To Be Read: 2021
Last year I decided to pick 12 books off of my shelves to read for the year. You can see the list of them here. I wanted to continue that this year even though I did not get to read them all last year. I also decided to not include the books I did not get to from my list last year. So I have 12 new books to try and tackle this year. Some of the books I have had for a while on my shelves, and others are newer. I pick 12 so I can aim for one per month. Here are my picks for 2021!
After hearing about Brit Bennet’s top novel The Vanishing Half so much last year, I figured I should read the novel of hers I already own. The Mothers is Brit’s debut novel and a story about living in contemporary black America. I did not get the chance to read a lot of books on the subject during the Black Lives Matter movement, but I want read more up on it. There are many more on the subject I want to get to, but the ones I already own are a good start.
A Delicate Truth by John LeCarre
This will be my third book by LeCarre I would like to finish. He has written many books over the decades and they are a good reads. He bases his spy novels after the work he did for the British government himself. Sometimes they can be difficult to understand what is going on because of all the terminology and slight change in English word usage, but I still enjoy them. A Delicate Truth is a relatively new novel by him and is not a part of his famous Smilely series.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
This book along with a few others are a park of my shelves I like to call, Pride and Prejudice adaptation I need to read. Since Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book, I love reading adaptations, continuations, and etc. I have seen the movie version of this book and liked it, so why not tackle the book version also. This is also one of the most popular adaptations of P&P, so I should really get to it. I have a feeling I will enjoy it.
Honestly, I do not know much about this book besides what is written in the exert. I picked this book up at a book fair because it does sound very interesting. The basis of the novel is about a group searching for the Holy Grail. The exert describes the story as a thriller and love story wrapped up in a sweeping adventure. I really hope it lives up to it. I almost choose another book I have called The Quest by Wilber Smith, but I think it is a middle book of a series. I am thinking this will be a great book to read during the summer.
My sister had asked me if I had read this series a few time last year. She had heard about it and wanted to know if I had. I got the first book a while back, but I have not worked on getting around to reading it. I want to change that this year. I have heard good things about the series. I do not own the other books yet, but I might need to invest in them if this first book it good.
Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase
I picked this book purely to have a book to get me in the mood for Halloween by reading it in October. It is fittingly set in an old estate that is covered in ivy and memories haunt the estate. The story is sure to have some dark mysteries and clues to figure out while the action is going on. I did not really have a halloween themed book on my list last year, but thought it was good to pick one for this list.
The Good People by Hannah Kent
I picked up this book while visiting London in 2019, and I thought it sounded interesting. The story tells of a woman trying to heal her grandson and the folklore world closing in on them from rumors about her grandson. The exert sounds like they walk on the line of morals about how to go about healing him and the towns reaction to him. It is also set in the early 1800’s in Ireland, so folklore is readily believed and plays a major part of the story.
Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
This is the second book of this series by Adeyemi. I had the first book, Children of Blood and Bone, on the list last year and I enjoyed reading it. The world Tomi had created is engaging and fun. It also touches on the issues of class and mistreatment of people. I think this will totally be a novel I will enjoy if it is as good as the first book. I am sure more books will be coming for this series, so I cannot wait to see what happens with the character. I also want to see how they grow and change in this installment.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
I truly judged this book by it cover because it is beautiful, but after looking on Goodreads, that was an okay thing to do this time. It is rated over 4 stars and seems to be a great story. It is based off a true story about an Italian boy who falls for a Jew and then ends up being the personal driver for a powerful Nazi commander. He says for the allies and wait for the day he can live with his love. I feel like this is a story that will make you cry at a few points, and you really feel for the characters. I did not pick this book up long ago, but I knew I had to add it to this list to read soon.
Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris
I read the companion book to this one The Tattooist of Auschwitz in 2019 and loved it. Both are based on true stories from the Holocaust. I read the first book super quick and found it very touching. Cilka was very very rememberable character and you could tell she has a story to tell, so I was so glad Morris researched and wrote about it in this novel. I feel like it will be a sad read, so I will have to plan accordingly.
I have been really in to K-drama on Netflix lately, so my interest in Korea and its history and culture are at a peak. I did pick this book up when it was a best seller in 2019 but did not get around to read it. I sounds like a great story of a Korean family and the sacrifices they make through four generations. Part of the family is in Korea and some in Japan during the Japanese occupation of Korea. I cannot wait to get to it.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
I picked this book up recently because of a recommendation from Cari Can Read on YouTube. From the videos I have watched, I think we have similar taste in books. She talked about this book in a few videos and suggested it to read. The story sounds very charming and a refection of the human ways and relationships through the characters.