Books read in 2021

[luzula]

I only read 48 books in 2021, which is about half of what I read in a year when I'm commuting regularly and not absorbed in writing so much fic. But it's about the same as in 2020, for the same reasons. Some statistics:

• 38 books written by women, and 8 by men (judging by name, so I could be misgendering people). I did not set out to read so much by women, it just happened!
• One book read in Swedish, the rest in English. Erm.
• 29 books by British authors, 10 by Americans, 4 by Australians, the rest single other countries. Err, I guess this is what happens if you're in a British fandom.
• 9 non-fiction, 5 YA, 2 SF, 10 fantasy, 12 romance (in some sense), 26 historical fiction.
• 29 Bechdel test passes, 23 new-to-me authors, 2 rereads, only one audiobook

All the non-fiction but one is fandom research reading. That I read so much historical fiction is also partly inspired by my fandom. Eight of the non-British books are because of my book club, so if you take those away, the British dominance would be even larger. *facepalm*

A few stand-outs:
Silver in the Wood and Drowned Country by Emily Tesh (m/m historical fantasy)
Joan Aiken's Wolves of Willoughby Chase series (wacky alternate history children's books)
Beck and Call by Annick Trent (m/m historical with valets in love)
Beowulf, translated by Maria Dahvana Headley (macho bros fighting monsters)
The Travels and Adventures of Mademoiselle de Richelieu by Anonymous (crossdressing f/f written in the 18th century)
The Rider on the White Horse by Rosemary Sutcliff (a marriage affected by the English Civil War)
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho (Malaysian woman haunted by her grandmother's ghost)
A Seditious Affair by K J Charles (historical m/m with political radical/Home Office guy)
The Jacobites by Daniel Szechi (historical nerdery with some unexpected new angles)

Comments

[chestnut_pod]

That's a very fun list of stand-outs!

[luzula]

Yes, I suppose it is! : ) I didn't think about it as a whole, just picked things out individually...

[jesse_the_k]

I couldn't tell you a thing about the plot, but I fondly remember Aiken's books from my youth. And she's still publishing regularly, as her detailed and colorcoded chart reveals.

[luzula]

OMG, that is an impressive chart! Such helpful color-coding.

[james]

I very rarely wish an author would write a 600 page book, but Tesh's Silver in the Wood makes me wish she had a huge whole series of novel length books. Not because the plot needed more development (it didn't), but overall I just wanted More.

I need to re-read the stories.

[cyphomandra]

She has a novel coming out this year! https://emilytesh.net/

[james]

YAY that's good to hear!

[luzula]

Interesting! That does sound very different from the two novellas.

[luzula]

Oh, interesting! I had almost the opposite reaction--I thought the first novella felt complete in itself, and was wary of reading the second in case it turned into Monster of the Week. But I did enjoy that one, too.

[osprey_archer]

I've heard such good things about Silver in the Woods! I should really read it one of these days...

[luzula]

Oh, do read it! It's lovely, and I think you'd like it, based on what I've seen of your tastes.

[cyphomandra]

I liked A Seditious Affair so much more than the others in that series. I should get around to rereading it and just skip the first one 😀

I have been dithering over getting Beck and Call and this might be the push I need!

[luzula]

Yes! The first one was forgettable, I thought. What did you think of the third one? I haven't read it (yet) and don't know if I should.

Re: Beck and Call, I'm not exactly impartial here, since I know the author and beta-read the book! But I'm quite fond of it.

[cyphomandra]

What did you think of the third one?

Better than the first but not as good as the third. It is also looking at class but doesn’t have the same zing.

Aha re Beck and Call! Will bump it up my unread books list.

[dariaw]

Ooh thanks for the great book recs!

And super impressive for the year!

[luzula]

Thanks! And I hope you find something you enjoy. : )

[scintilla10]

Ooh, a great list! I loved Black Water Sister.

[luzula]

Yes! It was so good that it cut through my default mindset this year, which was historical fiction, and really engaged me.

[nnozomi]

I used to love that Joan Aiken series a lot. There is a wonderful post-canon fic for them, have you read it? https://archiveofourown.org/works/141417

[luzula]

Uh, I haven't made my way through the whole series yet! But I'll save it up. : )

[regshoe]

Sounds like a good reading year!

As you said on my reading post, our highlights overlap :) And I think it's about time for another Sutcliff, so I intend to get The Rider on the White Horse from the library next time I go...

[luzula]

I'm looking forward to your thoughts on Rider on the White Horse! And there's a sequel as well (Simon), I should probably get around to finding a copy of that...

[dhampyresa]

The Travels and Adventures of Mademoiselle de Richelieu by Anonymous (crossdressing f/f written in the 18th century)
Tell me more?

[luzula]

Sure! My review is here and here, and also I wrote fic for it. : )