I was hoping 2021 would be mean more bookish gatherings and meetups but it was not to be. Events were still held virtually and while there is something cosy about sitting on your sofa and watching loads of fab authors chatting about upcoming books, I really miss the get togethers in London with my blogging friends. My book reading has been slower than previous years but I’ve been sent some amazing books and the quality has been outstanding.

2021 started much the same as 2020 ended – Covid and lockdowns and high numbers of infections and deaths. I was glad to get my vaccine and booster and so far we have been lucky enough to avoid it but I feel now it is only a matter of time.

I got divorced in 2021 – luckily my ex husband and I were able to sort out the majority of the terms ourselves so after the initial stress, it was probably as smooth a process as it could be. My oldest son started his second year studying psychology at University and now lives with some friends in a student house and he seems happier. My youngest son has rediscovered the joys of socialising and it is good to see him happier after his struggles with the divorce and lockdown.

On a personal note, late last year I met a new man and things have gone from strength to strength and we are now living together. He gets on well with my boys and I love his children too and it is working pretty well. He is partly the reason I haven’t read as much but I am loving our time together. Not long after we first started dating, he decorated my bedroom and built me some amazing bookshelves. Despite not being a reader himself, he understands how much I love my books!

We have done some amazing things this year – we spent a week in Cornwall with the boys which was just brilliant. We have had BBQs on the beach and I’ve swam in the sea and floated in a dingy! We saw Dirty Dancing at the theatre, went up The Shard , did the War of the Worlds interactive experience and did the Halloween night at Tulley’s Farm. We visited my family for the first time in ages and I was able to show him where I grew up. And we have been to the cinema…a lot! I’m a little less keen now Covid numbers are so high again but I hope we can get back to it soon.

Before we get to my top 10, here are all the books I have read in 2021

• I have published 79 posts
• I’ve read 76 books, down from 107 in 2020 and I’m absolutely OK with that!  My original target was 80 so I’m reducing my target to 70 for 2022
• That’s 23267 pages!
• I gave 5 stars to 24 books
• I’m going into 2022 with 306 unread books on my shelves (up from 265 last year – oh dear!)
• The shortest book I read was 80 pages; the longest 460 pages
• If you want to be friends on Goodreads, you can find me here
• I’m also over on Instagram and Twitter

Top Ten Books of 2021 (in the order in which I read them with links to my original reviews)

• Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift

• Surrogate by Susan Spindler

• Boys Don’t Cry by Fiona Scarlett

• The Idea of You by Robinne Lee

• The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

• A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

• The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

• Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout

• Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

• The Coward by Jared McGinnis

Honorary mentions:

I found it hard to narrow my favourite reads down to 10 so I here are some other books I really loved:

• The Final Girls Support Group by Grady Hendrix
• The Ends of the Earth by Abbie Greaves
• Watch Her Fall by Erin Kelly
• The Party Crasher by Sophie Kinsella
• For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing
• The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary
• The End of Men by Cristina Sweeney-Baird
• Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
• The Long, Long Afternoon by Inga Vesper
• Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent
• The One Hundred Years by Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
• Cheat, Play, Live by Lisa Edwards

Do you agree with any of these?  I hope I’ve influenced a few of you to add more books to your lists!

Thank you for reading.  Happy New Year to you and here’s to lots more bookish fun in 2022!