2021 Archives - Novel Visits

December 2021 Book Reviews

Susie — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 11:00:46 +0000

Well another year is coming to and end, and like last year I’m not going to be all that sad to see this one go. It’s been a struggle for many and my family also had its share of challenges this year. On a happier note, life moved just a little bit closer to normal for many of us thanks to the vaccine, and personally, I did get to retire earlier than planned. That has been a very good thing, gifting me more time to spend with friends and family and more time to enjoy my favorite pass time, books. Here’s hoping everyone has a very happy, very healthy 2022!

In December, most of the books I read will publish in 2022 and I’ll be sharing those next year. Today, I have my last four 2021 books for you!…

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BEST BOOKS of 2021

Susie — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 11:00:50 +0000

Another crazy year is nearing its end, and I think I’m glad. 2021 was a year of great sadness, but also happy changes. We quite suddenly lost out mom in May and that’s left a hole in our family that will never quite be filled. Her passing did give me the push I needed to retire from teaching and that has been a joy. It’s impossible to tell you how much I’m reveling in the my new found freedom, and how much I’m loving the additional time to do exactly what I want.

I thought I’d have a lot more reading time, but have come to realize I’m never going to be a 200 book a year reader. There are plenty of other things I like to do, so 120 is about my sweet spot. As of this writing, I’m at exactly 120 books finished, so I had a lot to choose from for my Best Books of 2021. To make it slightly easier, I chose to only include fiction this year. I’ve struggled with nonfiction the last two years and feel a little broken in that area. It’s definitely the main thing I want to work on in 2022. You’re also going to find A LOT of overlap with My Favorite Debuts of 2021 because I have not struggled with debuts. But enough of all that, lets get onto the ten books from 2021 that I fell hardest for. These have had the staying power to earn them a spot on my Best Books of 2021!

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DEBUTS ~ My Favorites of 2021

Susie — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 11:00:17 +0000

You know I LOVE debuts and that definitely didn’t change in 2021. Of the 118 books I’ve read so far this year, 45 have been debuts. Of those, many, many, many were amazing novels. There’s just something extra special about a brand new voice that often sends chills down my spine. Holding their book in your hand, approaching the author for the first very time just has so much potential. Potential that comes not only from the debut itself, but also all the potential for more books to come. I love it! I could easily have included 15 books here, but had to cut it off somewhere, so these are my nine favorite debuts from 2021. You can be sure several will make my Best Books of 2021 next Monday. And now, in order of publication only:…

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AUDIOBOOKS ~ My Favorites from 2021

Susie — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 11:00:15 +0000

2021 turned out to be sort of a strange year for me with audiobooks. I felt like I hadn’t listened to as many as usual, but when I looked at my stats, I really had. For the last several years, audiobooks have made up about a third of my reading and I think that’s an ideal balance for me. Still, I found myself much more impatient with audiobooks. They really needed to grab me quickly. I feel like I was more willing to give books in print a long try, but audiobooks I wanted to work immediately. So, you can be sure that the nine favorites I’m sharing today were all excellent….

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Six 2021 Books That Deserved the Hype, Plus Six That Didn’t

Susie — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 11:00:14 +0000

Let’s talk hyped books. Every year certain books seem to get a lot of hype. Sometimes it starts well before the book publishes and other time it’s a major blitz at the time of publication. It starts with the publishers, but these days it often continues more organically with readers via social media. Hype can be a wonderful thing for some quieter books, or for new authors, but it can also be a bit of a curse. When a book gets a lot of hype, expectations from readers grow higher and higher, and sometimes a book that is actually very good feels like a disappointment because it wasn’t quite “that” good. Sadly, that was the case for several of the books on the second half of my list today. So, let’s take a look at the dozen books that for me both did and didn’t live up to their hype.

2021 Books That Deserved the Hype

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2021 Underrated Gems

Susie — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 11:00:31 +0000

It’s that time of year. The year-end lists are going to start popping up all over the place and this blog is no exception. I’m kicking things off with 2021 Underrated Gems. These are books I loved this year, but that didn’t seem to get a whole lot of attention. It’s hard to know why that is sometimes, but it happens. For some reason these books just didn’t gain the traction they needed, so I’m hoping to give them a little boost since all six are books I’d highly recommend!

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Six Favorites from November | Reviews

Susie — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 11:00:03 +0000

Can you believe this long year is almost over? It’s been a tough one for my family, so I’m looking forward to a fresh start with 2022. Enough of that, let’s talk books. Today I’m sharing November books, but as December begins, I’m going to have all the fun end-of-year posts, starting this Thursday with 2021 Underrated Gems.

So, stay tuned or follow me on Instagram @novelvisits to see all my thoughts on 2021 books!

In November I picked up a couple books I’d missed earlier in the year and read some excellent November releases. I hope you can find a couple to enjoy among my six favorites from November….

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October 2021 Audiobook Reviews

Susie — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 10:00:45 +0000

Happy Halloween! I know the little trick-or-treaters in my family are very excited. How about yours? I don’t do the spooky October thing, so the books I listened to were just what happened to come up, and my listening this month was a little slower than usual. I’m not really sure why that was, but I did manage to get in three audiobooks that I truly enjoyed. Perhaps it was in part because they were each so different, filling in space of what I needed in the moment. One was a buzzy thriller, another, a highly lauded novel, and the third an oral history ripe for our times.

No matter what your listening taste one of these audiobooks should work for you and as an added bonus, none are overly long!…

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October 2021 Books Reviews

Susie — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 10:00:46 +0000

Considering I read an 800+ page book this month, I’m feeling pretty good about the number of books I manage to read. I guess that’s retirement for you! I have to admit that I’m loving every single morning when I wake up and think, “Oh, I don’t have to go to work today.” I’m sure it will wear off, eventually, but for now it’s a daily gift. It’s also nice that I’ve been free to help out and spend more time with my three local grandkids. That and more reading time have been exactly what I was hoping for from retirement. Now if we could just get to the point where I felt good about doing some serious traveling, then it would be everything I wanted.

Today I’m sharing five books I read this month, all but one released in October. On Thursday, I’ll be back with the three audiobooks I listened to this month….

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Six Favorites From September | Review

Susie — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 10:00:41 +0000

September was a bit of a weird reading month. I read/listened to quite a few books and enjoyed many of them. However, none left me with that big book hangover that we’re always hoping for. Off and on I felt like I was on the verge of a slump, but then I’d land on a really good book that pulled me through. So, today I’m sharing the books I consider to be my six favorites from September.

As you’ll see in the reviews this is a wide range of books, including a memoir, a couple debuts, favorite authors, and more. I hope you find a book or two that piques your interest!…

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