2021 in Review
2021 in Review: Book Breakdown
By: Brittany Shields
2021 is in the books!
And I hit a new high in number of books read.
This year I read 80 books and 23,000+ pages.
How did this happen? We don’t know. I have four kids 5 and under, yet somehow I read 31 more books than the year 2016 when I had my first child!
80 books is a lot to go through.
So I’ve broken them down here by primary genre and gave some a little extra attention.
Comment below your favorite books of 2021 and check back in January as I launch my next reading challenge— here’s a hint: we’re going to read some award-winning books!
If you can’t wait that long, go back and work on one of my previous challenges:
To see all of these books in chronological order and see images of their book covers, browse this link: 2021 Books
Cultural
Most polarizing/controversial book:
Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier
The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims by Rebecca McLaughlin
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff
Book I Recommended the Most This Year:
Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Christians Should Ask about Social Justice by Thaddeus J. Williams
The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby
What God Has to Say About Our Bodies: How the Gospel is Good News for Our Physical Bodies by Sam Allberry
Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity— and Why This Harms Everybody by Helen Pluckrose & James Lindsay
Least-recommended:
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World by Carolyn McCulley
Eve in Exile: And the Restoration of Femininity by Rebekah Merkle
How to Fight Racism Young Reader’s Edition: A Guide to Standing Up for Racial Justice by Jemar Tisby
Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe by Voddie T. Baucham Jr.
Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democratic Plantation by Candace Owens
Born Again This Way: Coming Out, Coming to Faith, and What Comes Next by Rachel Gilson
Historical Fiction
The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris
The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
Suspense/Thriller
Best New Series I Started:
The Cipher (Nina Guerrera #1) by Isabella Maldonado
Infinite by Brian Freeman
In Her Tracks (Tracy Crosswhite #8) by Robert Dugoni
Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner
A Deadly Influence (Abby Mullen Thriller #1) by Mike Omer
The Longest (and Most Disappointing) Book:
Immoral (Jonathan Stride #1) by Brian Freeman
A Different Dawn (Nina Guerrera #2) by Isabella Maldonado
Most Mind-Bending Book of the Year:
Play Dead by Ted Dekker
The Silent Sisters (Charles Jenkins #3) by Robert Dugoni
Non-Fiction
Taking Down Backpage: Fighting the World’s Largest Sex Traffickers by Maggy Krell
Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage by Dan Crenshaw
Everybody Fights: So Why Not Get Better at It? by Kim and Penn Holderness
The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History by Andy Greene
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Most Boring:
Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything by Barbara Oakley, Olav Schewe
The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are: Your Guide to a Wholehearted Life by Brené Brown
Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving by Mo Rocca (with Jonathan Greenberg)
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
Memoir
Alone in Plain Sight: Searching for Connection When You’re Seen but Not Known by Ben Higgins
Where I End: A Story of Tragedy, Truth, and Rebellious Hope by Katherine Elizabeth Clark
Most Shocking:
In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park (with Maryanne Vollers)
On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, and the Gifts of Neurodiversity by Daniel Bowman Jr.
YA
The Desolations of Devil’s Acre (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #6) by Ransom Riggs
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #1) by Jenny Han
Fiction
The Marriage Code by Brooke Burroughs
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
Most Popular Book:
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Mystery
The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth
An Extravagant Death (Charles Lenox #11) by Charles Finch
This Secret Thing by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
Castle Shade (Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes #17) by Laurie R. King
A Beautiful Blue Death (Charles Lenox #1) by Charles Finch
The Deep, Deep Snow by Brian Freeman
A Test of Wills (Inspector Ian Rutledge #1) by Charles Todd
What’s Left Unsaid by Emily Bleeker
The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Humor
Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things that Happened by Allie Brosh
Fantasy
My Most Popular Book Review of the Year:
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Spellbreaker (Spellbreaker Duology #1) by Charlie N. Holmberg
Prettiest Book Cover:
Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olson
Christian Living
Word-Centered Church: How Scripture Brings Life and Growth to God’s People by Jonathan Leeman
The Unsaved Christian: Reaching Cultural Christianity with the Gospel by Dean Inserra
Most Encouraging:
Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund
Ten Words to Live By: Delighting in and Doing What God Commands by Jen Wilkin
Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament by Mark Vroegop
Finding the Right Hills to Die On: The Case for Theological Triage by Gavin Ortlund
Christians in a Cancel Culture: Speaking with Truth and Grace in a Hostile World by Joe Dallas
Resolved: 10 Ways to Stand Strong and Live What You Believe by Lina Abujamra
Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners by Dane C. Ortlund
You Can Handle the Truth: Making Sense of the Bible in 3 Simple Steps by Chad M. Mansbridge
Theology
Shortest Book:
Is Christmas Unbelievable?: Four Questions Everyone Should Ask about the World’s Most Famous Story by Rebecca McLaughlin
Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College by Michael J. Kruger
Men and Women in the Church: A Short, Biblical, Practical Introduction by Kevin DeYoung
Oldest Book:
“Fundamentalism” and the Word of God by J.I. Packer
Devotional
Good News of Great Joy: 25 Devotional Readings for Advent by John Piper
Seamless: Understanding the Bible as One Complete Story by Angie Smith
Romans: The Gospel of Grace (Vol 1: The Study of Romans 1-8) by Kristin Schmucker, The Daily Grace Co.
Romans: The Gospel-Centered Life (Vol II: The Study of Romans 8-16) by Kristin Schmucker, The Daily Grace Co.
Christian Fiction
Elinor: A Riveting Story Based on the Lost Colony of Roanoke by Shannon McNear
Point of Danger (Triple Threat #1) by Irene Hannon
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