2021 Fiction Book Favourites

Discovering audiobooks is one of the best things of 2021. It's gotten me back into "reading" without compromising much of the other stuff that I want to do. I have always been and always been a fan of classic works (there's just too much value in those treasures) but this year, I have also discovered more modern fiction books that are as exceptional as the classics.

Here are three of the best books that I have read in 2021:

Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir)

This is by far my favourite modern book. Project Hail Mary is a story of Ryland Grace, an astronaut left in space who at first couldn’t remember his identity. His and our planet’s survival rely heavily on his mission called Project Hail Mary and he meets an unexpected ally who can also help make or break the mission.

If you think Andy Weir's The Martian was great, wait until you read the entirety of Project Hail Mary. This takes your imagination to a whole different level. Project Hail Mary is written in the way that every event unfolds into a more exciting scenario. It's not your typical left-alone-in-space-how-to-survive type of novel. What I like most about this is how the Ryland Grace and his  "unexpected ally's relationship developed in a realistic way that it is related back to how all good friendships start. This book is thrilling all the way to the very end so I highly recommend it.

The Paris Library (Janet Skeslien Charles)

 

The Paris Library is a story of how The American Library in Paris thrived through the Nazi occupation in 1983. For the love of books, the librarians took the difficult duty of delivering literature even to their Jewish subscribers. The book has multiple points of views in different generations which added more insight to the reading experience.

The Nazi reign is a part of history that is so dark to talk about but we still need to in order to break chances of repetition. Ever since I visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum, this is one historical era that have always kept me curious and at the same time breaks my heart. The story told in The Paris Library is heartbreaking, but also gives enough hope as the story goes. 

It opened me up to a side of Paris that is not often talked about - how it is a city of readers. This book beautifully tell the story Odile's life and how she coped up with the sudden change and how she strived through it all. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea since the pacing is a little slow but I still think it’s one book that you have to read at least once.

The Midnight Library (Matt Haig)

 

The Midnight Library tells the story of a young woman named Nora who has lost all hope in life and one night did the unthinkable. She is taken into a midnight library where she was given the chance to read back on her past life choices and live the alternative realities if she made different choices. This is a book that will hopefully bring you hope and give you the same realisations that Nora opened herself to in the end.

I love the entirety of this book and the emotional roller coaster it took me while listening to it. This gives probable philosophical answers to the “what if’s” in our lives. If you’re someone who keeps thinking what would happen if things were not the way that they are now, you will relate to the story a lot. This is a fantasy novel but the situations are too relatable that they almost seem real.

Please note that although the “unthinkable actions” parts are only small parts of the book, if you are sensitive to thoughts of suicide, please take extra precautions.

These three books are very easy reads that I think even non-readers or newbie readers will find entertaining. They are also available in Audible as audiobooks - that's where I "read" them and they're also as great if you love to multitask.

I'm hoping to get more reading in 2022 so fingers crossed!