2021 in Books

According to Goodreads, I've read 32,048 pages this year and 98 books so far. 100 is a much more round number and I'm sure I'll get there, especially after the long road-trip we're going on.  As someone who has devoted a lot of time to reading, let me share some books I've liked. I forced myself to rate every book I read this year which was challenging for me. Some consider me a harsh critic. 

5 ***** BOOKS

• "Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of Life Uninterrupted" By: Suleika Jaouad--This is about Suleika and her cancer journey. She writes on her blog during this difficult time and connects with people throughout the country. It is heavy, but the message is beautiful. 

• "The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less" By: Terry Ryan--Don't judge this book by it's cover or title. It's about a family of 12 trying to get by. Their alcoholic father makes paying bills nearly impossible, but their ingenious mother writes poems and jingles to earn prizes and extra cash. It's also a movie.

• "The Midnight Library" By: Matt Haig--I have thought so much about this book since reading it. It's all about what would have happened to Nora if she had made different life choices. This was relatable. I often second-guess my life decisions. It you want to avoid the f word, don't read this.

• "Other Words for Home" By: Jasmine Warga
• "When Stars Are Scattered" By: Victoria Jamieson
• "Nobody Will Tell You This But Me" By: Bess Kalb
• "Book of Mormon"
• "Doctrine and Covenants"

 4 **** books: 
(I didn't include all of the books I gave 4 stars to because there are too many.)

• "The Last Thing He Told Me" By: Laura Dave-- I couldn't put this one down. It won the Goodreads award for the best mystery & thriller this year. Well deserved.
• "The Chilbury Ladies Choir" By: Jennifer Ryan
• "Encylopedia of an Ordinary Life" By: Amy Krouse Rosenthal
• "The Exiles" By: Christina Baker Kline
• "Project Hail Mary" By: Andy Weir--Goodreads winner and I can see why! This book is science heavy. I still found it to be worth my time and read it aloud with my husband who chose this as his "favorite thing" to gift his siblings this year.
• "The Mother-in-Law" By: Sally Hepworth
• "The Holdout" By: Graham Moore-- One chapter is worth skipping.
• "The Inheritance Games" By: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
• "The War I Finally Won" By: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley --This is the sequel to "The War That Saved My Life." Both books are fabulous.
• "The Four Winds" By: Kristin Hannah
• "Better Than the Movies" By: Lynn Painter--This book has language. It's a charming YA romance book. I immediately made a playlist of all the songs listed throughout the book.

The "Naughty" List 
(Books I enjoyed, but they have language or content, so I don't recommend them to everyone.)

• "The Guest List" By: Lucy Foley. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. That being said, there is language and sex
• "The Rosie Project: By: Graeme Simsion. Watch out for strong language, but this will have you laughing out loud.

The "Nice" List
(Self improvement books I read.)

• "The Self-Driven Child" By: William Stixrud
• "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" By: Dale Carnegie
• "The Gifts of Imperfection" By: Brene Brown

It's important to note that not everyone has the same taste in books and that's okay. If you hate one of my recommendations, I understand and I'm sorry. If you're all about Fantasy, get in touch with my husband and you can chat about Brandon Sanderson for hours. Different books ring true to different people. I have not finished every book I've started this year. It's freeing to finally decide to give-up on a book. One of the books I stopped this year just won a Goodreads award, so clearly it's good. I made it halfway through "The Firekeeper's Daughter" before giving up. 

Another book I stopped is "Cloud Cuckoo Land." It's sometimes painful to quit books. I had such high hopes for this book. At over 600 pages, it requires a lot of time. I finally gave up on page 141. This is a hot book that I've been on-hold of for awhile, but oh well. The jumps between characters, time periods, and genres was too much. I didn't have the energy to devote to reading this at the time and that's okay! 

I'm now a part of 2 book clubs! Lucky me. Last month, my UT county book club read, "Lovely War" By: Julie Berry which I enjoyed and recommend.  My SL county book club read, "Apples Never Fall" By: Liane Moriarty. The family dynamics in the book were spot-on, but the last 70ish pages of the book blew it for me. 

I'm always looking for book recommendations, so shoot me your favorite titles and I'll add them to my road-trip list. I'll be reading, "The Out of Sync Child" By: Carol Stock Kranowitz because there's always more to learn about parenting. Here's to hoping that my kids are entertained on the drive for hours on end and let me read to my hearts content.