I’m back with five more 2021 book reviews, and this is a post I’m really excited about because all of the books on today’s list were such joys to read in such VERY different ways! Three of the five, as you’ll see, are rated five stars, which is an honor I bestow sparingly. And the four-star ones could more properly be labeled four-point-five stars, in my opinion.

This is a book I’ve read during all three of my pregnancies, and in this case I was reading it just a few weeks before my due date with my third baby.

Every time I’ve been pregnant, I’ve suffered from major fears of giving birth. Neither being present at my mother’s birth nor giving birth myself helped these anxieties whatsoever — it’s a terrifying thing! But each of the three times I’ve moved towards labor, reading this book has been the thing that calmed me and built my confidence most. It speaks so calmly and naturally of childbirth and what it is and what exactly happens, and portrays it as such a joyous, even if difficult, occasion, that it always leaves me feeling more equipped for the enormous task ahead.

I have a soft spot in my heart for this famous Conan Doyle novel because it was my very first introduction to Sherlock Holmes. I don’t remember what age I was when I first read this one, but it was on my school reading list and I went into it with no idea of what to expect.

Thus I encountered both a spooky, intriguing mystery story and the detective who captured my imagination and my heart. Ever since then, I’ve collected all the stories in multiple editions, read them multiple times, read books about Holmes, and generally remained a devoted fan.

This is one of those books that I’ve meant to get around to reading for many years now, but I just hadn’t quite ever done it. At last a friend suggested we read it together and I agreed.

It was every bit as good as I expected, fully earning its place as one of the most famous Christian classics out there. The story of what Corrie and her family went through in the German concentration camps, as well as their faithfulness in following God in extremely dangerous situations, was beyond inspiring. I’m grateful I finally got around to it.

This is my personal favorite of the four Sherlock Holmes novel-length stories. It’s a story within a story, with Holmes and Watson attempting to solve a puzzling murder in the present and then hearing the tale of danger and villainy in the past that led up to it.

Both stories feature big twists. I’ve probably read this one at least half a dozen times and even despite knowing the reveals from both sides of it, I enjoy every revisit and fully plan to read it more times in the future.

This was our book club read for the month, but I didn’t get to attend the discussion because I had a newborn baby. And despite this very good reason, I was sad to miss because this ended up being one of my favorites of the books we read that year!

It’s a strange book to call a favorite, because it is increcibly tragic, infuriating, and at times deeply disturbing. In short, it was certainly not a fun or relaxing read. But I found it impossible to put down. The horror of the events it describes — the devastating effects of radium on those who worked with it and the attempts to cover all of it up — not only pulled me in but got me thinking. What are the things going on today that will be written about in such obvious tragedy several decades in our own future?

I’ll be back next week, Lord willing, with five more reviews — in the meantime, comment and let me know whether you’ve read any of these books. If so, what were your thoughts? And if not, will you be adding them to your own to-read list?