Second Half 2021 Book Review

 A few years ago, I started keeping track of the books I read, mostly so that I don't read the same one twice (haha), but it has also been a good way to reflect on what I am reading and keep some track - if you've read my blog for any length of time, you know that I enjoy keeping lists :) 

The books I read the first half of the year are here, so this will be a review/recap of the books I read in the second half of the year. There are 8 books for the second half of the year, bringing my total books for 2021 to 19. Ok, let's go - the books are listed in the order that I read them. 

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger - this was probably my favorite book from the second half of the year - the story of four young children who escape a bad boarding home situation and wander the countryside was gripping - you never quite knew what would happen to them next and you're rooting for them along the way. 

The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Amy Weisgarber - this was an interesting look at life in the west for a young black couple in the American frontier. The woman was alone with her children for a good portion of the book and it was an interesting insight into the challenges of frontier life and the dependence on your children. This one is slated to be made into a movie and I am sure it will be very interesting as a movie too. 

Fast Girls by Elise Hooper - what a fun read about the first team of women track runners who went to the Olympics in 1936 to represent the US. This is fiction based on real events, and I really enjoyed learning about the challenges of female runners during this time. It was a relatively quick and very fun read. 

Tiny Tales by Alexander McCall Smith - I picked this one up on the New Releases shelf as I thought a book of short stories would be a good change of pace. I recall reading it and enjoying most of the stories in it, but several months later, nothing from the book has stuck with me - ok to take your mind off something else or for some light bedtime reading, but nothing that I'd seek out again. 

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore - Oona is a young woman whose birthday is on New Year's Eve and each year after she is 17, she wakes up at a different year in her life. She really stuggles to understand what is going on and she has a few people in her life who make sure that she doesn't do anything crazy and doesn't learn too much about the years that she hasn't lived. It was such an intriguing concept and I found myself wanting to read more about the others years that the author couldn't fit in the book. 

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London - The female lead in this book is a large woman who winds up becoming the equivalent to the bachelorette on a dating show. It was a really good insight into what life and challenges as a large woman are and I enjoyed the flip on the dating show we're all used to seeing with rail thin men and women. I also enjoyed reading about all the produced parts of a "reality show." It was a really interesting concept for a romance novel. 

The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson - This book follows Ruth, a successful black woman who struggles with a decision made in her teens. She heads back home to northern Indiana to explore the decision and work through it with her family. I heard an interview with the author when this book was published and looked forward to reading it. It was okay - there were a few things in the book that were a little too much of a stretch of the imagination for me, so it wasn't totally believable to me, but it wasn't a bad book, just not one of my favorites for this half of the year. 

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J Ryan Stradal - I finished this book yesterday after reading most of the morning - a luxury I don't normally have! This book followed Edith, her sister Helen, and her granddaughter Diana through their lives in Minnesota trying to make it in the beer world which has been traditionally dominated by men. The book flipped between their stories and the different perspectives and experiences they had as a result of decisions made as young women. It was an enjoyable read, but another one that probably won't stick with me for the long haul. 

I already have my next book on order at the library - I am looking forward to continuing to read in 2022, with a long list of books on my "For Later" list at the library and a few new books that have just come out or will be coming out soon - one of them is the new Outlander book, and those are always hefty books, so I am sure that will take up a big chunk of my reading time in 2022. 

Let me know what you read in 2022 - anything really good that you'd recommend? Did you read any of the books I read and have a similar or different opinion of them?