Tag Archives: 2021

Everything I read in 2021

Everything I read in 2021

Hi my fellow bookworms! First of all, Happy New Year! I just wanted to do a quick wrap-up of everything I read last year, the complete list. I included some of the stats from my Goodreads reading challenge.

Longest read: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon (947 pages)

Shortest read: Omdenken by Berthold Gunster (64 pages)

First book of 2021: My Not so Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

Last book of 2021: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Favourite book of 2021: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Least favourite book of 2021: Om nooit te vergeten by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Every book I read in 2021:

  • My Not so Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Damn, Honey by Marie Lotte Hagen & Nydia van Voorthuizen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Small Talk Survival by Liz Luyben & Iris Posthouwer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Home Edit Life by Clea Shearer & Joanna Teplin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Prfct by Saskia Geraerts ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo #1) by Rick Riordan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Waarom je niet zomaar moet stemmen waar je ouders op stemmen by Titia Hoogendoorn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Blackout by Marc Elsberg ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Stoorzender by Arjen Lubach ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Empath by David M. Clark ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo #2) by Rick Riordan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Feminists Don’t Wear Pink by Scarlett Curtis ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • If I Stay by Gayle Forman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Duke and I (Bridgerton #1) by Julia Quinn ⭐️⭐️
  • The Book of Overthinking by Gwendoline Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Where She Went by Gayle Forman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Omdenken by Berthold Gunster ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Omdenken in Communicatie by Berthold Gunster ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Daughter of the Siren Queen (Daughter of the Pirate King #2) by Tricia Levenseller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Eerste hulp bij Hoogsensitiviteit by Elke L.S. Van Hoof ⭐️⭐️
  • A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • In Five Years by Rebecca Serle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Siege and Storm (Shadow and Bone #2) by Leigh Bardugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Love is Blind by M.J. Arlidge ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Windsor Knot (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #1) by S.J. Bennett ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Om nooit te vergeten by Thomas Olde Heuvelt ⭐️⭐️
  • Geen hond die ernaar kraait & andere onuitroeibare taalfouten by Friederike de Raat ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Hoe bereidt je een paard? & andere onuitroeibare taalfouten by Friederike de Raat ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Women Don’t Owe You Pretty by Florence Given ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Four by Veronica Roth ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Happy Life 365 by Kelly Weekers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Heroes by Stephen Fry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • From Fame to Ruin by Jina S. Bazzar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • One of Us is Next (One of Us is Lying #2) by Karen M. McManus ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Midnight Library by Matt Haig ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Highest Rated on Goodreads: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (4.45)

Average book length: 311 pages

What are your 2021 stats? Let me know in the comments!

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My 2021 wrap-up: the best and worst books I’ve read this year

My 2021 wrap-up: the best and worst books I’ve read this year

Hello my fellow bookworms! And welcome to my 2021 wrap-up. I’ve made a list of the top 10 best books and worst books I’ve read in 2021. Let me know in the comments what your best and worst books of 2021 are!

In 2021, I’ve read a total of 58 books, not including the books I’m currently reading, One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus, The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bailyss, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen and The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I’m hoping to finish at least two of these in the last few days of 2021 to reach exactly 60 books (The Midnight Library is a buddy read that ends on the 31st, so I should be alright).

My list of this years’ books includes a number of Dutch books by Dutch authors with no English translation, which I’ve excluded from my list(s) of best and worse books (except for one I REALLY didn’t like). I’ll list the Dutch titles all the way at the bottom of the post for those interested.

The 10 best books I’ve read in 2021 are:

10: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Rating: 4 out of 5.

9: From Fame to Ruin by Jina S. Bazzar

Rating: 4 out of 5.

8: Daughter of the Pirate King & Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

7: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Rating: 4 out of 5.

6: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Rating: 4 out of 5.

5: Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham

Rating: 4 out of 5.

4: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Rating: 5 out of 5.

3: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Rating: 5 out of 5.

2: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Rating: 5 out of 5.

1: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Honourable mentions:

  • The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Feminists Don’t Wear Pink by Scarlett Curtis ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle (#1) and The Dark Prophecy (#2) by Rick Riordan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  • Blackout by Marc Elsberg ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The worst books I’ve read in 2021

It doesn’t quite seem fair to call them the “worst” books, because I don’t think any of the books I read this year are actually bad, so let’s just call them my “least favourite” books of the year, shall we?

5: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

Rating: 3 out of 5.

4: Empath by David M. Clark

Rating: 3 out of 5.

3: How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates

Rating: 3 out of 5.

2: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

Rating: 2 out of 5.

1: Om nooit te vergeten by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Dutch titles I didn’t include in the ranking:

  • Small Talk Survival by Liz Luyben
  • Damn, Honey by Marie Lotte Hagen
  • Prfct by Saskia Geraerts
  • Waarom je niet zomaar moet stemmen waar je ouders op stemmen by Titia Hoogendoorn
  • Stoorzender by Arjen Lubach
  • Omdenken in communicatie by Berthold Gunster
  • Ja-maar… Omdenken by Berthold Gunster
  • Eerste hulp by hoogsensitiviteit by Elke L.S. Van Hoof
  • Een boek vol taalfouten by Friederieke de Raat
  • Happy Life 365 by Kelly Weekers
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Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

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  • Fiction
  • Contemporary romance
  • Humor
  • Paperback
  • 496 pages
  • Goodreads rating: 3.84

Rating: 5 out of 5.

“Life is like an escalator. You see, it carries you on regardless. And you might as well enjoy the view and seize every opportunity while you’re passing. Otherwise, it’ll be too late.”

Sophie Kinsella, Twenties Girl

While Lara Lington is attending her great-aunt Sadie’s funeral, she is visited by Sadie’s ghost in the form a demanding girl in a 1920’s flapper dress. Sadie demands that Lara finds a necklace that had been in Sadies possession for seventy-five years, but was lost when she died. Lara refuses at first, being busy enough with her own troubles, having just been dumped by the love of her life and trying to keep her head above water as co-owner of her headhunting agency. Sadie keeps pestering Lara until she finally agrees on finding the necklace, uncovering some ugly secrets in the process.

This is the second Sophie Kinsella book I read. It’s also still one of my favourites (if not, THE favourite). The first Kinsella book I read is “Finding Audrey”, which is absolutely beautiful, but meant for a younger audience. I’ll write a review on that one soon.

Even though this book is 500 pages long, I literally devoured it. I love Kinsella, because her books are always light and easy to read. They really pull you into the story. She has a talent for making you feel like you’re really there. She doesn’t dwell on irrelevant things like the exact colour of a tree (which can absolutely be beautiful and relevant in a different kind of novel, obviously).

I loved the friendship between Sadie and Lara that evolved throughout the book. Lara started off being really annoyed by Sadie and naturally, I was really annoyed by Sadie as well, but Kinsella did an excellent job peeling off the layers of Sadie’s personality. Every time you learn something new, you start loving her a little more. The dynamic between Sadie and Lara is amazing. It’s enemies to friends, but Sadie also takes a role as a mentor. Being 105 years-old, she has a lot to teach Lara, though some of it is a little outdated…

“If a love affair is one-sided, then it’s only ever a question, never an answer. You can’t live your life waiting for an answer.”

Sophie Kinsella, Twenties Girl

There’s one theme that keeps coming back throughout the novel and that’s unanswered love. It wasn’t that obvious to me while I was reading the book and I really don’t remember it being featured so prominently. I only just noticed while looking up the quotes for this review. Nearly all of the quotes on Goodreads are about unanswered love. It’s Sadie telling Lara to stop waiting for her ex to start loving her back, that it’s not possible to make someone love you. She tells her to stop trailing after her ex. I didn’t mind the theme so much in this novel, but Kinsella does have a habit of making some of her main characters annoyingly dependent on men.

“Honestly, it’s so easy to get what you want from people if they think you’re a psycho.”

Sophie Kinsella, Twenties Girl

If you’ve never read anything by Sophie Kinsella before, consider this a sign to pick up Twenties Girl at your nearest bookstore and dive in. If you’re not really a fan of the paranormal element in this novel, I would recommend starting with “My Not so Perfect Life”. I’ll do a review on that gem soon.

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