Although it has always been my passion, there were long periods of time in my life when reading simply wasn’t an option. Things slowly started to change in 2019 when I went to my first book fair in years, but it was only last year that I took reading seriously. Until than I had never gone out to buy multiple books at once and I had never created a proper TBR list. This has lead me to discover many new books and authors and I would like to talk about them here. There are individual reviews planned for all of these books so I won’t go into as many details now.
My Top 10 Books of 2021:
10. The Famous Five – Enid Blyton
This series follows the adventures of four cousins – Julian, Dick, Anne, George and their dog Timmy. Though written for chinldren, it can easilly be enjoyed by adults as well.
The main characters often go camping or in some other way visit interesting locations where they have to solve a mystery. Descriptions of places and food are fantastic and will definitely make you want to go on an adventure yourself.
What I particularly like is how smart the kids are, knowing who to trust, how to outsmart their opponents and so on. Their friendship is also amazing to see.
These books were among my childhood favorites and after rereading them and noticing many details that went above my head when I was younger, I can say that now I love them even more.
The only reason they are not higher on the list is because I read most out of the 21 books in 2020 and because I hope to highlight some first time reads here.
9. The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway
This is a very short book following Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman, as he struggles to catch a giant marlin, alone in a boat far out at the sea.
At the first glance it could appear as a very simple story, but underneath the basic setup there is a world of meaning to unpack.
Although I have initially had some mixed feelings about the book as it wasn’t the most realistic in my opinion and some things were hard to visualize, I ended up really liking it.
8. Norse mythology – Neil Gaimen
This is a short story collection retelling Nordic myths from the creation of the world to its end in Ragnarok. Representing Neil Gaimen’s take on the topic, it’s funny, easy to read and something I trully enjoyed.
7. The Bells of Old Tokyo: Meditations on Time and a City – Anna Sherman
Combining Japanese history with the authors personal experiences in the country it is a light and fun read, but it doesn’t shy away from occasionally mentioning deeper topic as well. It’s especially interesting to see how Tokyo as a city changed over time as the society around it evolved.
The book has a somewhat strange structure – history elements, author’s memories and testiomonies of other people are all intertwined, making it seem like certain parts of the story are not exactly connected, which could put some people off, but I loved reading this book despite some imperfections.
6. A Gentleman in Moscow – Amor Towles
This book follows Count Alexander Rostov who is forced to spend his life in Metropol, a luxury hotel in Moscow, after being sentenced to house arrest by the Bolsheviks in 1922.
This is a slow story with good character work. It’s interesting to read despite everything happening in a single building. There are also clever and funny comments about Soviet Union and people in general.
Much like the main character, the book itself has an aura of sophistication and the ending is surprisingly exciting given its overall pacing.
5. Bajka nad bajkama – Nenad Gajić
This is a Serbian fantasy trilogy inspired by local history and Slavic myths. It focuses on a group of 5 people brought together by an unusual set of circumstances as they are trying to stop an ancient evil.
Growing up, I was under the impression that fantasy wasn’t very popular in my country which is why I was a little skeptical going into these books. However, there was nothing to worry about. The first book in the trilogy was one of my favorite reads of all time. The characters were interesting, each with a unique set of abilities and their own subplot. The magic was fun too and has led to some pretty memorable moments.
Though not as good as the first, the other two books were great as well.
4. The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wild
Depicting the downfall of a young aristocrat who sold his soul in order to avoid aging and have his portrait age instead, this book represents a discussion on society, human nature and life in general. It is multilayered and every line has a meaning. It is precisely this complexity that made me fall in love with the book.
It could have easily been my favorite book of the year, however there are three books which I loved even more or at the very least which I have read earlier, making them more significant for my reading journey.
3. And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie
Widely regarded as one of Agatha Christie’s best, this book follows 10 strangers invited to a small island off the coast of England by an unknown host. The host never shows up and they all start dying one by one. It soon becomes obvious the killer in one of them.
One of the most exhilarating stories I have ever come across and an absolute must read.
2. Circe – Madeline Miller
The main character, Circe, a daughter of Helios, god os Sun, is exiled to an abandoned island where she learns to use her magical powers and navigate complicated relationships with both humans and gods.
It’s a slow, character focused story covering many themes such as motherhood, immortality, fate and human nature. Nothing is purely black or white and nothing happens the way you would expect.
It was almost like a fantasy novel written for me. It single-handedly rekindled my love for Greek mythology.
1. His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
– Northern Lights
– The Subtle Knife
– The Amber Spyglass
If Circe was a perfect standalone novel for me, than His Dark Materials was a prefect series for me and I have enjoyed every second of it.
The story begins with a girl named Lyra, desperate to save her friend Roger from a group of people that are abducting children. In order to do so she needs to travel to the north of the continent where there are witches and armored bears. But things only get more complicated from there as she will slowly learn of other worlds and a far bigger threat to them all.
The worldbuilding is simply amazing, with each world having a unique atmosphere. The story is exciting from start to finish and much more complex than what you would expect from a book often classified as middle grade.
These books explore many themes, but perhaps the most notable is religion, which is often questioned by the author.
This has truly been a fascinating read and the one I will think about for a long time.
That’s it – my favorite books of 2021. For the first year of serious reading it went great and I’m looking forward to all the wonderful things I will discover next.