• Home
  • About Me
  • Become A Subscriber
  • Freebie Library
  • Disclaimer and Privacy
  • Main Categories
    • My Personal Journey
    • Minimalism
    • Self Care
    • Mental Health
    • Parenting
    • Pregnancy/Babies
Tidbits of Care

Lifestyle blog for self care, mental health and personal growth

Books/Reading  /  December 27, 2021

The 5 Best Books I Read in 2021

This year I made it a goal to read more than I had been in the past couple of years, and so I really want to talk about the five best books I read this year. Because five is a nice round number. I did seriously kick some reading butt this year and intend to keep up that trend so I did meet that goal at least, and I also found some books and authors that I love, and hope to keep reading great reads.

Since I’m such a book nerd, I have given serious thought to which books I read this year that were the BEST. I mean, in my opinion. And I’ve come up with a list of those books that I am going to share with you today.

I do want to preface this by saying, I didn’t realize until I looked at all the books I read, how much these titles would overlap in terms of genre and atmosphere. It’s a huge surprise to me how much I’ve read and loved in these genres this year. Let’s just dive in to the five best books I read in 2021.

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

I was in hospital when I read this one. Luckily I had access to my local library’s e-libary, so I was able to read a couple of books while there. And this book was really, really good. I mean, disturbing but very good. I had never read anything quite like this, but it certainly had a style and unsettling quality that drew me in and kept me searching for books by this author. While not a thriller in the traditional sense, as it pushes horror boundaries (I think) this is certainly a novel that a wide variety of readers can enjoy.

Small Favors by Erin A. Craig

I had stopped reading YA for a while, as I was tried of a lot of YA tropes. However, I thought I’d give a few YAs a try this year, and was pleasantly surprised by the ones I chose—enough that I have added more to my library. Small Favors is another unsettling novel, paranormal and I think considered horror. I really liked that the novel explored the horror that is within us. Plus it was super well written and atmospheric. This novel is definitely one I would re-read as I loved the creeps and thrills that this novel gave me.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

A classic, this was one book I was really looking forward to reading, and I really liked it. It was nothing like the Netflix series, but it certainly had it’s own haunting that was equally scary and unsettling. It actually really reminds of the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It just had that same kind of creepy vibe all throughout the novel. Something about the writing style of Jackson makes her stories fascinating even when you are not really sure exactly what is scary.

five best books photo

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Now, you might think given the title and the first three selections, that this is another horror, but this novel is actually YA historical fiction written in 1958. I first read this when I was ten years old, and I even remembered a line from the very first page. The reason I picked this novel up again of course, was to see if it lived up to memory. And it did, but I was also very surprised at how adult the novel was as well, dealing with such topics as suitability in marriage, a witch hunt and detailing the grievances of pioneer settlers in American against the King in the 1600s. I also loved that the main character allowed us as readers into a glimpse of Puritan life into which she was not born, and did not agree with in many respects. I would definitely recommend this, and also, it was a Newbury Medal winner.

Related Article: Why I’m Passionate About Reading

HOrrid by Katrina Leno

Well, the title might give this away. It’s YA horror, and while horror and thrillers are not usually my thing…I guess I grew this year as a reader and really dived (without meaning to) into a new genre and style of writing. And I guess, loved it! Horrid was creepy. Like, you were constantly creeped out as you read this, sort of of jump scare movies where it’s just unsettling so much of the time that when the jump scare happens, you just can’t help but jumping. But there were not jump scares in the same way as there are in movies. Just more and more strange revelations until the ending and then the ending is a bit of a jump scare as in–that’s the ending?! It might not be the book for everyone, but it worked so well for me.

In Conclusion

So apparently, I might be a bigger fan of horror and thriller than I previously thought as I’ve never read horror really and only started reading thrillers in the past couple of years. But didn’t think I was really a thriller girl when it came to reading. I’ve learned something new about myself by writing this post! Given that, I would recommend to you to dive into genres or authors you think you might not like because maybe, like me, you will. We all grow and change and our tastes in art change as well as we change as people.

Those are the five best books I read this year. Did you read any of them? What awesome books did you read this year?

Related posts:

Classics Reading Challenge Review: Little Women
5 Holiday Books to Gift This Christmas
5 Interesting Books to Read

Tags:

  • books
  • ,
  • happiness
  • ,
  • hobbies
  • ,
  • reading

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • More
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • WhatsApp
  • LinkedIn
  • Pocket

Post navigation

10 of My Holiday Favourites–Holiday Tag
How I Practice Daily Self Care as a Mom

Meet the Blogger

Hi! I'm Giulia
I write a lifestyle blog that seeks to inspire others to begin to their own journey into self care, one tidbit at a time. I am passionate about sharing my own journey from the last decade, and what I've learned along the way. I love chips and dip and Tudor ficiton.

Follow Me

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Ravelry
  • Etsy
  • Goodreads

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Translate

Topic Bits

I’m Looking For…

Let's Connect: Instagram

It’s Friday!!!
Today, I loved myself by working out. I hate exercising. It’s hard, it’s sweaty, it hurts and I just don’t enjoy it. But I am trying to make it part of my lifestyle. And working out was me loving myself.
Well, fall is here! The leaves have started turning where I am and the temps are cooling. Fall is my favourite season so I’m super excited for the days ahead!
Something you may or may not know about me is I love crocheting. I’m always trying to learn more and crocheting and challenging myself.
It’s the weekend! It’s been so long since I’ve had a self care weekend, but this weekend I might be able to go just that. We sold our condo and now we can relax at home, read books and look forward to the next chapter of our life.
Friends, my life has been stressful lately. But, it’s looking up. Abd I’m determined that in this next chapter, I’m going to create the home of my dreams #tidbitsofcare #lifeisgood #bloggerlife #bloggerstyle #lifestyleblogger #newchapterinlife #onlygoodvibes✨ #selfcareblog #homedecorinspo #visionboarding #manifestingmagic

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

6 Comments

  • Lucy says:
    December 28, 2021 at 5:02 pm

    These are not normally the books I would look to read, but I loved the reasons behind why you loved them so much! x

    Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
    Lucy recently posted…How To Manage The Lull Between Christmas & New YearMy Profile

    Reply
    • Giulia says:
      December 29, 2021 at 9:54 am

      Thank you! They all took me by surprise 😀

      Reply
  • A Capone Connection says:
    December 28, 2021 at 11:28 pm

    Wow, that’s quite a list. I’m not really into horror-type books but these do sound interesting. maybe I’ll try out one of the thrillers. thanks for sharing!
    A Capone Connection recently posted…New Year’s Eve Traditions from Around the WorldMy Profile

    Reply
    • Giulia says:
      December 29, 2021 at 8:21 am

      I didn’t think I was into horror either 😁

      Reply
  • S.S. Mitchell says:
    January 2, 2022 at 8:29 pm

    I love reading but didn’t make much time to read last year. That all changes this year, thank for sharing your favourite books!
    S.S. Mitchell recently posted…How to Improve Essay Writing InstantlyMy Profile

    Reply
    • Giulia says:
      January 2, 2022 at 8:53 pm

      I’m happy to 😊

      Reply
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

ConvertKit Form

I’m Looking For…

Like My Facebook Page

Like My Facebook Page

Tags

anxiety baby blog blogging blogs books christmas crochet crystals fall food gifts goals gratitude happiness haunted health hobbies home intentional living journalling life lifestyle love mental health minimalism movies parenting personal growth pets poems pregnancy reading selfcare self care shopping stress teachers teaching travel wedding wellness worklife writing yarn

Archives

  • March 2023
  • December 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
© Copyright Tidbits of Care by LyraThemes.com. All rights reserved.
Cressida Pro by LyraThemes.com