thanks for the tips.
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I am not a good reviewer unless I hated the book. I can’t explain why I love something, but the best I can do is say it made me feel
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Lol.
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Wow! I’m impressed with all you read. I’ll use your favorites list as a starting point for 2021. Also, do you finish books that you don’t like? I’m not able to do that most of the time.
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I finish just about every book I start. The last one I did not finish was The elegance of the Hedgehog which I hated beyond compare (that was a long time ago)
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I think that shows amazing discipline to finish reading books that you’re not crazy about.
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My feeling is I owe it to the author to go through it…I know that seems silly but there you have it
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I am on Goodreads too, just recently. Don’t think I can keep up with you!
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This was an anomaly. Last year I read 65 books. My goal is two books a week this year. I definitely don’t ever again expect to read as much as I did this year! But if you want to buddy up, im good with that!
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As I know you to be a woman of taste I will avoid the books which you have given then thumbs down. 🙂
And probably the ones you liked.
I’ve just finished “Bomb Disposal in WW2”. I feel that you probably wouldn’t enjoy it. Although it’s historically accurate, there is little story development and then ending is a bit obvious.
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Ha! I’m reading The splendid and the Vile…I’m pretty sure I know how that one ends as well
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Yes, it’s hard to build up the suspense, isn’t it? I used to take tea on the site of the house where Churchill had been held after his capture in the Boer War. Unfortunately, the original house had been torn down in the 1920s.
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Well, I guess they could always switch the ending… that could be fun….
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Yes, Churchill invites Edward VIII back onto the throne and they all have tea with Hitler on Buckingham Palace lawn.
To us it’s alternative history, but if a Hollywood scriptwriter passes by it may become the starting point for a new script. 🙂
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Exactly. At the rate historical fiction is going, I’m sure we can expect that any day now
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🙂
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That is an impressive number of books!
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It’s not going to be repeated, probably ever. I’m going with 100 this year but my guess is if things go back to normal by spring, I’ll hit 75
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Very impressive – I usually read about 60/year, maybe a few more this past year. I used to review every book I read on Goodreads but I haven’t bothered for a long time, so I wouldn’t be any good as a Goodreads buddy. I used to link to them here on WordPress but I can’t figure out how to do it on the Blockeditor…..need to copy and paste the url in but not sure where.
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My normal reading is about 60 a year. I’m guessing that when lockdown is over I’ll get more to that level again
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Yes because you will have museums and concerts and other artistic pursuits!
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Exactly! More doing other things, and back to reading before bed, when I’m n mass transit and for a half hour in the afternoon
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I’ve added some books to my TBR list … and removed a couple I was on the fence about…..
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I was going through my TBR this morning, eliminating as well
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Wow LA! You are a voracious reader! 177 books! That’s awesome! I like to read but I’m nowhere near your accomplishment!
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That was mainly COVID related!
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177 books – wow!
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This was an anomaly. I normally read about 60 a year
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Along with 2020
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True…
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I’m sorry, I can never (ever) be your Goodreads buddy…BUT…I can be your tea club buddy as long as they keep giving out those kick a** goody bags!
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You’re on!
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Thank you for saving me hours and hours of senseless reading, I’ll start this year with your favorites! C
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They are a few different genres but all quite good for what they are
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Wow! That is a lot of books! I screen shot your favorites list and am
Determined to start reading again. It is weird but when my husband bought me a kindle I lost interest in reading. It is great for the car or on trips but at home I just want to read a real book. With The pandemic I have only been to the bookstore once. So I need to mask all up when this snow storm is over and go buy a book or two! Thanks for inspiring!!
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Read on!
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That’s about one every other day! You one fast reader lady. I’ve found this year, more than ever I have gone back to books that I consider my old faithfuls, like a cheese and tomatoes sandwich they are my literary equivalent of comfort food, Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, Janet Evanovitch the Stephanie Plum Series anything from 1 – 14, after that forget it and my beloved Lion, Witch & The Wardrobe because this year we’ve all stepped into a parallel universe.
Just read The Cold Stuff by David Gordon, an action packed caper with more twists than a mince pie plait, a fun read and totally forgettable afterwards. Good luck with your reading list 2021
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😀 I love your book reviews.
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😆only if I hate them….
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Very impressed. I used to be able to stay up all night to finish a book if I really liked it.
Now I am lucky if I read a couple books a month.
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I always read before bed, and I try to read a half hour at 4. Plus I read when I’m on mass transit or waiting on physical lines
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Geesh, lady!!!! I thought I read a lot. But you put me to shame.
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It’s my pandemic hobby…
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That’s really good!
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To save me Googling……………….. what is a book that ‘tries to be literary fiction?’ Genuinely curious 🙂
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Literary fiction is usually a book that tries to go beyond telling a story. It uses language or literary tropes or some device that is supposed to take it too the next level. Does that help?
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Yes, you prompted me to Wikipedia 😀 my fiction was definitely commercial (tacky) genre with zero literary merit.
Interesting, ty.
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👍
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That’s quite a list.
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It has its moments…
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The Midnight Library though!! ❤❤
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I know. I loved that
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Excellent, LA, thanks for sharing. I will check out your fav’s. Have a wonderful New Year!
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💗
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I’m with you on Normal People. I couldn’t figure out why people loved it. I also read The Water Dancer and liked it a lot. Didn’t love Dear Edward because I didn’t feel like there was enough emotion. I read Hillbilly Elegy when it came out and remember liking it very much.
My average rating was 4.6 and I read 74 books this year.
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There was one line in dear Edward that just got to my heart. But normal people…why do people love that?
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Do you remember what the line was?
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Yes…but spoiler alert to anyone that reads comments and wants to read book…”I wouldn’t have done that to you….because I know what it’s like to be left behind”
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Wow! Here I was feeling accomplished because I’ve read 62 books this year but see now that I’m a complete slacker. Pull of the Stars was one of my faves this year too. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell is also set during a time of plague, although a very different one. Was going to read Normal People but may skip it now. Thanks for both lists.
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Hamnet is on my tbr….this was an anomaly. I normally read about 60 books a year
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That. Is. Impressive. However are you going to top those stats for 2021?!
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My goal is 100 for next year. Let’s see if I make that!
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I’ve only read The Bromance Book Club from your lists and I actually enjoyed that one. 177 books is amazing. I was shooting for 100 again this year but only ended up reading 92 which I’m happy with!!
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My goal for next year will be 100, but I think it will be a stretch…
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I’m setting my goal for 100 again next year as well. 2018 & 2019 I read over 100 so I know I can do it.
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I normally read about 60, so this year was like three years rolled into one!
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I cracked up when I read your comments about some of your least favorite reads. 😂
“I like cozy mysteries. I don’t know what this was.” 😂
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I’m much better at saying why I didn’t like something
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😂😂
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Wow ! You read a lot, which is great. I’m a much slower reader
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I do read fast. But I think that’s my training as an English major
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I have way too many books half started, sometimes I read more than one book simultaneously. Next up I will be reading let love rule the Lenny Kravitz memoir, primarily because my wife wants to read the book too.
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I read a few at a time. I have books that I read maybe a chapter a day, and then books I read an hour before I go to sleep.
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Family upstairs was very good and I want to read hillbilly elegy. Not very interested in american dirt. And normal people was definitely overhyped.
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Hillbilly is really well done
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I’m so lazy I don’t even bother to try to keep track of much of anything in my life. I’d rather read than do just about anything else. My reading is not usually limited to books alone but since my relocation I don’t have access (or really want it since there’s so little happening in the “old normal ways: right now) to the entertainment and sports magazines we subscribed to at this point in my almost-over marriage.
I may join you on goodreads (I am a member but rarely post reviews) so I can see your reviews, which will probably not influence my own review. Generally I go into whatever I’m starting to read with an open mind. For instance, I read “Crawdads” after a friend had given it a poor review but quite enjoyed it anyway.
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I don’t really write reviews. But I do love to see what people are reading cause I like to look at their reviews, and I like to discuss books if it’s something I read. I like seeing how people are doing on reading challenges as well
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I think I select my books to read in a manner similar to yours i.e. by checking reviews and sometimes even on goodreads. Most of the time I use these as sources to evaluate whether I want to tackle a book club selection or not, esp the new fiction that one group I’m in read. I use those to determine if it’s worth the time or $ to try to locate and/or get through, esp really long or currently popular (i.e. hard to get and/or expensive) works. Based on your reply, even though you sent me your email, I don’t think I’ll try to become your goodreads buddy but will continue to look forward to your reviews with which I may not always agree i.e. re Hillbilly Elegy.
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People won’t agree on everything. That’s what makes life so interesting. I did start a new feature though. The last Friday of each month I’m doing a list of books I read and put them in order of liked most to liked least, and I’m noting where I got the recommend from if I remember it
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I so agree with you about Normal People! I wanted to read American Dirt, but now I don’t 🙂 And yes, Hillbilly Elegy is such a great autobiography. I wish the film was better, though.
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Agreed! The film could have been so much more. I don’t like how they made it more about the mm and grandmother. The story was his! And Normal People…why?!?
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