The Book Club Review Best books of 2021 Part 2: Our books of the year
It's part 2 of our end-of-year special, in which we look back over the books we read outside of book club, the ones we chose for ourselves, and pick out our favourites. And so listen in for more book recommendations than you can shake a stick a, plus recommendations from our book clubs and friends of the pod. We also look ahead to some new releases coming out in 2022.
Booklist
Kate's top three favourites from 2021
Don't Touch My Hair, Emma Dabiri
A Ghost in the Throat, Doireann ní Ghríofa
Lean, Fall, Stand, Jon McGregor
Laura's top three favourites from 2021
A Life's Work, Rachel Cusk
Miss Iceland, Audur Ava Olafsdottir
Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese
Kate's longlist of favourite reads in 2021
The Moth and the Mountain, Ed Caesar
Writers and Lovers and Euphoria Lily King
Real Estate, Deborah Levy
The Library Book and The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean
All My Friends are Superheroes, Andrew Kaufman
Owls of the Eastern Ice, Jonathan C. Slaght
Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder
Don't Touch My Hair, Emma Dabiri
Fun Home, Alison Bechdel
Parisan Lives, Deidre Bair
Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder
Early Morning Riser, Katherine Heiny
Love Letters, Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West (Alison Bechdel, ed.)
A Ghost in the Throat, Doireann ni Ghriofa
Re-Educated, Lucy Kellaway
Pew, Catherine Lacey
Happy All the Time, Laurie Colwin
Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri
Sorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason
Lean, Fall, Stand, Jon McGregor
Assembly, Natasha Brown
The Stranding, Kate Sawyer
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers
Empire of Pain, Patrick Radden-Keefe
Matrix, Lauren Groff
The See-Through House, Shelley Klein
Laura's longlist of favourite reads in 2021
His Only Wife, Peace Adzo Medie
Miss Iceland, Hotel Silence and Butterflies in November, Audur Ava Olafsdottir
Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese
On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong
Homeland Elegies, Ayad Akhtar
No-One is Talking About This, Patricia Lockwood
Great Circle, Maggie Shipstead
D: A Tale of Two Worlds, Michael Faber
Graceling, Kristin Cashore
A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
The Annals of the Western Shore, Ursula Le Guin
The Book of Hidden Things, Francesco Dimitri
Frederica, Georgette Heyer
Conundrum, Jan Morris
A High Wind in Jamaica, Richard Hughes
The Rules of Civility, Amor Towles
Chrissy Ryan's recommendations
Open Water, Caleb Azumah Nelson
Assembly, Natasha Brown
Detransition Baby, Torrey Peters
Elizabeth Morris' recommendations
Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder
Book club recommendations
The Summer Book, Tove Jansson
The Mermaid of Black Conch, Monique Roffey
Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë
A Dance to the Music of Time, Anthony Powell
The Siege of Krishnapur, J. G. Farrell
The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst
Isaac Steele and the Forever Man, Daniel Rigby
Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer
Albert and the Whale, Philip Hoare
Trieste or the Meaning of Nowhere, Jan Morris
The Bass Rock, Evie Wyld
Autumn, Ali Smith
The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan
The Offing, Benjamin Myers
Circe, Madeleine Miller
Three Women, Lisa Taddeo
My Dark Vanessa, Kate Elizabeth Russell
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Upcoming books in 2022
We also discussed our inordinate desire for The Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss to finally be published, and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Notes
Full details of all the titles discussed in this episode can be found in the shownotes on our website thebookclubreview.co.uk.
Do keep up with us between episodes on Instagram and Facebook @bookclubreviewpodcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email thebookclubreview@gmail.com. We always love to hear from you.