The Best Books I Read in 2021

 henlo frens so basically I have my own tradition of reviewing my favourite books at the end of the year. I'm going to talk a bit about my 5 favourite books I read in 2021. I read 67 books in total (but keep in mind that some were really short and many of them were for school). I normally read around 30 books a year. Overall, this year was kinda disappointing to me in terms of reading. I didn't enjoy a lot of what I read, especially the school-related stuff. And some books just turned out to be disappointing and not what I expected. I hope I'll read more enjoyable stuff in 2022. For now, here's a list of my favourite books from 2021:

1. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

This was simply a perfectly crafted story. There is a framed narrative style so the story is told through a long interview with an actress called Evelyn Hugo. She is a very complicated character when it comes to her morals. You will fall in love with the characters and be obsessed with them and cry a lot. Also if you are bisexual, you have to read this because the bi representation is the best I've ever seen and it's so hard to find good bi rep. 

2. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 

This was beautiful and stunning and also made me cry a lot. Miller's prose style is just beautiful. Also I would literally die for Achilles and Patroclus and the romance between them is just perfect. Achilles is the best of the Greeks and the most feared warrior, but Patroclus loves him for his soft side and his skill with the lyre. I also read Circe by the same author which is another masterpiece and I was like "I don't think she can write a better book than that" but I was glad I was wrong. 

3. Islands of Decolonial Love by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson 

This was a beautiful collection of poetry and vignettes by an Indigenous author. There is an accompanying spoken word album which also made me cry. The characters in these works have to deal with the harsh realities of colonialism but the emphasis is on love and on their relationships. By the way, if you want to read an in-depth analysis of one of the poems in this book that I wrote, check it out here: https://inkspire.org/post/the-body-in-smallpox-anyone-by-anishinaabe-poet-leanne-simpson/ 

4. The Romance of Tristan and Iseult by Joseph Bedier 

Bedier's compilation of this Arthurian legend was very well done and I think this could be easily enjoyed by any modern reader even if they are not very familiar with Arthurian legends. I loved the amount of adventure this book had. I also felt super bad for Princess Blanchemaine. 

5. Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth by Diane Wolkstein 

These are translations of verses on cuneiform tablets that tell the story of the beloved Sumerian goddess Inanna and her descent into the underworld. Very captivating and at times romantic and erotic. Highly recommended.

I really want to limit this list to five books, but I think an honorable mention needs to be made. The sapphic graphic novel "Stage Dreams" by Melanie Gillman is really good. The illustrations are wonderful and the setting is New Mexico. 

Well that's it for this post folks. 

My life right now is kinda depressing because I keep getting Ls on my poetry and prose submissions for various writing contests also someone named Juan won't leave me alone and I'm pretty sure he is an imaginary person made up by one of my irl friends. Anyways bye.