Favorite Fiction of 2021

It turns out that I’ve not read much fiction and I’ve not done a good job of reviewing some of my favorite reads! This was another incredible book from Fredrik Backman which falls in one of my favorite genres – apparently unconnected people coming together and finding that they can all help each other. It deals with some heavy topics but in a truly heartwarming way.

This was an incredible, clever time travel novel that I loved even though I typically dislike time travel. The world building and complex plot of this book were a ton of fun to piece together.

Both The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows and the third book in this series, The Helion’s Waltz, are some of my top reads this year. They’re so sweet and lovely. The two female romantic leads each always have a fascinating hobby or career that they’re devoted too and it’s hard not to love a character with that kind of passion and competence. There’s typically a cartoonishly villainous character, but the friends and family of the romantic leads are well fleshed out and have heartwarming relationships. They’re a real delight!

This was another really sweet romance! The plot device that has the main characters get to know each other through notes leads to some satisfying relationship building before they even meet. And then once they do, there’s plenty of time for them to get to know each other better and help each other through some tough times. So good!

These stories weren’t exactly my thing – Roxane Gay seems to have a much darker sensibility than I do! – but they really stuck with me. They did deal with some challenging, darker topics, but I appreciate how unique they were and also how viscerally real the emotions and physical situations felt.

I felt similarly about the stories in Milk Blood Heat, which makes sense, since I picked this up for Roxane Gay’s book club! The stories are again a little darker and more visceral than I prefer, but I couldn’t help but admire the hot, sticky, claustrophobic atmosphere the author created with these Florida-based stories.

This was a truly delightful modern translation. I loved the fun the author had, using both modern slang and older or more literary English to bring this story to life. It tripped off my tongue when read out loud and made me laugh. Definitely the most fun I’ve ever had reading a classic.