#ReadWomen 2021 Last Quarter

 The end of 2021 is nigh! Here are all the books I read this year.



  1. Kushiel’s Chosen by Jaqueline Carey
  2. The Three Marriages: Reimagining Work, Self, and Relationship by David Whyte
  3. 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card by Mary K. Greer
  4. They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple
  5. Selfish, Shallow and Self-Absorbed: 16 writers on not having children edited by Meghan Daum
  6. Body of Work: Finding the Thread that Ties your story together by Pamela Slim 
  7. The Three “Only” Things: tapping the power of dreams, coincidence & imagination by Robert Moss
  8. The Art of Showing Up: How to be there for yourself and your people by Rachel Wilkerson Miller
  9. Tarot Elements: Five Readings to Reset Your Life by Melissa Cynova 
  10. The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman
  11. Find Your Own North Star by Martha Beck
  12. Kushiel’s Scion  by Jacqueline Carey (re-read)
  13. Kushiel’s Justice by Jacqueline Carey (re-read)
  14. Magical Writing Grimoire by Lisa Marie Basile
  15. Growing Big Dreams by Robert Moss
  16. Kushiel’s Mercy by Jacqueline Carey (re-read)
  17. Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi
  18. The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding 
  19. Despised and Rejected by Rose Allantini
  20. White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi (re-read)
  21. These Fevered Days: Ten Pivotal Moments in the Making of Emily Dickinson by Martha Ackmann
  22. The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters by Priya Parker
  23. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
  24. We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations that Matter by Celeste Headlee
  25. The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life by Twyla Tharp
  26. Simply Unforgettable by Mary Balogh
  27. A Knight in Shining Armour by Jude Devereaux
  28. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
  29. Death by Water by Kerry Greenwood (re-read)
  30. Murder in the Dark by Kerry Greenwood (re-read)
  31. Murder on a Midsummer Night by Kerry Greenwood (re-read)
  32. Unnatural Habits by Kerry Greenwood (re-read)
  33. Urn Burial by Kerry Greenwood (re-read)
  34. Murder in Montparnasse by Kerry Greenwood (re-read)
  35. Away with the Fairies by Kerry Greenwood (re-read)
  36. Death in Daylesford by Kerry Greenwood
  37. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  38. Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente (re-read)
  39. Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda
  40. Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi (re-read)
  41. There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura 
  42. Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple
  43. Harriet by Elizabeth Jenkins 
  44. Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente (novella)
  45. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner 
  46. And Then There Were Nuns by Jane Christmas 
  47. 100 Million Years of Food: What Our Ancestors Ate and Why It Matters Today by Stephen Le
  48. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata


I have read 48 books total in 2021, 42 of which were written by women.

My favourite fiction was There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura, hands down and is my top recommendation coming out of this year.

My favourite non-fiction was The Art of Showing Up by Rachel Wilkerson-Miller, was very practical and accessible for re-entering the world amid COVID restrictions easing. 

I was the most surprised by The 5 Love Languages - the theory itself is solid but a lot of the surrounding anecdotes I found deeply problematic and was surprised that so many people I know recommend it without mentioning some of these more-disturbing anecdotes. 

The most horrifying was Harriet by Elizabeth Jenkin, a deeply unsettling tale based on a true-crime story. The cruelty and depravity of the characters was truly troubling even as the book itself was very well-written.

My favourite re-read was Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente, I enjoyed it the first time around very much and this second time even more so.


Here is my slow and steady progress throughout the year:
First quarter reading list 
Second quarter reading list
Third quarter reading list 

I have been doing #ReadWomen since 2014! Find out why here. Want to know what I've read in previous years? Links below!

2020 books 
2019 books
2018 books
2017 books
2016 books
2015 books
2014 books

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