Best books of 2021 Part 2: Our books of the year

The Book Club Review

It's part 2 of our end-of-year special, in which we look back over the books we read outside of book club, the ones we chose for ourselves, and pick out our favourites. And so listen in for more book recommendations than you can shake a stick a, plus recommendations from our book clubs and friends of the pod. We also look ahead to some new releases coming out in 2022.

Booklist

Kate's top three favourites from 2021

Don't Touch My Hair, Emma Dabiri

A Ghost in the Throat, Doireann ní Ghrí­ofa

Lean, Fall, Stand, Jon McGregor

Laura's top three favourites from 2021

A Life's Work, Rachel Cusk

Miss Iceland, Audur Ava Olafsdottir

Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese

Kate's longlist of favourite reads in 2021

The Moth and the Mountain, Ed Caesar

Writers and Lovers and Euphoria Lily King

Real Estate, Deborah Levy

The Library Book and The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean

All My Friends are Superheroes, Andrew Kaufman

Owls of the Eastern Ice, Jonathan C. Slaght

Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder

Don't Touch My Hair, Emma Dabiri

Fun Home, Alison Bechdel

Parisan Lives, Deidre Bair

Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder

Early Morning Riser, Katherine Heiny

Love Letters, Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West (Alison Bechdel, ed.)

A Ghost in the Throat, Doireann ni Ghriofa

Re-Educated, Lucy Kellaway

Pew, Catherine Lacey

Happy All the Time, Laurie Colwin

Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri

Sorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason

Lean, Fall, Stand, Jon McGregor

Assembly, Natasha Brown

The Stranding, Kate Sawyer

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers

Empire of Pain, Patrick Radden-Keefe

Matrix, Lauren Groff

The See-Through House, Shelley Klein

Laura's longlist of favourite reads in 2021

His Only Wife, Peace Adzo Medie

Miss Iceland, Hotel Silence and Butterflies in November, Audur Ava Olafsdottir

Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese

On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong

Homeland Elegies, Ayad Akhtar

No-One is Talking About This, Patricia Lockwood

Great Circle, Maggie Shipstead

D: A Tale of Two Worlds, Michael Faber

Graceling, Kristin Cashore

A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

The Annals of the Western Shore, Ursula Le Guin

The Book of Hidden Things, Francesco Dimitri

Frederica, Georgette Heyer

Conundrum, Jan Morris

A High Wind in Jamaica, Richard Hughes

The Rules of Civility, Amor Towles

Chrissy Ryan's recommendations

Open Water, Caleb Azumah Nelson

Assembly, Natasha Brown

Detransition Baby, Torrey Peters

Elizabeth Morris' recommendations

Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder

Book club recommendations

The Summer Book, Tove Jansson

The Mermaid of Black Conch, Monique Roffey

Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë

A Dance to the Music of Time, Anthony Powell

The Siege of Krishnapur, J. G. Farrell

The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst

Isaac Steele and the Forever Man, Daniel Rigby

Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer

Albert and the Whale, Philip Hoare

Trieste or the Meaning of Nowhere, Jan Morris

The Bass Rock, Evie Wyld

Autumn, Ali Smith

The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead

Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan

The Offing, Benjamin Myers

Circe, Madeleine Miller

Three Women, Lisa Taddeo

My Dark Vanessa, Kate Elizabeth Russell

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Upcoming books in 2022

We also discussed our inordinate desire for The Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss to finally be published, and Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Notes

Full details of all the titles discussed in this episode can be found in the shownotes on our website thebookclubreview.co.uk.

Do keep up with us between episodes on Instagram and Facebook @bookclubreviewpodcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or email [e-mail]. We always love to hear from you.