Raven Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 As the sun sinks low over the yardarm of another year (that we are probably all glad to see the back of!) it is time once again to rejoice in all things written, with the annual Book Club Forum Awards! **round of applause** There are a few new categories this year, along with our first named award! **bigger round of applause, and a wolf-whistle or two** So - Members of the Forum - without further ado, please tell us: Yes, I did buy it for the cover, but I stayed for the reading! Your favourite book cover of 2021! They print the words I like to read! Your favourite publisher of 2021! They sell me the words I like to read! Your favourite book shop/retailer of 2021! It was like when I was little, and Mummy used to read to me! Your audiobook recommendation of 2021! I even found one of their shopping lists! Your most read author of 2021! Stop me if you've heard this one before! Your recommended re-read of 2021! I'd rather kiss an anti-vaxer! Your book that wasn't worth bothering with in 2021! I don't know where this year has gone! The book you most wanted to read in 2021, but didn't get too award! I'm sorry it wasn't a unicorn! Your biggest literary let-down of 2021! Think: Spot the Dog, BUT BETTER! Your favourite illustrated book of 2021! It's like living in Never-never Land! Your children's book recommendation of 2021! Most people pretend they have read this, but I actually did! Your recommended classic of 2021! Compact and bijou, Mostyn! Compact and bijou! Your favourite short story (or collection of short stories) of 2021! He made Mr Darcy look like Kermit the Frog! Your favourite literary character of 2021! Me talk pretty one day! Your poetry recommendation of 2021! I like things to be in boxes, nicely ordered boxes! Your favourite genre of 2021! I laughed so much, people moved away from me on the train! The funniest book you read in 2021! After two years of COVID I have no life of my own anymore, so I just read about others! Your favourite biography of 2021! A special one now, it's time for The Willoyd! (An award for not making things up!) Your non-fiction recommendation of 2021! Sounds like stuff someone made up! Your fiction book of the year, 2021! They've taken out a restraining order! Your author of the year, 2021! I'll read it again, I'll tell ya! Your overall book of the year, 2021! The small print: Don't just make this a list, explain your choices! Tell us what you really think about the books you have read! If there is a section you don't have a reply for, just skip it! Books don't have to have been published in 2020 to make it onto your list, you just have to have read them this year! Feel free to add your own categories, if you feel something has been missed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 (edited) Yes, I did buy it for the cover, but I stayed for the reading! Your favourite book cover of 2021! A Fever of the Blood, Oscar de Muriel. Big red swirly lettering and a skull on the front. Marvellous They print the words I like to read! Your favourite publisher of 2021! Wordsworth Classics. They say the books are complete and unabridged and they are suitably priced. They sell me the words I like to read! Your favourite book shop/retailer of 2021! Amazon. I can specify a day they can deliver and then I can add to the parcel and still have it delivered on the day I prefer. This works most of the time. I even found one of their shopping lists! Your most read author of 2021! Oscar de Muriel. Discovered the first one – Strings of Murder in my father’s TBR pile (I’m always getting told off for looking, I see why now!) read it and then read the rest. Eagerly awaiting the new one in 2022 I'd rather kiss an anti-vaxxer! Your book that wasn't worth bothering with in 2021! Stephen King’s Rage. About a school boy who went on the rampage with a gun. Actually, he kept hostages and the descriptions of what he did to these hostages stopped me reading it. I don't know where this year has gone! The book you most wanted to read in 2021, but didn't get to award! Dorothy Richardson’s Pilgrimage series. I’m up to Interim but just did not seem to get around to it this year, I honestly don’t know why. I'm sorry it wasn't a unicorn! Your biggest literary let-down of 2021! The Pickwick Papers. I honestly thought that it would be better than it turned out. Think: Spot the Dog, BUT BETTER! Your favourite illustrated book of 2021! Pickwick Papers. Original illustrations and very nice they were too. I was surprised that they did enhance the reading experience. It's like living in Never-never Land! Your children's book recommendation of 2021! Hans Christian Andersen, any of his books – I read Story of the Year Most people pretend they have read this, but I actually did! Your recommended classic of 2021! Lady Audley’s Secret, Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Read for Viktober as a sensation novel, it was great! Compact and bijou, Mostyn! Compact and bijou! Your favourite short story (or collection of short stories) of 2021! In a dead heat for first place, two Tales of the Weird by the British Library – Spirits of the Season and Sunless Solstice He made Mr Darcy look like Kermit the Frog! Your favourite literary character of 2021! Agnes Darken, from The Shape of Darkness by Lauren Purcell. You don’t know Agnes is completely insane until the very end of the book (I didn’t anyway) Me talk pretty one day! Your poetry recommendation of 2021! Les Chants de Maldoror, by le Comte de Lautréamont read in translation. Superb just because it is. New to me author. I like things to be in boxes, nicely ordered boxes! Your favourite genre of 2021! Victorian Gothic. Dark, long, sometimes scary and very, very good. After two years of COVID I have no life of my own anymore, so I just read about others! Your favourite biography of 2021! Mrs Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady, Kate Summerscale. Scandalous behaviour of a Victorian Society lady as laid out in court. Sounds like stuff someone made up! Your fiction book of the year, 2021! William Faulkner, The Unvanquished. My favourite author but not stream of consciousness They've taken out a restraining order! Your author of the year, 2021! Oscar de Muriel. Wrote about real things in a fictional way. I'll read it again, I'll tell ya! Your overall book of the year, 2021! The Unvanquished by William Faulkner. My favourite author. As far as I’m concerned there is only one other who can touch him and that’s Thomas Bernhard, who can be somewhat depressing. The Strain Yer Brain and Make It Out the Other Side Super Difficult Award Mine goes to Friedrich Nietzsche for Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks. Turned my grey matter inside out but I finished the book (117 pages so not long) and I more or less understood it. Will go back to it. I surprised myself by reading more this year than I did last year (and I was much surprised by that!). I did not read as much non-fiction and did not get around to my annual Dorothy Richardson. I'm pleased with what I've read overall: long, short, good, very good, easy, difficult, children's and adult, and even some poetry, and much more in the way of new to me authors than ever before - I enjoyed that more than anything else. Read all of Oscar de Muriel's Frey and McGray series this year and eagerly await the new one. Here's to the discoveries of the New Year Edited December 29, 2021 by lunababymoonchild Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 (edited) Yes, I did buy it for the cover, but I stayed for the reading! Your favourite book cover of 2021! The Shadow-Line by Joseph Conrad. It is a painting of a sailing ship moored to a quay. I even found one of their shopping lists! Your most read author of 2021! C.S. Forester – read four Horatio Hornblower books I'd rather kiss an anti-vaxer! Your book that wasn't worth bothering with in 2021! The Frozen Crew of the Ice Bound Ship. Penny Dreadful was an apt term. I don't know where this year has gone! The book you most wanted to read in 2021, but didn't get too award! Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Could not find a copy in any shop. I'm sorry it wasn't a unicorn! Your biggest literary let-down of 2021! Maybe War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It was good, but not among the best things I have ever read. Think: Spot the Dog, BUT BETTER! Your favourite illustrated book of 2021! I’ll go for Q-Ship vs U-Boot by David Greentree, one of the Osprey Duel series Compact and bijou, Mostyn! Compact and bijou! Your favourite short story (or collection of short stories) of 2021! Blood on the Mink by Robert Silverberg from the Hard Case Crime series, although One Night of Violence, an appended short story, was better. He made Mr Darcy look like Kermit the Frog! Your favourite literary character of 2021! Probably Natasha Rostow from War and Peace. Leo Tolstoy knew how to write teenage girls. I like things to be in boxes, nicely ordered boxes! Your favourite genre of 2021! Nautical books: I read nine. I laughed so much, people moved away from me on the train! The funniest book you read in 2021! Thatcher Stole My Trousers by Alexei Sayle, although not as good as Stalin Stole My Homework After two years of COVID I have no life of my own anymore, so I just read about others! Your favourite biography of 2021! By Tank by Ken Tout, D to VE Days. The fighting, the casualties, absolutely horrific. Your non-fiction recommendation of 2021! Going to go for By Tank again. Sounds like stuff someone made up! Your fiction book of the year, 2021! Die Trying by Lee Child. The only book I gave 5 stars. Overall, I was a little disappointed, especially by the classics.War and Peace was good, but not up there with my favourites. The Red and the Black got a bit silly. Wives and Daughters, a bit dull. East Lynne, a bit melodramatic. Dracula lost steam. I was impressed by Proof by Dick Francis and The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers.They were intelligent books. Blood Meridian was like Lonesome Dove meets Moby Dick. It had great dialogue. and it was poetic and witty. Still not sure I 100% liked it. Whiskey When We're Dry had a similar line in laconic, Wild West drollery. In honesty I am not enjoying the Hornblower books quite as much as I was, The Jack Reacher book was the most fun to read. In non-fiction I found The Victorian Clergy quite interesting. One other book I read that was interesting was The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar. He was an utter git, but not a bad anthropologist. Edited December 28, 2021 by KEV67 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 30, 2021 Share Posted December 30, 2021 (edited) One of my favourite threads any year! Cover of the year: The Stubborn Light of Things by Melissa Harrison (hardback edition) The book is a collection of the author's contributions to the Times Nature Diary over four or five years leading up to lockdown, the first part from her old home in London, the second from Suffolk, to where she moved (and still lives). This is beautifully reflected in the presentation: the book binding itself is printed with flowers and other elements of a Suffolk scene, whilst the dustcover (covering the bottom two-thirds of the book) reflects the London side of things (photos attached show with and without dustcover). Loved the design, and loved the actual illustrations themselves too. Publisher of the year: Little Toller Small independent publisher based in Beaminster, Dorset, with a gorgeous range of mostly nature/rural life related books. I particularly love their Nature Classic series in large format paperback with strong card covers, French flaps and artwork that would have won the Cover of the Year award but for the one-off winner, along with some beautiful illustrators (see Illustrated Book of the Year). This year, they also produced a stunning celebratory 4-book slipcased collection of Richard Mabey works which I instantly grabbed, whilst earlier in the year I acquired their profusely illustrated book on the work of one of my favourite book illustrators, Clifford Webb. Bookshop of the year: Bookshop on the Square, Otley This used to be part of a small chain of seconds-orientated bookshops, but was sold off to the then manager, Sarah Elliot, when the owner retired. She has turned this into a real 'local' bookshop with an interesting and eclectic mix of books aimed at the local market. Has done magnificently given the problems with lockdown, having been hit with the first only weeks after taking over,stopping the shop dead in its tracks; it now positively buzzes as she took advantage of that time to refurbish it and develop a really atractive space. Probably no different to other local indies, but this is my most local and I love it. Audiobook of the year: William Pitt the Younger by William Hague (unabridged version), read by Richard Burnip Actually the only audiobook I've listened to this year, and not yet finished (it's over 23 hours long), so it's just as well it's so good, one of the best I've listened to in a long time. Richard Burnip's tone and pace is, for me, absolutely spot on. Most read author of the year: Georges Simenon Simenon has won this award for several years now, as I work my way steadily through the Maigret series (now all available in a very attractive series by Penguin); I've slowed down a bit as have started trying to read him in the original French. Just about managing, but taking it slowly! I also loved one of his other books this year, The Pitards. As atmospheric as any Maigret! Reread of the year: Waterland by Graham Swift Read whilst on holiday in East Anglia. It had been a long time sincemy previous read, long enough to have pretty much completely forgotten everything other than I had awarded it a full 6-stars 'favourite' status. So really had to check out whether it still justified that! Delighted to say it did: intricately woven, absorbing, narrative with a ferociously strong sense of place. Worst book of the year: Body-Surfing by Anita Shreve This was actually the toughest to decide, with 2 in very close contention, but Anita Shreve won out on this prestigious award! My mini-review at the time says it all really: This was awful! Waxwork, shallow, characters about whom I didn't care one jot; the author obsessed with the minutiae of clothes and colour (constantly repeated, so, for instance, we're told every time an item is mentioned what colour it is, even when we already know); everything told not shown; tediously obvious narrative. This, my first experience of this author, left me totally bemused how on earth she is so popular. The runner-up, by the way, was Lionel Shriver's The Motion of the Body through Space, a diatribe on extreme sport with a cast of unpleasant characters and riven with inaccuracies. The book I never got around to: Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens Meant to give this a go all year; even started a couple of times, but just couldn't get going. It's the next in my chronological reading of all Dickens's book, whose writing I love, but really showed up how I just couldn't settle to bigger stuff this year. 2022 is the year of Barnaby Rudge! Biggest let-down of the year: How To Argue With A Racist by Adam Rutherford I was so looking forward to this, being a bit of a Rutherford fan, but this just didn't cut the mustard. Too often slid around the issue, and really doesn't deliver what it says on the tin - I came away feeling distinctily unable to argue some cases, especially on the inherent sporting traits issues. Too much unexplained scientific jargon too. Illustrated book of the year: Through The Woods by HE Bates, illustrated by Agnes Miller Parker HE Bates's nature writing is always worth reading - this is actually, IMO, the best of the three I've read to date, but it's taken to another level by the production values in this volume published by Little Toller (see Publisher of the Year above): lovely front cover (the Nicholas Hely Hutchinson artwork is one of their better choices), and the as ever exquisite woodcuts by Agnes Miller Parker, commissioned for the original edition. She has to be one of the all-time greats of book illustration. Children's book of the year: Paddington At Work by Michael Bond If it wasn't the winner here, this could well have won the Funniest Book of the Year - I find Paddington irresistible, and have done ever since I first learned to read (he was born the same month as me!). I generally read very few children's books, and finished even fewer than normal this year, but Paddington always comes through. Actually, I should come clean and say that the real title of the book I've been reading this year is Grosser Auftritt fur Paddington, as he's the first book I've ever tackled in German (much use of the dictionary!). He's brilliant even in a foreign language that I'm anything but fluent in! Classic book of the year: Au Bonheur des Dames (The Ladies' Paradise) by Emile Zola Stonking read: life in Paris and its great department stores at the time of Napoleon III - colourful, bold and buzzing with life. I'm currently reading the Rougon-Macquart sequence in chronological order (of the series' events, not publication), but took this out of sequence as a Book Group read. Why Zola is not better recognised in this country is completely beyond me (same with Balzac BTW). Short story book of the year Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald I know, I know, Vesper Flights isn't fiction, let alone short stories, but, being an equally avid non-fiction reader, I'm going to allow the non-fiction equivalent of the 'short story' to be included here, ie. set of essays. And I'm going to do that partly because this book was so good it really deserves one of this year's awards! I actually found this better than her much acclaimed H is for Hawk. I also found that I needed to slow down my usual pace of reading to give these short works time to breathe individually. One of my 6-star books of the year. Favourite literary character: Timothy the tortoise A rare beast indeed, appearing both in the non-fiction Portrait of a Tortoise, edited by Sylvia Townsend-Warner, and brought vividly to life in the fictional Timothy's Book by Verlyn Klinkenborg. Timothy was the tortoise owned by the famous 18th century naturalist Gilbert White (see Biography of the Year) and who appeared regularly in the latter's journals and nature classic, The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne. Townsend-Warner's book brings together all the entries about Timothy from both publications, whilst Klinkenborg's book looks at the relationship from Timothy's point of view, a viewpoint that expands into a meditation on man's relationship and perception of animals, and much else! A thoroughly recommended duo of books (I deliberately read them consecutively, T-W first). Timothy, by the way, turns out to be a female! Favourite genre of the year Natural history At least it was the single genre I read most of (it can expand to include environmentalism, memoir etc etc!), and which logged the highest number of 5 and 6-star awards. Aside from pure history, it's comfortably the biggest section of my library too. Fistfuls of excellent and much used reference books too, that are outstanding books in their own right, but unlikely to get mentioned in an annual review. Scan the rest of these awards, and see how often a nature orientated book is featured! Funniest book of the year: Bringing Back the Beaver by Derek Gow I rarely find books that are meant be funny actually to be so. A couple were tackled in book groups this year that were meant to be 'funny' (Nina Stibbe jumps to mind instantly), but I barely raised more than a grimace the entire way through. All too often, and this was a case in point, they're simply turgid and overworked. It's not often that I actually get my laughs from reading (there are some very honourable exceptions to this rule!), but this year several books proved distinctly smile raising. Just one managed to get me further, and that was Derek Gow's brilliant account of his efforts to drive forward the reintroduction of the beaver in Britain (Gow is recognised as being one of the leading experts on this subject, if not the best). It isn't just funny, far from it: it can be scathing, despair inducing (often), hopeful (occasionally), simply factual and informative (throughout), but it is also, in places, absolutely hilarious. And that's how so many of the great 'funny' books are: humour is often at its strongest in small well-measured doses. Biography of the year: Gilbert White by Richard Mabey Gilbert White was quite a simple man who lead, by our standards, quite a simple life. His importance comes through the longevity and consistency of effort, his recording and the insight he provides into nature and life in the 1700s. Mabey's book is also quite simple, and therein lies much of its strength: this is not just a beautifully balanced biography (and rather slim as biographies go too nowadays!), but an elegant portrait of the eighteenth century middle-class rural world through the life of one man. The Willoyd non-fiction book of the year: Orchard by Benedict Macdonald and Nicholas Gates Or rather, this is the runner-up in this category, as the winner is my overall book of the year, but I don't want to overload the awards with one book/author! And as I feel rather proprietorial about this award this year (surely one can do what one wants with one's own award!), and as it is actually deserving in its own right, I'm more than prepared to nominate this 6-star book in a particularly good year for finding favourites. It's an account of a year in a traditionally farmed Hereford orchard, where nature still plays a vital role. Macdonald and Gates alternate chapters (months), but do so almost seamlessly, bringing this small plantation so vividly to life. A super portrait, from which I learned much, and which demands a reread very soon. The photos are excellent too. Fiction book of the year: The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey A glorious justification of book groups, I don't think I'd have ever thought of reading this without it being nominated in one of those I belong to. And what a brilliant book it was too! It's books like this and Bernardine Evaristo's Girl Woman Other which make me realise how narrow my reading has been at times, and makes me wonder what else I've been missing. Genuinely life enhancing, and bubbling over with energy, I couldn't put this down. In any other year would probably have walked away with the overall title. Author of the year: Melissa Harrison The only author to transcend the boundary between fiction and non-fiction for me this year, as well as the creator of one of my favourite podcast series (which I relistened to during the summer): the author of my book of the year, and also of one of my favourite novels read during 2021, All Around the Barley, this was one of the easiest decisions of this set of awards. The only fly in the ointment was that I tried her newly published children's book By Oak Ash and Thorn, but it didn't really work for me - but then it's a children's book, so why should it? Otherwise, covers all the bases and more (I enjoy her twitter stream too!). Book of the year: The Stubborn Light of Being by Melissa Harrison And so we come full circle: the winner of the first award on this list also receives the the last award. Being a series of diary entries or mini-essays (from the Times Nature Diary), I intended to read this in small bursts. No chance - I simply coldn't put it down and galloped through in large, nay huge, chunks. Just couldn't get enough of it, and spent some time afterwards dipping back into sections. As may be gathered, I also loved the production. In a good year for 6-star reads, this stood out. Honourable mentions (Mentions In Dispatches) OK, not so much individual awards, but a short list of three books that stood out for me as serious contenders for one or more of the above, but didnt' quite make it for any. Possible specific awards are mentioned, but the point is not so much that they are the best in those (often not heavily competitive) categories, just that they were amongst the most positively noteworthy books I read this year. 1. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison A close contender for literary character of the year (Milkman), and another of those books that underlined my need to continue broadening the diversity of authors that I read. Separate award? How about International Book Award for a non-British author a la Booker (although they allow Americans into the main award). 2. The Great Level by Stella Tillyard Another book (see Reread of the Year) that I read during an East Anglian holiday, this is set in the Fens of the seventeenth century during the time of drainage engineering by Cornelius Vermuyden, and tells of the relationship between one of the lead engineers and a Fenswoman, moving from East Anglia to the American colonies. Tillyard is an historian of some repute who has moved, successfully so it seems!, into historical fiction. On of my favourite genres, so my Historical fiction book of the year. A close contender for cover of the year too. 3. The Virginian by Owen Wister As a contrast to Disappointment of the Year, how about Surprise of the Year?. For a book that was written in the first years of the twentieth century, this had a surprisingly modern feel to the writing, and I galloped (pun intended!) through it in no time - although some of the views and mores were distinctly unmodern! Reading this as part of my literary Tour of the United States, I really didnt' expect a Western, the original Western apparently, to so grab me. And so on to 2022.....! Edited December 30, 2021 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Yes, I did buy it for the cover, but I stayed for the reading! Your favourite book cover of 2021! My choice for this would be Pine by Francine Toon. I spotted this in Waterstone and l loved the artwork on the cover, an amalgamation of a deer and a pine forest. The story is set in Scotland and is a bit of a horror story set in a remote location. Despite all this promise it failed to live up to my expectations sadly. They print the words I like to read! Your favourite publisher of 2021! I'm going to be a bit of a rogue here and go for someone who doesn't print books. As much as I try to avoid Amazon, I have found Audible a addition to my reading this year and as a result I barely listen to podcasts on my commute any longer. They sell me the words I like to read! Your favourite book shop/retailer of 2021! My local Waterstones is great but my vote goes to an independent used/vintage bookshop in Bedford called The Eagle Bookshop. It is absolutely crammed with books and is run by staff who genuinely love books. It is easy to spend hours in there just browsing the shelves. It was like when I was little, and Mummy used to read to me! Your audiobook recommendation of 2021! Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. The book is narrated by Humprhey Bower and he does an unbelievable job of voicing all the characters. Despite being 43 hours long it never felt like a slog and I kept going for long walks just to listen to it. I will definitely be going back to re-listen to this again in the future. I even found one of their shopping lists! Your most read author of 2021! Val McDermid. Mainly the Karen Pirie series but also one of her standalone books. I felt slightly bereft of good crime fiction when I finished the Wallander books but McDermid has mostly filled that void for me. I don't think anyone will manage to pull me in as much as Wallander though. I'd rather kiss an anti-vaxer! Your book that wasn't worth bothering with in 2021! The Code by Jocko Willink. Self published attempt to grab as much money as possible while he is popular. All the info could have been contained in a pamphlet. I don't know where this year has gone! The book you most wanted to read in 2021, but didn't get too award! The same as most years, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Every year I mean to re-read it but rarely get around to it. Who knows, 2022 might be the year. I'm sorry it wasn't a unicorn! Your biggest literary let-down of 2021! Bit of a tough choice as there has been a few but I was particularly disappointed by The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje. I really wanted to like it and although I didn't hate it I really struggled to get through it. I didn't feel engaged by any part of it. Most people pretend they have read this, but I actually did! Your recommended classic of 2021! I'm not sure if this quite meets the classification of 'classic' but I will go for The Hobbit. I've put off reading any of the Tolkien books for a while as I'm not a big reader of fantasy books. Despite my reticence I loved the book and will take part in the Lord of the Rings group read which is happening soon. He made Mr Darcy look like Kermit the Frog! Your favourite literary character of 2021! Count Alexander Rostov from A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. A fantastic book with a great main character who is so easy to like. Towles seems to be really good at writing stories which are captivating despite not much happening. I can only put this down to the strength of his characters and Rostov is one of his best. I like things to be in boxes, nicely ordered boxes! Your favourite genre of 2021! Non-fiction espionage books. I think I've read more non-fiction this year than in past years and one of my favourite subjects is espionage. I laughed so much, people moved away from me on the train! The funniest book you read in 2021! Another non-fiction book here, And Away... by Bob Mortimer. I wouldn't count myself as a particular fan of his comedy work with Vic Reeves but I always enjoyed Shooting Stars when it was on TV. However, his autobiography has so many humour observations in it that I just couldn't help but burst out laughing on numerous occasions. After two years of COVID I have no life of my own anymore, so I just read about others! Your favourite biography of 2021! As above. Humour aside Bob talks a lot about loneliness and depression in a way that I haven't come across before. He also deals with an issue which isn't discussed often, extreme shyness. Despite the sad nature of these topics he managed to convey all this without it dragging the reader down. Your non-fiction recommendation of 2021! Tough choice again but I will go for Iron Coffins by Herbert A Werner. I've read a lot of WWII history but not much from the side of the Germans. This book really conveys the pride and joy of working in the U-Boats at the beginning and the terror which came later. It is very well detailed without being bogged down and I really enjoyed reading it. Sounds like stuff someone made up! Your fiction book of the year, 2021! A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles for all the reasons stated above. They've taken out a restraining order! Your author of the year, 2021! To change things up a little I am going to pick Michael Palin. I have read quite a few of his travel books this year and thoroughly enjoyed all of them. I really like the way he doesn't look down on people from different cultures and usually talks about how he has managed to put his foot in it or made himself look foolish. He also talks a lot about the production team and camera people who were part of the journey. Most importantly he makes it out the experience and not all about him. I'll read it again, I'll tell ya! Your overall book of the year, 2021! Once again A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted January 4, 2022 Share Posted January 4, 2022 16 hours ago, Brian. said: They've taken out a restraining order! Your author of the year, 2021! To change things up a little I am going to pick Michael Palin. I have read quite a few of his travel books this year and thoroughly enjoyed all of them. I really like the way he doesn't look down on people from different cultures and usually talks about how he has managed to put his foot in it or made himself look foolish. He also talks a lot about the production team and camera people who were part of the journey. Most importantly he makes it out the experience and not all about him. Great choice! I've also just acquited a copy of his diaries (1988-98) for very much the same reasons. 16 hours ago, Brian. said: I'll read it again, I'll tell ya! Your overall book of the year, 2021! Once again A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. We read this as a book group read in 2020 - took us a bit by surprise as nobody had read either this or his previous book before, and without exception we loved it. Can see why it featured so prominently in your awards. Will be intrigued to see if The Lincoln Highway lives up to these standards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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