How is 2021 already gone? It feels like it went by so fast yet really, really slow. Personally, 2021 has not been my year. I’ve studied and worked and not had time to do much else. But I have managed to read 33 books which I am very proud over. Books have been my escape when real life got a little bit too much (as books have been a lot in my life). I want to share my favorite books I read in 2021 here with you today.
First book on my list is Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo. The story takes place in Seoul, South Korea and follows a thirty-something year old woman. The author is so talented at pinpointing sexism and how the society is not in favor of women. Although it’s completely fiction there are footnotes throughout the book showing facts about the real situation in South Korea. I think the footnotes are brilliant and I feel I got so much more out of the book because of them. I really need more people to read this book because the subject is so important.
The next two books on my list are about the same topic but one is fiction and the other one is not. In the beginning of the year I read The Pearl That Broke It’s Shell by Nadia Hashimi. It’s about a girl called Rahima growing up in Afghanistan. She and her sisters are not allowed to go out without a man so to run errands and such the parents turn Rahima into a boy, a bacha posh. I wrote a review about the book which you can read here for more information. After I read this book I became interested in the concept of bacha posh in Afghanistan. My sister recommended The underground girls of Kabul by Jenny Nordberg which is a non-fiction book about bacha posh. Nordberg is a journalist who have spent a lot of time in Afghanistan and she interviews people who have been and is a bacha posh. The book also very neatly describes the situation for women in Afghanistan which I think most of you know have gotten worse this year. I think these two books complements each other well and I encourage you all to read both. I think they are more important now than ever.
In the end of the year I read And a happy new year…? by Holly Bourne. Bourne is one of my favorite authors and I have been saving this novella for awhile. It’s the last story of the book series the spinster club which is a very feminist focused series. This book was just as good as the rest of them and very interesting to see this story from all three of the girls perspective because you usually only get one of the girls perspective in each book in the series.
A new favorite of mine is a swedish fantasy book which sadly only exists in swedish but I had to mention it if any swedes reads this, haha. It’s called Vald av vargar (Chosen by wolfs) by Frida Hallberg. If you’re a swede looking for a fantasy book with witches, trolls and nature themes you found the book. The world is amazing and the story surprised me more than once. For me it’s the most adult fantasy book I’ve read, it involves subjects such as sex, periods and childbirth. The second book came out in the end of 2021 so it’s sitting in my bookshelf waiting for me to pick it up, which I will very soon…
The next pair of books is also a swedish but these are actually translated to more languages. Vei by Sara Bergmark Elfgren and Karl Johnsson is a graphic fantasy novel. I read both the first and second in the duology. The book takes place in the norse/Scandinavian mythology. For me it was very interesting to deep dive into this specific mythology because I’ve read about it in school when I was very young and it’s part of Swedens history. The book has action, gods and beautiful artwork so what more do you need? It was a fast read and I just wanted more.
Over the summer I listened to Educated by Tara Westover. It’s an autobiography about growing up in a survivalist environment. For example she was 17 the first time she stepped into a classroom. It’s a very interesting perspective to read about and I love seeing the world from different perspective. Even though it’s non-fiction it almost felt like fiction because it’s so well constructed and the personal growth she has is amazing.
Lastly, I read the Lord of the rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. I don’t think I need to tell you what it is about but I can tell you my thoughts about it. The world-building is amazing and you can see how much Tolkien loves the world he created. I’ve watched the movies before so I knew the story but there are so much more happening in the books and everything happens in slightly different order. In the second book I really fell in love with Gollum because he is such a complex character. The main things that bothered me was the lack of female power and the lack of pure emotions from the character. Sometimes the characters acted as they did not have any feelings and I had a hard time connecting with them. Otherwise I really liked all the books in the trilogy.
Thank you for reading this post and I hope you’re happy with your reading year, no matter how many books you’ve read! What are your favorite books you’ve read in 2021?
Oh, and happy new year!
Fell For Books 