Favorite Books of 2021 so Far! (A Giveaway Too!)

Every year I round up all of my favorite books from the entire year and it turns into one LONG blog post. This year I’ve decided to break it down into four quarterly posts. I’m also going to do a giveaway with each post! Today I’m sharing my Favorite Books of 2021 so Far…. and the books I should have skipped.

Five Star Books

In the first quarter of 2021 I read 22 books and I only gave five stars to TWO of them! **Post Contains Affiliate Links**

The Things We Cannot Say (Kelly Rimmer)- This is the first book I’ve given 5 stars to in a long time!! I love books with dual storylines and this time both storylines were equally as good! Just when I thought I couldn’t read another Holocaust book this one blew me away.

The Four Winds (Kristin Hannah)- Another Hannah book that lived up to the hype. Her books never fail. Just read it. I learned a ton about the Great Depression. I was rooting for Elsa the entire time. I won’t forget this book anytime soon.

Four Star Books

Even if I only give a book four stars, it still means I really enjoyed it.

The Midnight Library (Matt Haig)- A story with a really interesting perspective that really got me thinking. The premise is one that I won’t forget anytime soon! Somewhat repetitive at points, but had a really solid ending.

The Sun Does Shine (Anthony Ray Hinton)- This is such a moving book. I doubt it’s possible to read this and not challenge your opinions about racism and the death penalty. I was so inspired by Hinton’s faith, positivity, and outlook.

The Guest List (Lucy Foley)- In the beginning I couldn’t tell where this mystery was going and it had some crude elements. All the cliffhangers read a bit like a Scooby-doo mystery at that moment before they pull the hat off!! By the end I couldn’t put it down trying to piece the mystery together. Without spoiling it I’ll say I appreciated how it ended and didn’t see it coming!

The Exiles (Christina Baker Kline)- It took until over halfway through this book until I was fully engaged. At that point though I couldn’t put it down. I loved all the twists and turns and the ways the stories intertwined. This book was worth the slow start, but that’s why it didn’t get five stars from me.

The Woman in Cabin 10 (Ruth Ware)- This was a really good mystery. It had a LOT of vulgarity in it, but if you can look past that the story was really good. Definitely reminded my of Agatha Christy “Mystery on the Orient Express”. Some of the descriptions got a bit redundant, but I still enjoyed it.

Flawless (Scott Andrew Selby)- This is the book version of “Oceans 11” or “the Italian Job”. I found myself reading with every spare second to see if they could pull off the heist. Very different than my typical reads, but super interesting!

The Book of Lost Names (Kristin Harmel)- This was such a good book, especially because I LOVE dual storylines. It gave a look into a part of the holocaust that I hadn’t read about.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper (Phaedra Patrick)- A quick easy happy read. I really enjoyed Arthur’s journey of self discovery. A great reminder of what’s really important in life.

Books I Wish I’d Skipped:

Endurance (Alfred Lansing)- While an interesting lesson in history, this was terribly boring as a novel. The entire book could have been summarized as a short essay and I would have saved 10 hours of my life.

Greenlights (Matthew McConaughey)- I wanted to like this book more by it read like one long nonsensical, narcissistic rant. I didn’t appreciate the vulgarity and crudity of McConaughey’s storytelling. His stories were long winded and oddly specific…including heights, weights, last names, etc. It made the stories feel more like “tall tales”.

The Most Fun We Ever Had (Claire Lombardo)- I wish I would have realized this is basically a book about sex and family drama. The storylines were interesting, but there were too many to follow and it was too long and drawn out.

More About Books and Reading!

If you’re wondering how it’s possible to read so many books, the answer is that I mostly listen to AudioBooks. My husband would say I’m really not “reading”. I get most of them through my local library on OverDrive, and the rest on Audible. If you’re looking for more book suggestions, check out these:

Favorite Books of 2020  **Favorite books of 2019 ** Favorite books of 2018 ** Favorite books of 2017

Giveaway

This quarter I’m giving away a copy of each of the Five Star books! To enter to win just go and follow me on Facebook or Instagram, and leave a comment by tagging one friend who might love BrightGreenDoor! I will be randomly selecting a winner on April 12, 2021!