In the beginning of the year I set a goal of completing at least 10 books. I overachieved the goal and read a total of 13 books. To be honest, I enjoyed the overwhelming majority of them. There were about 5-7 books that I ended up giving high mark, and out of those, one book ended up in my list of absolute all-time favourites!
The complete list can be found below.
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"Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami
Summary: The stories of the young Kafka Tamura, a bookish 15-year-old boy who runs away from his Oedipal curse, and Satoru Nakata, an old, disabled man with the uncanny ability to talk to cats.
My thoughts: Not my first Murakami book, but the first one I really enjoyed. Written in the genre of magical realism, this book was definetely an entertaining read.
Rating: 8/10
"Three Daughters of Eve" by Elif Shafak
Summary: The book centres on a wealthy, middle-aged housewife, her childhood in Istanbul and her time as a student at Oxford University where she fell in love with a philosophy professor.
My thoughts: I had my expectations high, therefore it was upsetting that the narration was rather slow and boring. I liked the open ending though.
Rating: 5/10
"The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig
Summary: The book is about a young woman named Nora Seed, who lives a monotonous, ordinary life and feels unwanted and unaccomplished. One night, her despair reaches a peak and she commits suicide.
My thoughts: I really wanted to like this book, but I did not. Everything was wrong with this book. The characters are underdeveloped, the plot is poorly executed, the dialogs are bad. The bright side is that many other people found this book really interesting.
Rating: 3/10
"Island Beneath the Sea" by Isabel Allende
Summary: The moving story of the intertwined lives of Tété and Valmorain, and of one woman's determination to find love amid loss, to offer humanity though her own has been battered, and to forge her own identity in the cruellest of circumstances.
My thoughts: An average book but I enjoyed the read. Some of the characters were not fully described out but others - too much. The good thing is that I learned more about the Caribbean.
Rating: 6/10
"The House at the Edge of Night" by Catherine Banner
Summary: The story of four generations as they face world wars, economic collapse, fascism, and the advent of modernity.
My thoughts: Started great, but eventually I found myself disinterested. A long boring read.
Rating: 1/10
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Summary: A retelling of a number of ancient Greek myths selected by Fry.
My thoughts: As a big fan of Greek myths since childhood, I found Fry's retelling very informative and fun. The writing is very accessible, so no prior knowledge of Greek mythology is required.
Rating: 6/10
"The Inheritance of Loss" by Kiran Desai
Summary: The book is about migration, living between two worlds, and between past and present.
My thoughts: I loved this book. I loved the writing; it was so full of insight, humour and humanity. I felt close to its characters, feeling pain and problems of each one.
Rating: 10/10
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Summary: - Книга о хрупких вещах: о ломкой старости, о робком детстве, о соседках по подъезду, которые вдруг пропадают с лавочки, о дымной церкви на последнем этаже больницы, о плацкартном вагоне, в котором всю ночь громко храпела женщина.
My thoughts: Максимальное погружение в детство, вспоминаешь всех бабулек на лавочках, соседей, дворик в котором рос. Однозначно, посвящается всем советским детям.
Rating: 10/10
"Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Slum" by Katherine Boo
Summary: The book describes a present-day slum of Mumbai, India, named Annawadi, and located near the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. It follows the interconnected lives of several residents, including a young trash picker, a female "slumlord," and a college student.
My thoughts: This was a difficult read as you realise that it is a non-fiction book and all these situations happened in real life. I read through practically in one gulp, hardly coming up for air.
Rating: 9/10
"The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" by Gabrielle Zevin
Summary: A love story that follows the story of A.J. Fikry, whose life is not at all what he expected it to be.
My thoughts: Too romantic per my taste. Too soaked in melodrama. But this book should appeal to bibliophiles as it features bookstores, booksellers, publishing companies, aspiring writers, book clubs and book events.
Rating: 6/10
"Confessions of a Bookseller" by Shaun Bythell
Summary: A delightfully heart-warming love letter to bookshops, one that celebrates their serendipity: the unexpected joy of coming across books you didn’t know existed.
My thoughts: I usually love books about books, but this one was not quite what I expected. Yes, it truly was the "day in the life" as each day is like an entry in a diary with the number of customers, online orders, and comments/activities that happened that day. It became very repetitious, but overall a quick read.
Rating: 3/10
"The Diary of a Bookseller" by Shaun Bythell
Summary: - A funny and fascinating memoir of a year in the life at the helm of The Bookshop, in the small village of Wigtown, Scotland—and of the delightfully odd locals, unusual staff, eccentric customers, and surreal buying trips that make up his life there.
My thoughts: I did not really enjoy this one. I found this book boring and redundant.
Rating: 3/10
"The Reading List" by Sara Nisha Adams
Summary: The book is about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb.
My thoughts: As a bookworm, I was intrigued by the book name: a book about books. However, I really enjoyed this one. Easy and light read.
Rating: 7/10
"Japanese Lover" by Isabel Allende
Summary: The book explores questions of identity, abandonment, redemption, and the unknowable impact of fate on our lives.
My thoughts: This book has its moments, but on the whole, I was not too impressed. Part of this is my cynicism regarding unrequited love, which this book has a lot of.
Rating: 7/10
What was your favourite book of 2021?