Goodbye 2021! The best reads of the year
The Year in Womble
So Goodbye 2021 or as we can also call it 2020 The Appendices. I finish the year vaccinated, boosted and still largely working from home. It has been a very good year on a personal basis with a little less arghh which I often think is all we should hope for.
This site is now four years old and turns five in March. This I suspect means I am no longer a newbie and that blogging is now an entrenched habit. Blogging highlights of the year were a truly brilliant Subjective Chaos; getting to go to a con and meeting human beings in a place and finding out I got onto the longlist for Hugos for Best FanZine – it is lovely to be recognised. The best bit of this hobby though is the interactions with readers, bloggers, authors, publishers and publicists. A massive pie of introverts all chatting online trading book-temptings, challenges, thoughts and jokes has kept me sane the past few years. We are a lovely community and if you ever want to give blogging a try its not a bad time to dip your feet in the water.
So how did I do on this year’s reading aims
1 - Finish series and reduce the TBR – one so many of us have and yes I failed. I have though a cunning plan…
2 - Return to Regular Scheduling – Only not sure I can do a weekly Week in Womble any more but I do think more semi-regular wombling of some type is needed. However, as the stats below show I’m not exactly slouching]
3 - Read More Diversely – got better see below
4 - Use Book Tags – I would still like to get better at these
5 - Finish the Readalongs – oh my this needs a jump start
6 - Review by Release Dates – reviewing at time of publishing is getting better especially in the back half of year but I’ve some work to do to get to where I want to be; but a new calendar planner though is helping
7 - Read more Short stories – I read many more anthologies this year but still need to read more short fiction magazines. I have an idea though!
The stats
Overall,l I got through 219 books, anthologies and graphic novels in 2021 my highest ever total ever. I thought the lack of commute would hurt but actually no sign of that. I read differently now later or earlier in the day but reading is now a habit.
By my count I managed 289 blog entries this year not including this one! In this I reviewed 194 books broken down as
Horror – 37
Thriller – 25
Mixed SF, F and Horror Genres – 17
Non-SF&F – 4
Science Fiction – 47
Fantasy 64
Not too bad. I’d like to review more horror next year but overall a good mix.
One area of the blog I’ve enjoyed doing is the Interviews and I hope to do more of these as we go through 2022.
So this year I read
50% books by women (last year 54%)
37.1% books by men (last year 45%)
11.4% mixed (mainly short story collection) not sure I recorded this in 2021
1% non binary (last year 1%)
Of books reviewed 28.3% were by authors of colour (17% last year).
Observations more mixed anthologies this year were read and it is quite easy to start improving how many books by non-white authors. Some people feel all self-righteous at the idea of looking at these stats somehow getting in the way of reading but for me I’ve read so many more good books. I always recommend doing these checks regularly just to see if you fall into bad habits
Now onto my best reads in 2021! I used to deliberate for just one per category but I survived 2020; this is my blog and I can do what I want!
The Why By Great Uncle Bulgaria Have I Not Read This Earlier?
The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem (translated by Sinan Antoon) – absolutely stunning use of fantasy to sensitively explain the situation in occupied Palestine. Many thanks to C of The Middle Shelf blog for getting this on my radar.
The Tomsk – Scream if you want to go faster
For horror two tales to chill your blood
Matryoshka by Penny Jones a novella of psychological horror where the world is very wrong but there is a real reason why this is the case. This chills the blood and has stayed with me months after reading it
My Heart is A Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones – Both a love letter to the slasher film but also a wonderful character study of a young women the town too easily calls a freak without understand why she acts the way she does.
The Wellington – Novellas Have I Told You Lately How I Loved You?
Two have stuck in my mind this year
The Future God of Love by Dilman Dila – just a great example of storytelling with a very unique world as a slightly over-confident storyteller finds himself in a whole heap of trouble. Inventive and well constructed and supremely enjoyable
The Difficult Loves of Maria Makiling by Wayne Santos — – strange, funny, poignant; and very little like it in 2021 tale of a reincarnated goddess in modern Canada is full of surprises, laughs and leaves you with a smile on your face as mythology meets the 21st century
The Aldernay – Anthologies are the bee’s knees
Four stand out in 2022
Relics Wrecks & Ruins edited by Aiki Flinthart – This final piece of amazing editing from the late Aiki Flinthart is a wonderfully crafted themed anthology with authors like Neil Gaiman, Ken Liu, Angela Slatter and many more contributing it also aids a good cause and a fitting tribute to a great editor. A feast of story awaits you.
Out of the Darkness edited by Dan Coxon - an amazing collection of horror stories that explore mental health in a positive way. A very welcome balm for dealing with 2020-21 and a galaxy of great horror stories await you in this book. Also helps a great cause.
Sinopticon - A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction translated and edited by Xueting Christine Ni — an anthology that manages to show me the last thirty years of the development of SF in one country and delivers some standout stories is a thing to treasure and this really is a treasure.
The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction (2021) Volume One edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki — – a further anthology showcasing the best of african speculative fiction in the past year. I cannot wait for Volume 2 but this is a perfect anthology for finding some new favourite authors.
The Madame Cholet – It’s the End of the Tastiest Series as We Know It
In the battle of fantasy and science fiction I have two winners
The Bone Ship's Wake by RJ Barker – a truly unique fantasy series comes to an end that found many readers in a very dusty room wiping their eyes. Revamping maritime fantasy in the 21st century Barker cements themselves as one of the most interesting fantasy writers around
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers - one of the 21st century’s best SF writers who I can’t wait to see what they do next. Creating a truly alien story about communication, understanding and tolerance that should tell us all a lot about humanity. A beautiful way to end this cycle of books
The Bungo – Hold Me, Kiss Me, Thrill Me
Two stood out this year
Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – a 1970’s trip into darkness as Mexico is in turmoil and two very flawed characters circle around each other and you can’t help liking either of them. Another triumph from one of the best authors there is
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward – dark, unsettling and mysterious yet beautifully comes together this is a book that will haunt you long after reading it. I loved it
The Wellington – Let Me Be Your Fantasy
In a brilliant year for fantasy I’m harshly narrowing this down to two
The Unbroken by C L Clark — Two very different characters entwined in a tale of magic, colonisation and revolution. Smart, action packed and I loved the storytelling
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke — A year late but it really is a standout read and after 2020 I really really chimed with the idea of having to make your own way of life in a world you’re stuck in. Fabulous ideas and creativity
The Tobermory – Together In Electric Dreams
A dual winner showing how the same theme can be explored in so many different ways
Notes From The Burning Age by Claire North — A Le Carre style future tale of spies, intrigue and our capacity for self-destruction regards climate change. I loved it
The Ministry For The Future by Kim Stanley Robinson — An author who I have found occasionally leaves me cold managed to surprise me with an eloquent intelligent look at climate change – the barriers to change and how we could get through them. Huge, angry, and heartfelt it really has stayed with me long after reading it.
The Runalong – These Three I loved
Three different stories all blurring all the boundaries and delivering new stories are the peak of my reading year
This Is Our Undoing by Lorraine Wilson — dystopian politics, climate change and even fantasy combine into a haunting bewitching story of secrets and escapes. A writer to watch
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki — a combination of music, demons, aliens and donuts was not one I expected to give me one of the best reads in 2022 but this tale is actually all about being the best version of who you are and want to be. It is a gorgeous and beautiful read.
These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed — one of the all time best ever reads I have had. A perfect mix of horror, SF and fantasy that examines surviving dark times; the power of science and history and gives voice to those we tend to ignore. A masterpiece of speculative fiction
And so that’s it for 2021. I hope we all have a better 2022 and thank you for staying with the blog. I shall do my best to tempt you even more next year!
I leave you with these words from Far From Uncommon Stars
“Tomorrow is tomorrow. Over there is over there. And here and now is not a bad place and time to be, especially when so much of the unknown is beautiful”
I hope you find something beautiful that is currently unknown to you next year!
May there be cake and joy in your future - keep reading!
