2021 on Goodreads

As I look back on reading in 2021 I find another mixed bag: Just like in 2020, my average rating was a mere 3.5 Goodreads tells me and that feels about right.The year started on a high and hopeful note when [a:Amanda Gorman 17342520 Amanda Gorman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1640521263p2/17342520.jpg] recited her poem “[b:The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country 56914101 The Hill We Climb An Inaugural Poem for the Country Amanda Gorman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612178266l/56914101.SX50.jpg 90207932]” at Biden's inauguration. If Gorman's ideas took hold, we'd really “raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.”The older I get the more difficult I find it to adapt to change. At the same time I realise a lack of adaption inevitably leads to obsolescence - in this case, my own.Thus, I was both challenged and delighted when my personal book of the year 2021, the unforgettable “[b:Girl, Woman, Other 41081373 Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1542296262l/41081373.SY75.jpg 64185267]” by [a:Bernardine Evaristo 51051 Bernardine Evaristo https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1267567621p2/51051.jpg], stormed against my own perceptions and prejudices and while not blowing them away, changing them. Helping me change.Also highly emotionally moving and absolutely brilliant was the revised and updated collection of the “New York Times” column collection by [a:Daniel Jones 7738970 Daniel Jones https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1565645360p2/7738970.jpg]: “[b:Modern Love, Revised and Updated: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption 45864039 Modern Love, Revised and Updated True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption Daniel Jones https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566881908l/45864039.SY75.jpg 70465154]”Next to Evaristo's novel, this is one of the few books I cannot recommend highly enough. Another highlight was “[b:The Vanishing Half 51791252 The Vanishing Half Brit Bennett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577090827l/51791252.SX50_SY75.jpg 73423787]” by [a:Brit Bennett 10802967 Brit Bennett https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1588549491p2/10802967.jpg]: Two black twin sisters, one passing and living as white, the other as black, Bennett tells a story about family and relationships that still resonates with me...“[b:Junge Frau, am Fenster stehend, Abendlicht, blaues Kleid 56676337 Junge Frau, am Fenster stehend, Abendlicht, blaues Kleid Alena Schröder https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610724858l/56676337.SY75.jpg 76311105]” by [a:Alena Schröder 5624237 Alena Schröder https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] - Schröder's fiction debut - and, as of now, translated from its (and my) native German to Dutch only, was a riveting tale of a family from the 1920s till the present day. Very impressive!With autumn came “[b:The Four Winds 53138081 The Four Winds Kristin Hannah https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594925043l/53138081.SY75.jpg 79888572]” by [a:Kristin Hannah 54493 Kristin Hannah https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517255843p2/54493.jpg] which is, to me, a must-read and immediate entry to my favourite books of all time!Last but most definitely not least: “[b:Blaue Frau 58747947 Blaue Frau Antje Rávik Strubel https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1628667844l/58747947.SY75.jpg 92478145]” by [a:Antje Rávik Strubel 19032690 Antje Rávik Strubel https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], winner of the German Book Prize 2021, which took me on a tour de force about a personal as well as European history. Sadly, this masterpiece has not yet been translated to other languages.All in all, a year with some extraordinary books! Happy new year 2022! Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram