Well-Read Episode 98: 2021 Superlatives

We're back with one of our favorite Well-Read traditions: book superlatives! Listen in for the books that stood out to us this year. We’ll end with what we’re reading this week.

Books and other media mentioned in this episode:

Episode 87 – 2021 Resolutions and Year in Review

Beloved by Toni Morrison (buy from Bookshop)

Halle’s Instagram

Episode 86 – 2020 Superlatives

Most Timely

Ann:  The Night Swim by Megan Goldin (buy from Bookshop) and The Cost of Knowing by Brittney Morris (buy from Bookshop)

Halle: Ghosts by Dolly Alderton (buy from Bookshop)

Most Disappointing

Ann: The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse (buy from Bookshop) and Fresh Brewed Murder by Emmeline Duncan (buy from Bookshop)

– Coffeehouse Mystery series by Cleo Coyle

Halle: The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix (buy from Bookshop)

– The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (buy from Bookshop)

Favorite Reread

Ann: Evelina by Francis Burney (buy from Bookshop)

Halle: The Likeness by Tana French (buy from Bookshop)

– Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French

Biggest Surprise

Ann: Stealing Home by Sheryl Wood (buy from Bookshop) and Mordew by Alex Pheby (buy from Bookshop)

– Sweet Magnolias (TV)

– Charles Dickens novels

Halle: Red Widow by Alma Katsu (buy from Bookshop) and Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto (buy from Bookshop)

Least Favorite

Ann: For the Love of April French by Penny Aimes (buy from Bookshop)

Halle: Death at Greenway by Lori Rader-Day (buy from Bookshop)

– Agatha Christie books

Best Distraction

Ann: Cackle by Rachel Harrison (buy from Bookshop)

– Hocus Pocus (film)

Halle: Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez (buy from Bookshop)

The Book That Ended a Mini Reading Slump

Ann: Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin (buy from Bookshop)

– Alexa Martin books

Halle: The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller (buy from Bookshop)

Better Late Than Never

Ann: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (buy from Bookshop)

Halle: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (buy from Bookshop)

Book That Has Stayed With Me

Ann: Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason (buy from Bookshop) and Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (buy from Bookshop)

– National Book Award

– Printz Award

Halle: Take It Back by Kia Abdullah (buy from Bookshop)

Book That We Didn’t Think We’d Like, But Then We Did!

Ann: Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill (buy from Bookshop) and Red Widow by Alma Katsu (buy from Bookshop)

Halle: One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky and Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (buy from Bookshop)

Author(s) we discovered in 2021 that we’re most excited to read more from in 2022

Ann: Emily Henry, Nghi Vo, Camilla Sten, Gus Moreno

– People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (buy from Bookshop)

– The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (buy from Bookshop)

– When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo (buy from Bookshop)

– The Lost Village by Camilla Sten (buy from Bookshop)

– This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno (buy from Bookshop)

– Beach Read by Emily Henry (buy from Bookshop)

Halle: Kate Clayborn, Nathan Harris, and Meg Mason

– Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn (buy from Bookshop)

– Love at First by Kate Clayborn (buy from Bookshop)

– The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris (buy from Bookshop)

– Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason (buy from Bookshop)

Our Favorite Non-Book Media Property of the Year

Ann: Taco Chronicles (TV) and The White Lotus (TV)

Halle: The White Lotus (TV) and Only Murders in the Building (TV)

The Book We Recommended the Most This Year

Ann: Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (buy from Bookshop)

Halle: The Guncle by Steven Rowley (buy from Bookshop)

– The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (buy from Bookshop)

What We’re Reading This Week:

• Ann: A Promised Land by Barack Obama (buy from Bookshop)

– From the Front Porch (podcast)

– From the Front Porch episode 350 – Literary Therapy Vol. 12

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