My Recent Reads: June-December 2021
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Happy New Year, special friend!
And another year ends, giving way to winter temperatures and the annual resurgence of homebody tendencies. With Summer and then the Fall of ‘21 being the first full seasons in our first home, the year will go down in our personal history books as special. The first summer we lounged in our backyard and hummingbirds feasted on the honeysuckle and friends gathered under the string lights and Brio took on the same sunbathing behaviors that his mom is known to display. The first Fall we cooked home made curries & soups in our own kitchen and set up seasonal decor and worked on the couch to the sound of a crackling fireplace video on YouTube with Brio curled up under the giant throw blanket. ❤️
If you follow me on social media, you know that it’s also been a milestone year for our family with my sister getting married in November. I feel so fortunate that I was able to celebrate with the happy couple in India despite the pandemic’s many lives, air travel hiccups and my years-long visa-obstacle-course. It was such a fun, emotional, memorable time and I’m still processing that my baby sister is married ahhh! Grateful wouldn’t begin to cover it. Grateful for health and family and vaccines and home.🥰
As I write this watching 2022’s first rain patter against the window, I’m looking forward to dreaming up the year ahead, starting with a full embrace of my cabin-core instincts through the cold season. Being a home-owner has apparently awakened a passion for home decor in me and while that topic deserves separate post(s), suffice to say here that hiding away at home doesn’t sound so bad at all when I’ve got the myriad little home projects that keep getting tucked away in my brain for company.
Needless to say, the reader in me is fighting for time lately! Is there a better feeling than curling up with a good book and a hot beverage on a chilly day?? More of that, please.❤️
Like 2021 itself, this recap of books I’ve read since June is full of gems! SO many good ones in the mix and hopefully eclectic enough for all moods. Hope you enjoy some or many of them in the upcoming cozy months! 🤗
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
I’m always down for a good thriller even if it means that every dark corner becomes terror itself for a while after, and this one hit the spot right away! The window-peeping trope is nothing new within the genre, but the plot felt fresh still. The movie adaptation has since released and would make for a great introduction or follow-up to the book. If Amy Adams in it it, you know it’s good.😬
2. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
After enjoying Daisy Jones and Evelyn Hugo immensely, my expectations from the latest TJR release were sky high. Verdict: Perhaps not as good as the former two, but still good. The sibling drama is complete with all of the themes one would expect from her writing- fame, glamour, a female-centric storyline. It also would make for a great mental SoCal beach escape if you’re starting to crank up the heat like me. Just sayin’. 💁🏽♀️
3. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Upbeat is not what a Depression-era Dust Bowl saga can be, so set your expectations before diving into this poignantly written tale of misfortune and the resilience needed to get through it. I had been impressed with Hannah’s vivid scene building against stark geographical locations in The Great Alone and this book stays consistent on that front.
4. Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
I’m not one to dip into the genre of magical realism of my own will, so you’ll believe me when I say that Barack Obama made me do it. My TBR list always has a sprinkling of his annual book recs, among others, and I always appreciate the diversity in genres that it influences. In this story, a gritty Hawaiian family gains fame when the eldest son survives a shark encounter with severe ramifications into the family’s future. It’s an intriguing plot with insights into Hawaiian folklore and native islander life that I appreciated.
5. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Absolutely loved! If you need something that transports you into a different world, this is it. In 1714 France, Addie LaRue bargains with the devil for immortality in every way but the one that matters- in the memories of the people she cares for. But then, after centuries of adventures spanning the globe, she meets someone who remembers her. An action-packed adventure you won’t regret taking!
6. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
I hadn’t read a rom com in so long, I’d forgotten how much fun a good one is! Emily Henry somehow manages to stick with the classic formula and yet, make it seem fresh. The characters, the chemistry, the problem to wring our hands over, the happy ending to make us forget said problem- it’s ALL here. 🙌🏽
7. The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Sadly, I’m here to report that this is not in the same league as The Silent Patient. An okay thriller at best, it follows the lead of Mariana as she tries to prove that a certain Professor with a penchant for Greek mythological rituals is a murderer. There is a decent enough twist in the tale, but that it was rather predictable by the time it happened took the fun out of it for me.
8. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
I liked this book! The corporate scandal at the heart of the plot felt like a nice change from the personality-based thrillers I’ve been reading lately. The characters grew on me, the pace was fairly quick and oh, I promise that the story being based in Sausalito curried no extra favors with me!
9. When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
If there’s one title I’m doing the opposite of recommending on this list, it is this one. Starts off okay with that familiar window-peeping trope, builds up to a nice tension, and then… all goes amuck. And not in a good way. Gave me distinct Quentin Tarantino vibes in book form. If you can’t tell, I’m not a Tarantino fan. But if you are into that kind of senseless chaos, go for it / more power to you.✌🏽
10. Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips
So it’s only because I mistakenly assumed that it was a mystery thriller (which it is but only at the very end) that it felt slow. What it is for the most part is a good, effective piece of literary fiction portraying the repercussions of an unsolved kidnapping on a cast of female characters within the community, with a great thriller end. Loved the graphical landscapes of the Siberian Kamchatska peninsula and the diverse portrayal of the native peoples.
11. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Fun fantasy read! If every regret could be undone by jumping into a book in which that alternate reality could be lived out, which book in your library would serve as your forever-life? The premise made me reflect quite a bit so this would be a great way to jumpstart the year if you’re feeling introspective like that. 🤓
12. The Push by Ashley Audrain
Defnitely my favorite thriller on this thriller-heavy list and possibly of 2021? SO good. Although I should not mislead and clarify that it’s thriller-adjacent pyschological drama-ish? The taut, tense, chilling writing style felt at times like a dark character study and at other times bordered on horror. In short- Don’t expect a traditional thriller. DO read it.
13. Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
A simple, poignant, bittersweet story of two people finding companionship at an age when it’s hard to find. Since reading, I’ve been informed by my mom that the movie adaptation is lovely as well.☺️
14. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
This book got on my radar because of Oprah’s prolific praise for it, and I can now confirm that it is BEYOND well-deserving of it. A multi-generational chronicling of a part of Georgia, from it’s original Native American inhabitants, the subsequent Black American families and the eventual White American role in shaping the present day, the richness of detail, depth to the characters and the layered timelines- all astonishing. A long read, but so worth it!
15. The Round House by Louise Elridge
I’ve had everyone’s favorite Native American novelist on my TBR list for the longest time, so when I finally decided to go for it, her most acclaimed title seemed like a good start. A terrible crime lies at the center of the story, but Erdrich does an artful job of layering it with the humor of teenage banter, the trials and joys of life on the reservation and a poignant coming of age tale. Trigger warning: sexual assault, gun violence.
16. Second Place by Rachel Cusk
An unconventional but clever rendering of the male-female dynamic, Cusk’s protagonist is put through internal turmoil when a an eccentric artist takes up residence in her guest house. Narrated in her often startlingly honest mind-voice, it’s a smart study of the unspoken power dynamics between the sexes.
17. Beach Read by Emily Henry
Can you tell that this is an Emily Henry fan club now? 😬 Just as charming as People We Meet on Vacation, just as difficult to keep the sparks from flying off of the pages! If she could hurry up and put out 12 more rom-coms in this year, that would be great, please and thank you.
18. Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
I blame Bookstagram for over-hyping this to the point of having unreasonable expectations, because it probably is in reality a fairly good thriller for an unbaised reader. I myself would place The Push and The Silent Patient on the first tier, and this one maybe on the second. 🤷🏽♀️
19. The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
If you’d like a genre-bending read that’s off the beaten path, this one might do it for you! I found the Devil Meets Prada meets Get Out synopsis to be a good pulse on the general vibe of the plot, except that it’s the publishing industry and you’re guaranteed to jump out of your seat when you find out who the bad guy is.😵💫
20. Matrix by Lauren Groff
Having previously read and enjoyed Lauren Groff’s works Fates and Furies and Florida, I had been looking forward to Matrix for a while. Happy to inform that it is absolutely riveting. You wouldn’t think that of a biographical novel on a French nun in the Middle Ages, but Marie is just as thrilling, dramatic and powerful of a heroine as any. Note that the text is peppered with monastic terms to either look up or ignore per your choosing.
21. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
The last book of 2021 is one that will go on the list of the year’s favorite reads! I’m not even a Sci-Fi reader and thoroughly enjoyed it.💯The epic interstellar adventures of Dr. Ryland Grace kept me hooked to the very end, and when it did end, I was sad for it. Highly recommend!
And that’s all of them! As always, let’s discuss if you’ve read any, or have recommendations to drop for me. 🤗
Thank you for reading and have a wonderful 2022 ahead!
XO Sushmitha :)
