*DISCLAIMER: NO SPOILERS, only strong opinions*
2021 Favs
As a reader who favors both poetry and thrillers, it makes sense to have one of each in my 2021 most loved list…
The Silent Patient By Alex Michaelides
Starting off with a bang, The Silent Patient was definitely one to remember…although ironically, I actually don’t remember it much at all seeing as it was the first book I read in 2021. This novel was so good that it made all the other books I read this year pale in comparison. The Silent Patient follows two intertwining stories exploring love, hate, and trauma. This is a book I recommend to ANYONE who enjoys a good thriller and is one I will be rereading very soon.
I Hope This Finds You Well by Kate Baer
A book published after her famous What Kind of Woman: Poems (which I am also looking forward to reading), an ode to finding beauty in pain and love in hate, I Hope This Finds You Well follows a collection of hate messages received by the author turned into powerful pieces of thoughtful poetry. Transforming misogynistic hate mail into poems about female empowerment and degrading messages into self-love reminders, this book is genius through and through.
Biggest 2021 Let Downs
You know that feeling when you’re waiting to get to the ‘good part’ of a book…but as you finish the last page, it never comes? These books are a few examples from my 2021 book list that come to mind…
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
For a book that seemed to be recommended everywhere for about a year before I read it, it definitely let me down. Although the ending of this book was never something I would’ve guessed, I finished the book deeply unsatisfied with both the resolution and the lack of depth in character development and explanation. We Were Liars is not a book where you are able to deeply feel for any characters either, as it seems like Lockhart only allows us to get to know them on a superficial level. This book ultimately left me with more compassion and love for the two golden retrievers in the story than any of the main characters.
Home Body by Rupi Kaur
Rupi Kaur guided me through my teen years with her two world-famous poetry books, Milk and Honey and The Sun and Her Flowers. Although her books are usually staples in my teen poetry recommendations, I found Home Body to be a definite letdown. Despite her constant references to feeling rushed and forced to produce her art on a timeline, it is hard to read the complete book and feel like that’s not what happened. With a toe in the water in issues like feminism and capitalism, I found that although many scattered poems stood out to me, many seemed lackluster and empty, scratching the surface on global issues without really adding much to the conversation.
My Spring 2022 Book List
Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler, MPH
Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a book that I am actually already six chapters into, and it’s quickly become something for me to rave about and recommend to anyone and everyone. Exploring the myths surrounding women’s fertility, as well as the benefits of the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) of menstrual charting, every word of this book teaches me something new that I wish I had known years ago. Read more here.
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, MD
In this novel by Bessel Van der Kolk–an expert on traumatic stress and its effects on children and adults–traumas are unraveled and understood from a different perspective and non-medical healing methods are outlined. Read more here.
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
In the spirit of doing some exploring in 2022, The Spanish Love Deception will be the first romance novel I read. In this hate-to-love romance novel, Catalina Martín and Aaron Blackford are pretend to be in love at her sister’s wedding. Read more here.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
When a former POW and his family move to Alaska, this novel explores the breakdown of a family and a mental health crisis. Read more here. This historical fiction novel has been recommended to me by many and is my most anticipated fiction work in 2022.