2021 on Goodreads

So, it's a year in books and a year on Goodreads review, but you have to provide context, right?
With that in mind, it was a year that I had high hopes for, but one that began with dismay and sadness and, unfortunately to my continued dismay and sadness, never really recovered.
Political unrest, a global pandemic, and the sudden loss of my brother at the age of 33 in February all cast a pall over the year.

However, books were a stalwart source of escape and wonder, as they always are for me.
Much like Terence Mann's speech in Field of Dreams, a role played perfectly by James Earl Jones, about the constant of baseball through American history since its inception in the late 1800s, books and reading are a constant in my timeline and my story. They are a joy that is always available and, as one famous author so eloquently noted, our most portable kind of magic.

In 2021 I fell short of my goal of 84 books, but did manage to best last year's total by two, reaching 73. I read 22,574 pages and averaged a 3.7-star rating. There were certainly reading highs and lows, but it did seem that more highs came my way than anything truly unsatisfying or detestable.

So, without any more yammering from me, here are the 18 best books I read this year, (everything that earned 4.5 stars or above) along with some other notables and nuggets.

4.5-star reads:

Cold Moon Over Babylon by Michael McDowell - solid gothic horror by a southern gothic master
No One Goes Alone by Erik Larson - wonderfully ghostly and atmospheric
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones - brutal, unique and terrifying
The People We Keep by Allison Larkin - a heartfelt coming-of-age and found family story
The Big Meat by Carlton Mellick III - absolutely bonkers and absolutely fun
The Lake Wobegon Virus by Garrison Keillor - sharp satire from one of our finest writers
Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon - funny, moving and beautiful
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett - writing you could make a meal out of
The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell - propulsive and compelling

5-star reads:

The House of Sleep by Jonathan Coe - unexpectedly page-turning and unique
Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar - meta, true crime novelization? = perfection
A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion - affecting, meaningful and vivid
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - thrilling adventure with heart and lots of fun science
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - my all-time favorite band of geriatric detectives
Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix - what a collection and the book covers!
The Mayfly Glimmer Before Last Call by Poe Ballantine - best living writer in America, period
The Push by Ashley Audrain - too twisty and propulsive for its own good
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy -beautiful, heartbreaking and pure

5-star Rereads in 2021:

Joyland by Stephen King (5th time - no judgement!)
11/22/63 by Stephen King (4th time - same as above, don't @ me)
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (2nd read)
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote (2nd read)

Biggest Disappointments:

Billy Summers by Stephen King
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

Repeat Authors (those who are on my “Yep, I'll read that without any additional information besides the fact that said author wrote something”) who don't appear in the lists above but still brought joy to my reading in 2021 with a new-to-me read:

Karen Russel with Sleep Donation
William Gay with Little Sister Death
Josh Malerman with Goblin
Michael Chabon with Mysteries of Pittsburgh (I know, it's been in my TBR basically forever)
T.C. Boyle with Without a Hero (He's right up there with Poe for a master craftsman)
Annie Proulx with Heart Songs and Other Stories
J.K. Rowling with The Christmas Pig

Thanks to my wife for reading along with me and being ready to talk books just about every day and thanks to our book club, The Finer Things, for adding an additional dash of bookishness to our year. Thank you all for your engagement on this platform. I appreciate the time each of you invests into providing insight into your reading lives so that other readers might be enriched.
May you have a safe and healthy 2022 and happy reading!