My Reading List for 2021

I have written a bit about how odd 2021 was, and that oddness crept into my reading. It’s not uncommon for me to read forty-ish books a year, and I once again passed my goal. But along with novels, I generally read some comics and short stories. Yet, this year I didn’t. Was it a lack of interest? New projects filling that time? The weirdness of the waning pandemic? Not sure! Whatever it was, for 2021, both those sections will be empty.

All that said, I had a great experience reading through the year. On the whole, I enjoyed my reading more in 2021 than last. There were a lot of new finds, I rarely came across a book I couldn’t stand, and I discovered some new favorites. That’s a win.

This list correlates with my Goodreads 2021 Reading Challenge. But there are usually some slight differences between the two. This list is all strictly reading for pleasure—I typically forgo listing any research/history books I’ve read for a project as I read those differently than I do fiction. This list is always enormous, so l skip reviews except for my favorites. However, I’d invite you to follow me on Goodreads, where I occasionally leave other reviews.

Most links will go to IndieBound—now more than ever, be sure to support your local bookstore. If possible, I am directly linking to each author’s website—if you’re on the list and I didn’t find your website, please let me know about it. (I won’t link to social media, sorry.)

Okay, to the list!

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📚 Novels & Novellas

1. Cibola Burn (The Expanse #4)
   by James S. A. Corey
2. Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries #3)
   by Martha Wells
3. Ring Shout
   by P. Djèlí Clark
4. The City We Became (The Great Cities #1)
   by N. K. Jemisin
5. Planet of Exile
   by Ursula K. Le Guin
6. A Killing Fire
   by Faye Snowden
7. The Beauty
   by Aliya Whiteley
8. The Hospital Ship
   by Martin Bax
9. We Ride the Storm
   by Devin Madson
10. A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century 🎧
    by Barbara W. Tuchman
11. The Resisters: A Novel
    by Gish Jen
12. A Demon-Haunted Land:
    Witches, Wonder Doctors, And The Ghosts Of The Past In Post–WWII Germany 🎧
    by Monica Black
13. The Ruins
    by Scott Smith
14. Merkabah Rider: High Planes Drifter
    by Edward M. Erdelac
15. Whispers in the Dark
    by Laurel Hightower
16. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse #1)
    by Dennis E. Taylor
17. Criterium
    by Tyler Jones
18. The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge #1) 🎧
    by Ken Follett
19. The City of Ice (Gates of the World #2)
    by K. M. McKinley
20. Foundryside (The Founders #1)
    by Robert Jackson Bennett
21. The Republic Thieves (Gentleman Bastard #3)
    by Scott Lynch
22. The Talisman (The Talisman #1) 🎧
    by Stephen King & Peter Straub
23. A Man of Shadows (Nyquist Mysteries #1)
    by Jeff Noon
24. The Blacktongue Thief (Blacktongue #1)
    by Christopher Buehlman
25. The City in the Middle of the Night
    by Charlie Jane Anders
26. Territory 🎧
    by Emma Bull
27. Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries #3)
    by Martha Wells
28. A Ritual of Bone (The Dead Sagas #1)
    by Lee C. Conley
29. Inside Man (Prosper’s Demon #2)
    by K. J. Parker
30. Arm of the Sphinx (The Books of Babel #2)
    by Josiah Bancroft
31. Wolf Hall (Wolf Hall Trilogy #1)
    by Hillary Mantel
32. The Goblin Emperor (The Goblin Emperor #1)
    by Katherine Addison
33. Cabal
    by Clive Barker
34. The Boatman’s Daughter
    by Andy Davidson
35. Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery 🎧
    by Brom
36. Slow River
    by Nicola Griffith
37. Kim
    by Rudyard Kipling
38. Revival 🎧
    by Stephen King
39. Paradise Club
    by Tim Meyer
40. Monstrous Heart (The Deepwater Trilogy #1)
    by Claire McKenna
41. Subject 11
    by Jeffery Thomas
42. City of Illusions (The Hamish Cycle #3)
    by Ursula K. Le Guin
43. Summer Knight (The Dresden Files #4)
    by Jim Butcher
44. The Autumn Republic (Powder Mage #3) 🎧
    by Brian McClellan
45. The Sunless Countries (Virga #4)
    by Karl Schroeder

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🏆 Favorite Novel of 2021

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🏅 Favorite Novel Runners-up of 2021

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🎈 Honorable Mentions of 2021

It was tough to pick the top three novels, but I force myself to do it. But, I read so many good books this year and wanted to call out a few more of the standouts. I’ve listed them in order of reading.

• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
  An alt-history novel where Klan members are actual monsters.
• We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson
  A fun and violent fantasy based in a Khanganate-influenced setting. Refreshing.
• The Resisters: A Novel by Gish Jen
  Dystopian baseball! But like, uplifting.
• We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
  A funny sci-fi that ended up surprising me a lot more than I expected.
• Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
  Bennett is always good for a unique and fresh take on fantasy. This nearly made my top three.
• A Man of Shadows by Jeff Noon
  An investigator looks for a missing girl in a city divided by endless day and endless night.
• The Boatman’s Daughter by Andy Davidson
  A drug-running revenge tale set deep in a swamp with a heavy helping of magic. Davidson is fast becoming a favorite of mine.
• Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom
  Fantasy set in early-colonial America that plays with (and subverts) the hysteria surrounding witch trials. My favorite Brom novel. Nearly made my top three.
• Slow River by Nicola Griffith
  Griffith somehow made water remediation cool.
• Revival by Stephen King
  Easily King’s most Lovecraftian novel, and boy, it’s a grim one.
• The Sunless Countries by Karl Schroeder
  Four books in, and Virga still manages to bestow that thrill of discovery. Wonderful novel.

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💥 Graphic Novels & 📜 Short Stories

As I mentioned above, I fell short in these two categories. I read no short stories and only read one graphic novel this year (Preacher Book IV), so there won’t be 2021 lists for either category. That said, my graphic novel TBR pile is growing, and I have some new subscriptions to some speculative fiction magazines, which will expand my short story reading.

I look forward to returning to both of these categories in 2022.

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🎭 Poems

Poetry is still here! It’s hard for me to keep track of poetry because I read it often and my brain doesn’t always record it. But I read some standout poems over 2021 and I wanted to share a few with you Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb” is stunning and uplifting, Wendle Berry’s “Enemies” is thoughtful and beautiful, and I revisited an old favorite of mine Yeats’ “The Second Coming.”

1. “Burning the Old Year”
   by Naomi Shihab Nye
2. “I Ask My Mother to Sing”
   by Li-Young Lee
3. “The Hill We Climb”
   by Amanda Gorman
4. “Enemies”
   by Wendell Berry
5. “Frederick Douglass”
   by Robert Hayden
6. “Strange Balance”
   by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
7. “For the Anniversary of My Death”
   by W. S. Merwin
8. “The End”
   by Mark Strand
9. “Good Bones” …again.
   by Maggie Smith
10. “Sorrow Home”
    by Margaret Walker
11. “What my 11 year old said when I was crying that day”
    by Tetyana Denford
12. “Birdwatching”
    by Lynn Ungar
13. “Here’s A Nut”
    by Louisa May Alcott
14. “The Second Coming” …again.
    by William Butler Yeats
15. “Down Jacket God”
    by Moon Bo Young
16. “December”
    by Matthew Zapruder
17. “A Penitent Considers Another Coming of Mary”
    by Gwendolyn Brooks
18. “Butter”
    by Elizabeth Alexander
19. “i am running into a new year”
    by Lucille Clifton
20. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
    by Robert Frost

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Thus complete’s my reading list for 2021. I’m not going to miss this year. Between the chaos of its beginning to the slow return to whatever constitutes as normal, I think we will all be glad to see it go. But this odd year allowed me to consume a solid chunk of books, and overall the books I read were enjoyable. When it comes to my reading, I have few complaints. I’m ready to start some new reads that’ll begin my list for next year, and I look forward to diving back into graphic novels and short stories. I think my reading year in 2022 will be excellent.

How about you? What were the standout books, graphic novels, short stories, or poems you read this year? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment and let me know!

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Are you looking for a good book? Want to see my reading lists from previous years? Check any of the links below and see what I was reading in the bygone days of yore.

• 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 •
• 2018 • 2019 • 2020 •

Next year, why not join me? Goodreads does a reading challenge every year, and I am an active participant. First, follow me on Goodreads (leave me a review while you’re there), and once the New Year arrives, participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge for 2022.

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