And here we are at the end of my book reviews for 2021! I made it through all 65 books. I have loved going over each of them with all of you, and I hope you’ve found a few gems to add to your own to-read list. As far as I’m concerned, you can never have too many books to read. And I’ve already read far more than 65 this year, so I’ll have many posts for you in 2023! But for now, let’s finish off the 2021 book list…

I read this one partly because I wanted to see the movie and partly because I want to read more classic sci-fi since that’s the genre I mainly write in. Both of these reasons made me excited to get into it.

I kept waiting for it to get good. I knew it was one of the most famous science-fiction stories out there, plus everybody was raving about the movie at the time, but I just kept thinking I must have not gotten to the great part yet… and then I never did. I found the worldbuilding interesting, for sure, and the political intrigue kept me relatively engaged, but overall I thought it was rather strange, it dragged, and it just wasn’t really my cup of tea. And then when I did watch the movie, I felt the same way about it. So maybe I’m missing something — or maybe it’s just not my type of sci-fi.

People in one of my Facebook mom groups kept recommending this author, so when I saw that she had free audiobooks on Hoopla, I grabbed this one to listen to while taking wintery walks on my weight lost journey late last year.

It was so good. My only complaint is that it was hard to really soak it in properly as an audiobook, so I fully intend to buy a hard copy and read it again. It really drove my focus back to the gospel, which can be so easy to lose sight of in all the day-to-day, even though it’s the most vital part of our lives.

This was a book club book, and I was a bit surprised to look back at my Goodreads and see that I’d given it four stars. I remember it being just okay.

The description sounded so excellent — and it really is a fascinating idea. A girl who is disappointed with the way her life has turned out has an opportunity between life and death to inhabit other possible routes her existence could have taken. And there certainly were very well-written and thought-provoking parts. But I just remember it falling a little flat. Some of it felt unrealistic (a weird complaint for such a fantastical book, I know) and I didn’t really care for or relate that much with the main character. But I did enjoy it fairly well, and I think I just also appreciated having a book that embraces life and the beauty of it even when it may not feel the greatest in the mundane moments.

I had intended to read this for a very long time, and since I was so ahead on my reading goal for the year I decided to give it a shot. It took me several months to read, and I’m very glad I did.

Ayn Rand clearly had a lot of insight into society and the potential problems with the way things were going. Even though it’s a book from seventy years ago, I kept thinking it could have been written today. I also applaud Rand’s writing — somehow she got me to read and stay engaged with over a thousand pages about people I don’t agree with and things I care nothing about (e.g. railroads. So much about railroads). But it was a bit of a roller coaster to read because it was such an equal mix of going, “Yes exactly!” and “Oh no, that’s garbage,” back and forth as I read. She saw problems so clearly, but the extreme humanism of her solutions was painful to slog through. This one, actually, may need its own blog post sometime.

This is a book my family had years ago and I used to read it every Christmas, so I ordered my own copy last year so I could go through it with my girls.

There’s hardly a story in here that doesn’t make me cry. Fiction, nonfiction, stories, excerpts, all Christmas-themed, and all truly pointing to the ultimate spirit of the season — the way that the love of Christ is reflected in our families, traditions, and care for each other. Not every piece in it is perfect, but there is so much pure delight and beauty that I recommend it to anyone looking to get in the holiday frame of mind.

And there you have it — all 65 books that I read last year have been listed and reviewed! What a ride it’s been. Thank you all so much for joining me, and please let me know — have any of my reviews spurred your interest? Have any convinced you NOT to read a particular book? Have I affected your own reading list for this coming year?