What To Read:

Share this post
My favorite books of 2021
amandalitman.substack.com

My favorite books of 2021

I couldn't narrow it down so, uh, here's 59 books you might like

Dec 26, 2021
Comment
Share

I read a lot this year and since I mostly read things I like — I am a prolific not-finisher when books don’t appeal to me — I really couldn’t narrow it down to a top 10. (Sorry.) So instead, you get 59 books I genuinely enjoyed & think you might, too.

At the very least, I sorted them into some categories based on topic.

Fiction

Gender & what it means to be a woman & love:
  • Outlawed - Anna North

  • Detransition, Baby - Torrey Peters

Motherhood is messy:
  • The Fourth Child - Jessica Winter

  • The Four Winds - Kristin Hannah

Romances that are a little bit hot:
  • The Ex Talk - Rachel Lynn Solomon

  • The Girl with Stars In Her Eyes - Xio Axelrod

  • People We Meet on Vacation - Emily Henry

  • One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston

Romances that are a lot hot:
  • The Intimacy Experiment - Rosie Danan

  • The Soulmate Equation - Christina Lauren

  • Seven Days in June - Tia Williams

  • The Heart Principle - Helen Hoang

  • The Love Hypothesis - Ali Hazelwood

  • A Lot like Adiós - Alexis Daria

  • The Fastest Way to Fall - Denise Williams

Corporate culture is a scam:
  • Black Buck - Mateo Askaripour

  • Imposter Syndrome - Kathy Wang

The kind of novel you can’t put down because the narrator is just so compelling:
  • Intimacies - Katie Kitamura

  • How Lucky - Will Leitch

  • Lucky - Marissa Stapley

The internet is disintegrating our brains:
  • No One Is Talking About This - Patricia Lockwood

  • Several People are Typing - Calvin Kasulke

Being a celebrity seems not so fun:
  • The Final Revival of Opal & Nev - Dawnie Walton

  • The View Was Exhausting - Mikaella Clements & Onjuli Datta

  • If This Gets Out - Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich

Sibling drama! (especially sisters)
  • Yolk - Mary H.K. Choi

  • They’ll Never Catch Us - Jessica Goodman

  • Malibu Rising - Taylor Jenkins Reid

  • What Could Be Saved - Liese O’Hallaran Schwarz

Race & family & love & the way things change very quickly and also way too slowly:
  • What’s Mine & Yours - Naima Coster

  • We Are Not Like Them - Christine Pride & Jo Piazza

  • Infinite Country - Patricia Engel

Faith & religion are complicated:
  • Revival Season - Monica West

  • God Spare the Girls - Kelsey McKinney (cross-categorize under sister-sister!)

I’m very glad not to be a teenager anymore but also maybe it’s nice to feel your feelings the way teenagers do:
  • The People We Keep - Allison Larkin

  • Instructions for Dancing - Nicola Yoon

No spoilers except to say: maybe there are aliens!?!?
  • Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir

Thrillers that will keep you reading late into the night:
  • We Were Never Here - Andrea Bartz

  • Falling - T.J. Newman

  • Too Good to Be True - Carola Lovering

  • Ace of Spades - Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

  • Goodnight Beautiful - Aimee Molloy

A pandemic novel that won’t feel too real (but still a little real)
  • Doctors and Friends - Kimmery Martin

Non-fiction

Memoirs
  • Between Two Kingdoms - Suleika Jaouad

  • Thanks for Waiting - Doree Shafrir

  • Both/And - Huma Abedin

  • Somebody’s Daughter - Ashley C. Ford

Put the Sacklers in prison
  • Empire of Pain - Patrick Radden Keefe

The things we love will always destroy us (but also, maybe, save us?):
  • Turning Pointe - Chloe Angyal

  • The Secret to Superhuman Strength - Alison Bechdel

Words matter!
  • Cultish - Amanda Montell

On grief & food
  • Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner

Essays that will make you laugh/cry:
  • Minor Feelings - Cathy Park Hong

Essays that will make you laugh/cry/want to pet a dog:
  • These Precious Days - Ann Patchett

  • On Animals - Susan Orlean

Corporate culture is a scam, non-fiction edition:
  • Out of Office - Anne Helen Petersen & Charlie Warzel

Abolition is the future
  • We Do This Til We Free Us - Mariame Kaba


If you’re looking for a specific recommendation, just let me know. Here to help!

CommentComment
ShareShare

Create your profile

0 subscriptions will be displayed on your profile (edit)

Skip for now

Only paid subscribers can comment on this post

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

Check your email

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.

TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2022 Amanda Litman
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Publish on Substack Get the app
Substack is the home for great writing