{"id":11852,"date":"2022-01-03T13:16:27","date_gmt":"2022-01-03T21:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11852"},"modified":"2022-01-03T13:16:27","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T21:16:27","slug":"the-books-of-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11852","title":{"rendered":"The Books of 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante was one of my favorite books I read in 2021.<\/p><\/div>\n

So many books, so little time\u2014part 15.<\/p>\n

My son started keeping a reading list in third grade, so I did too. This is the 15th\u00a0year we\u2019ve done this.<\/p>\n

2021 was another weird year (with f-ing COVID still raging) but I finally got my reading mojo back. Between long walks with audio books and nights that were once spent socializing with friends and colleagues now spent curling up with books, I definitely read even more than in previous years.<\/p>\n

My favorite books of 2021 were The Story of a New Name<\/em><\/a> by Elena Ferrante<\/a> (the second book in her excellent My Brilliant Friend<\/em><\/a> series), The Authenticity Project<\/em><\/a> by Clare Pooley<\/a> and Apples Never Fall<\/em><\/a> by Liane Moriarty<\/a> (a return to top form after what I thought was a rare miss with Nine Perfect Strangers<\/em> <\/a>\u2014 though I still binged the whole series on Hulu<\/a>).<\/p>\n

I also really liked White Ivy<\/em><\/a> by Susie Yang<\/a>, The Turnout<\/em><\/a> by Megan Abbott<\/a>, Mary Jane<\/em><\/a> by Jessica Anya Blau<\/a> (I don’t know her personally but she grew up in Santa Barbara and is an excellent writer), Beautiful World, Where Are You<\/em><\/a> by Sally Rooney<\/a>, Those Who Stay and Those Who Leave<\/em><\/a> by Elena Ferrante (third in the series), The Huntress<\/em> <\/a>by Kate Quinn<\/a>, Good Company<\/em><\/a> by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney<\/a>, The Last Thing He Told Me<\/em><\/a> by Laura Dave<\/a>, Good Riddance<\/em><\/a> by Elinor Lipman<\/a>, The Midnight Library<\/em><\/a> by Matt Haigh<\/a>, Malibu Rising<\/em><\/a> by Taylor Jenkins Reid<\/a> and The Dutch House<\/em><\/a> by Ann Patchett<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’d love to hear what else people loved.<\/p>\n

Here’s the 2021 list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rules for Being a Girl<\/td>\nCandace<\/td>\nBushnell & Katie Cotugno<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The First Mistake<\/td>\nSandie<\/td>\nJones<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Midnight Library<\/td>\nMatt<\/td>\nHaigh<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Blackbird Fly (The Bennett Sisters Mysteries #1)<\/td>\nLise<\/td>\nMcClendon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Beach Read<\/td>\nEmily<\/td>\nHenry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Dutch House<\/td>\nAnn<\/td>\nPatchett<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Evidence of the Affair<\/td>\nTaylor<\/td>\nJenkins Reid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Everyone’s a Critic<\/td>\nJennifer<\/td>\nWeiner<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The List<\/td>\nJade<\/td>\nChang<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Face: A Memoir<\/td>\nMarcia<\/td>\nMeier<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
You Should See Me In A Crown<\/td>\nLeah<\/td>\nJohnson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Love and Death With the in Crowd<\/td>\nJessica Anya<\/td>\nBlau<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Self-Help<\/td>\nLorrie<\/td>\nMoore<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Members Only<\/td>\nSameer<\/td>\nPandya<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weightless<\/td>\nSarah<\/td>\nBannan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Story of Arthur Truluv<\/td>\nElizabeth<\/td>\nBerg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The People We Hate at the Wedding<\/td>\nGrant<\/td>\nGinder<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
All We Can Save<\/td>\nAyana Elizabeth Johnson & Katharine K.<\/td>\nWilkinson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Just Like You<\/td>\nNick<\/td>\nHornby<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Other Woman<\/td>\nSandie<\/td>\nJones<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Half Sister<\/td>\nSandie<\/td>\nJones<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chances Are<\/td>\nRichard<\/td>\nRusso<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pretty Things<\/td>\nJanelle<\/td>\nBrown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ready Player Two<\/td>\nErnest<\/td>\nCline<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
In a Holidaze<\/td>\nChristina<\/td>\nLauren<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Hating Game<\/td>\nSally<\/td>\nThorne<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Take a Hint, Dani Brown<\/td>\nTalia<\/td>\nHibbert<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
White Fragility<\/td>\nRobin<\/td>\nDiAngelo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
One True Loves<\/td>\nTaylor<\/td>\nJenkins Reid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo<\/td>\nTaylor<\/td>\nJenkins Reid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything<\/td>\nJanelle<\/td>\nBrown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jane in Love<\/td>\nRachel<\/td>\nGivney<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are<\/td>\nRachel<\/td>\nBloom<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Five-Year Hitch<\/td>\nMelissa<\/td>\nDe la Cruz<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Separation Anxiety<\/td>\nLaura<\/td>\nZigman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Divines<\/td>\nEllie<\/td>\nEaton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dick Pic<\/td>\nMary H.K.<\/td>\nChoi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Authenticity Project<\/td>\nClare<\/td>\nPooley<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Uncanny Valley: A Memoir<\/td>\nAnna<\/td>\nWiener<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The End of Everything<\/td>\nMegan<\/td>\nAbbott<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Guest Book<\/td>\nSarah<\/td>\nBlake<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Boy, the mole, the fox and the horse<\/td>\nCharlie<\/td>\nMackesy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life<\/td>\nChristie<\/td>\nTate<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
While Justice Sleeps<\/td>\nStacey<\/td>\nAbrams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Milkman<\/td>\nAnna<\/td>\nBurns<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Soulmate Equation<\/td>\nChristina<\/td>\nLauren<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Chicken Sisters<\/td>\nKJ<\/td>\nDell’Antonia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Malibu Rising<\/td>\nTaylor<\/td>\nJenkins Reid<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Get a Life, Chloe Brown<\/td>\nTalia<\/td>\nHibbert<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Singles Game<\/td>\nLauren<\/td>\nWeisberger<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Wedding Gift<\/td>\nCarolyn<\/td>\nBrown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating<\/td>\nChristina<\/td>\nLauren<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Neighbors<\/td>\nElizabeth<\/td>\nLa Ban and Melissa DePino<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Adulting<\/td>\nLiz<\/td>\nTalley<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore<\/td>\nMatthew J.<\/td>\nSullivan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures<\/td>\nEmma<\/td>\nStraub<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Good Riddance<\/td>\nElinor<\/td>\nLipman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
One to Watch<\/td>\nKate<\/td>\nStayman-London<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Inclusive Conversations<\/td>\nMary-Frances<\/td>\nWinters<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Royal Holiday<\/td>\nJasmine<\/td>\nGuillory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Everybody Loves Kamau<\/td>\nW. Kamau<\/td>\nBell<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Boyfriends of Dorothy<\/td>\nWednesday<\/td>\nMartin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Everyone’s Happy<\/td>\nRufi<\/td>\nThorpe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Edge of Falling<\/td>\nRebecca<\/td>\nSerle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Act Your Age Eve Brown<\/td>\nTalia<\/td>\nHibbert<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Where the Grass is Green and the Girls are Pretty<\/td>\nLauren<\/td>\nWeisberger<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Astrid Sees All<\/td>\nNatalie<\/td>\nStandiford<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Promised Land<\/td>\nBarack<\/td>\nObama<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
That Summer<\/td>\nJennifer<\/td>\nWeiner<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Hunting Party<\/td>\nLucy<\/td>\nFoley<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Story of a New Name<\/td>\nElena<\/td>\nFerrante<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Unsheltered<\/td>\nBarbara<\/td>\nKingsolver<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Last Thing He Told Me<\/td>\nLaura<\/td>\nDave<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Good Company<\/td>\nCynthia<\/td>\nD’Aprix Sweeney<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Helen of Pasadena<\/td>\nLian<\/td>\nDolan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
When Stars Collide<\/td>\nSusan Elizabeth<\/td>\nPhillips<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
White Ivy<\/td>\nSusie<\/td>\nYang<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Untamed<\/td>\nGlennon<\/td>\nDoyle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apples Never Fall<\/td>\nLiane<\/td>\nMoriarty<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
It Had To Be You<\/td>\nSusan Elizabeth<\/td>\nPhillips<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nobody’s Baby But Mine<\/td>\nSusan Elizabeth<\/td>\nPhillips<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seven Days in June<\/td>\nTia<\/td>\nWilliams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Heaven, Texas<\/td>\nSusan Elizabeth<\/td>\nPhillips<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Book of Lost and Found<\/td>\nLucy<\/td>\nFoley<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Match me if You Can<\/td>\nSusan Elizabeth<\/td>\nPhillips<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Rose Code<\/td>\nKate<\/td>\nQuinn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Girl, Woman, Other<\/td>\nBernardine<\/td>\nEvaristo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The President’s Daughter<\/td>\nBill<\/td>\nClinton & James Patterson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Heart Principle<\/td>\nHelen<\/td>\nHoang<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Paper Palace<\/td>\nMiranda<\/td>\nCowley Heller<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Huntress<\/td>\nKate<\/td>\nQuinn<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay<\/td>\nFerrante<\/td>\nElena<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
This Heart of Mine<\/td>\nSusan Elizabeth<\/td>\nPhillips<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Kiss Quotient<\/td>\nHelen<\/td>\nHoang<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dream a Little Dream<\/td>\nSusan Elizabeth<\/td>\nPhillips<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Beautiful World, Where are You<\/td>\nSally<\/td>\nRooney<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No Judgements<\/td>\nMeg<\/td>\nCabot<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Bookworm’s Guide to Faking It<\/td>\nEmma<\/td>\nHart<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
This is Not the End<\/td>\nChandler<\/td>\nBaker<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No Offense<\/td>\nMeg<\/td>\nCabot<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mary Jane<\/td>\nJessica Anya<\/td>\nBlau<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bliss<\/td>\nShay<\/td>\nMitchell & Michaela Blaney<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shipped<\/td>\nAngie<\/td>\nHockman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Turnout<\/td>\nMegan<\/td>\nAbbott<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fake Accounts<\/td>\nLauren<\/td>\nOyler<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
If the Shoe Fits<\/td>\nJulie<\/td>\nMurphy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Husbands<\/td>\nChandler<\/td>\nBaker<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Previous Book Lists<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Books of 2020<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2019<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2018<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2017<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2016<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2015<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2014<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2013<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2012<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2011<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2010<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2009<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2008<\/a><\/p>\n

The Books of 2007<\/a><\/p>\n

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