Happy New Year, Readers! This post is all about the best books I read in 2021. I’ll have another post checking in with all of the goals I set later, but first I wanted to focus on the highlights!
Goodreads Year In Books
Unfortunately, the way Goodreads has formatted Year in Books for 2021 makes it impossible to embed in my blog. So if you want to see the fun graphics and all of the stats they include, check out the link above. Otherwise, here’s the summary:
How many books did I read in 2021?
159
How many pages did I read in 2021?
20,015
Top 10 Children’s Books of 2021
Since I spent a large part of the year focusing on children’s literature, I want to include some of my favorites here! And I couldn’t pick just 5 after all. The image is not linked, but you can click on the titles below to see their full information. Please note that these are not all books published in 2021, just books that I read in 2021.
Two Roads by Joseph Bruchac – Middle Grade / Upper Elementary Historical Fiction
Life According to Og the Frog by Betty G. Birney – Juvenile Fiction
A Dog Like Daisy by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb – Juvenile / early Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction
Linked by Gordan Korman – Middle Grade / Young Adult Contemporary Fiction
Luciana by Erin Teagan – Juvenile Contemporary Fiction
Strange Planet: The Sneaking, Hiding, Vibrating Creature by Nathan Pyle – Picture Book
Because by Mo Willems – Picture Book
Stay by Bobbie Pyron – Juvenile / Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction
Katie the Catsitter by Colleen AF Venable – Juvenile / Middle Grade Graphic Novel
Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina – Juvenile / Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction
Top 5 Nonfiction Books of 2021
Again, because of school I read a lot of nonfiction books this year. This list includes texts I read for class, some I read in the time I set aside for theology (almost) every day, and others that I read just because.
Tables in the Wilderness by Preston Yancey
A New Day Dawns by Terry Lister My Review
Text, Lies, and Cataloging by Jana Brubaker
I’ll be Home for Christmas Movies by Brandon Gray
Top 5 Fiction Books of 2021
The section you’ve all been waiting for! Or, at least the one that I expect to get the most attention. I usually spend most of my reading time in fiction, and I came across some really good reads this year despite not having as much time for personal reading as I am used to. It was hard to pick this list!
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke My Review
Discernment (The Legacy Chronicles #3) by Lauren H. Salisbury My Review
Fanny’s Hope Chest by Sarah Holman My Review
Tune it Out by Jamie Sumner
Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan
I also want to give a shout out to a few new authors I came across in 2021: Patti Callahan, Gordan Korman, Susanna Clarke, Jamie Summer, and Joy Harjo are all new-to-me authors who I am very thankful to have discovered this year.
What were the best books you read in 2021? Share in the comments so we can build our 2022 to-read lists!
There are a lot more bookish posts planned for RFtS in the coming weeks! I hope you will stick around to talk about the books we wanted to read in 2021 but didn’t get to, goals for 2022, and much more.
Until the next chapter,
Jana
Reviews From the Stacks 
Wow, Jana! I wish I was able to read that much in a year! Way to go!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Audra! More than half of what I read this year was for class, which is a strong motivator. I’m actually lowering my overall reading goal for 2022 a bit, and looking forward to reading more “for fun” books.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think that’s great! When I have a lot of books for class, it definitely makes me less motivated to read just for fun.
LikeLiked by 1 person