[imagesource: Silja Salmistu]

Every December I swear I’ll spend more time reading during the holidays.

Next thing you know it’s 2AM and I’m scrolling through social media aimlessly while the pile of books on my bedside table gathers dust.

This year things will be different. I’m a better, more well-rounded person now, as are you.

To get in ahead of the rest, we’re taking an early look at a number of ‘best books of 2021’ lists and picking out the novels that regularly.

We have the Barnes & Noble list, Vulture’s list, and Esquire’s list to go on, as well as a few others I perused.

First up is one for younger readers and horse lovers – Pony by R. J. Palacio:

An instant classic, Pony is the poignant tale of a young boy on a journey to find his beloved father on the 19th-century American frontier. Accompanied by a mysterious pony and a ghost only he can see, Silas faces his fears to embark on an epic quest fueled by the indomitable power of love. This richly imagined adventure story is undoubtedly worthy of a spot on every young reader’s bookshelf.

With something lighter ticked off, we can get into the heavy stuff – Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner:

Zauner is an amazing songwriter and her writing chops are on full display in this often wistful memoir describing life as a rebellious youth trying to reconcile her Asian heritage in a very white Eugene, Oregon…

In this beautifully written memoir, Michelle Zauner has created a gripping, sensuous portrait of an indelible mother-daughter bond that hits all the notes: love, friction, loyalty, grief. All mothers and daughters will recognize themselves—and each other—in these pages.

I’m going to throw a South African novel in here, even though it hasn’t featured on many of the lists I checked.

It did win the prestigious 2021 Booker Prize, which is good enough for me.

The Promise by Damon Galgut:

Image: Amazon

The Promise charts the crash and burn of a white South African family, living on a farm outside Pretoria. The Swarts are gathering for Ma’s funeral.

The younger generation, Anton and Amor, detest everything the family stand for — not least the failed promise to the Black woman who has worked for them her whole life.

After years of service, Salome was promised her own house, her own land… yet somehow, as each decade passes, that promise remains unfulfilled.

Here’s one for the mothers who feel like their kids are turning them into monsters.

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder:

Yoder’s debut novel is about an artist turned stay-at-home mother who suddenly sprouts pointed teeth, a scruff of fur, and a spry little tail — she’s morphing into a dog, self-named Nightbitch.

..it basks in the physical burdens and blessings of motherhood: the dreaded “Schedule” of toddler life and the hours of bedtime routine, rambunctious play, and melding cuddles. It also features mauled animals and slobbered-up pot roast and varieties of mythical women who can fly and disappear.

Last but not least, a non-fiction true-crime option for when you tire of trying to select something on Netflix.

Last Call by Elon Green:

In this gripping true crime story about the Last Call Killer, who preyed on New York City’s queer men during the 80s and 90s, Green foregrounds the shamefully forgotten lives of the killer’s known victims…

In these riveting pages, Green reclaims a time, a place, and a community, weaving together a decades-long forensic investigation with a poignant elegy to murdered men.

Sounds like a page-turner.

Not to give you an easy out, but here are three Netflix true-crime doccies you might also consider.

Just get some reading in now and again. It’s good for the soul and often leads to a solid night’s kip.

Which is pretty much what the end of year break is for, right?

[sources:b&n&vulture&esquire]