If you know me well then you know that I absolutely love to read, although I did read a few less books this year than last year, but I'm putting that down to getting married, planning a wedding reception for next year, starting a new job, and so much more that went on in my life this year. The 26 books that I did read were clearly enjoyable for me, as 13 of them have made it into this book favourites post. Something I found interesting this year is that 9 out of those 13 favourites were non-fiction books, where only 3 of my 10 favourites from 2020 weren't fiction reads. I've grown and learnt and changed a lot this year, and I do think a lot of that growth has come from the books I've read - so if you're looking for some inspiring books for next year, you've come to the right blog post. These are in order of reading, and not importance or anything like that!
Let's get into it.
1) Happy – Derren Brown
This was my first read of the year as Stephen had bought it for me as a Christmas present at the end of 2020, after I had finished my Yale Science of Happiness and Wellbeing course, (which I still think about and find myself using the skills from - I still highly recommend it), as he thought it would along a similar vein to it, which it totally is. It wasn't all new information, but it wasn't boring or repetitive of what I already knew as it delved more into both classical and modern ideas of happiness, and how they differ. Something I really liked about this book was that it debunked the idea of happiness being brought on by solely thinking positive thoughts - and I believe in the law of attraction - but the idea that you can simply positively think yourself out of having a chronic illness etc has always been insulting to me, and Brown shows how that idea can actually cause more anxiety than happiness, and I totally agree.
2) Postscript – Cecelia Ahern
I absolutely adore Cecelia Ahern and have done for a number of years since she brought out 'PS, I Love You' in 2003. This is actually the first of two of her books that I read this year, as her latest book 'Freckles' came out in September. More on that later. 'Postscript' is the sequel to 'PS, I Love You', and I absolutely loved it. I'm pretty sure I read this one in one sitting because I loved it so much, and I didn't want to put it down at the end. It was one of those books that I hugged when I finished reading it - it both broke and comforted me in so many ways, and I was really worried that it wouldn't be able to do that, as some sequels can't, but I needn't have worried at all. I don't want to give much away as I personally ran into this book in WH Smith at the start of this year, and didn't see any other marketing for it at all, so if this is the first time you're hearing about it, I don't want it to be spoiled. If you loved the first book then you'll love reading about Holly's life as it continues after Gerry, as she continues to make a difference in the world thanks to her experience with his love, life, and death. It's absolutely beautiful.
3) Women on Top of the World - Lucy-Anne Holmes
This one is a book that I picked up immediately after hearing about it on one of my favourite podcasts, 'Doing It', by Hannah Witton, after she had Lucy-Anne Holmes on an episode to talk about the book. I actually listened to it as an audiobook, but if anyone ever sees it in stores, please let me know because I would love to own a physical copy as I know the artwork among its pages is also gorgeous. This is a book about a range of (51) women, of all different ages, from all over the world speaking about their experiences with sex, and what they think about during it. It's witty, painful, comforting, and enlightening all at the same time and I couldn't get enough of it while I was listening. One of the descriptions of the book says this 'there are heterosexual women, gay women, bisexual women, queer women, monogamous women, polyamorous women, those who identify as non-binary and transgender women. There is beautiful sex, bored sex, auto-sexuality, crazy sex, tantric sex, sad sex and sex that is experienced as colours and melted toffee.', and I couldn't agree with that description more. Nobody is left out of this book, every single first-person account is so fascinating, and we need more books like this. I could write an entire blog post on how strongly I feel that as a society, we need to work at removing the stigma of openly sex-positive women, but that's for another day, but it's incredible books like these that help in removing that stigma.
4) No-One Can Change Your Life Except For You - Laura Whitmore
This is another book that I found out about due to the author being on Hannah Witton's podcast, and I'm so glad I found it. It's an absolute beauty of an inspiring book without being dry or self-help-esque. Laura is genuinely hilarious, and she talks about so much in relatable and easy to understand language. The topics cover a range of things such as imposter syndrome, vulnerability, and much more. She draws inspiration from a lot of my favourite TED Talks, some of which I'd already seen and some I hadn't - all of which are always interesting and insightful, and it's nice to have all of these lessons in one place. She comes across as imperfect and human and it's exactly the kind of book I needed when I picked it up at the end of March this year, while I had secured my new job and was just waiting to start it in a few weeks. It read like a conversation with a close friend who you're sitting and drinking a glass of prosecco with, while having a DMC (deep, meaningful conversation), and who doesn't want to read a book like that?
5) How to Work without Losing Your Mind - Cate Sevilla
This is another book that I read during that gap between securing my new job and waiting to start it officially, so it was perfectly timed. I don't have much to say on this one except that it's quite short so you definitely have time to read it, it gives advice on exactly what it says it will on the tin, and I learnt so much from it. Topics discussed include how to progress in your career without burning out, authenticity and mental health in the workplace, what to do when you lose your job and how to notice the red flags of the next one before you take it. It's an incredible all-rounder of all career related advice, and everyone should read it.
6) The Lucky Escape - Laura Jane Williams
I don't have to go into my spiel about how much I love Laura Jane Williams, as I've done that for two years running now, but this one did not miss, either. It's a joyful, light-hearted read about a woman who is left at the altar on her wedding day, but still manages to bring herself to go on the pre-booked honeymoon - the only thing is the man she attends with, is not the man she was planning to marry. I'm going to leave it at that as that was all I knew about it when I started reading, and it was enough to hook me in, so I'm hoping it will do the same for you.
7) Can Everyone Please Calm Down? - Mae Martin
I read this book after I watched a Hannah Witton video where she discussed how much she enjoyed Season 2 of 'Feel Good', which Mae Martin stars in. I hadn't heard of the show when I was watching that video, but I watched both seasons in very quick succession shortly afterwards, and also absolutely loved it. Mae Martin is a Canadian, gay comedian and their book is a very short guide to Mae's guide to 21st century sexuality. They discuss the pros and cons of labelling our sexualities, to coming out, and a range of other topics related to sexuality and gender, which a lot of people would be too nervous to speak about as openly and honestly as they do, but it's absolutely needed and I hope to see more books like this one.
8) You And Me on Vacation - Emily Henry (note: this is called 'People We Meet on Vacation' in some places)
This was another one-sitting book as I couldn't seem to put it down. As with 'The Lucky Escape', I don't like to give too much away about fiction books so I'll only say this: this book is about a pair of best friends who have gone on holiday together every year for twelve years, until something unspeakable happened between them two years ago, and they haven't gone since. The book alternates between chapters from the past, and the present day, in a way that I really liked as I felt like I was being caught up on the secret of what happened without missing out on how they were rebuilding their relationship in the present day. It was a really fun Summer read, and if you like easy-going, semi predictable stories, then this one might be for you.
9) Feel Your Way Through – Kelsea Ballerini
Kelsea Ballerini has been one of my favourite Country artists since she released her debut album in 2015.I honestly want the majority of her beautiful lyrics tattooed on to me, so when she released a collection of poetry this year, I grabbed it immediately. It made me laugh and cry. It is an incredibly raw, and honest telling of her life experiences and how they shaped her. One of my favourite quotes is from her poem 'Dandelion', 'like a dandelion can bloom through a crack in granite, you can become something beautiful wherever you're planted.' - so, so beautiful and inspiring. 'You Are the Sun' is one of the poems which I'll come back to a lot, and 'When It Rains' hit me hard - a wonderful reminder to live fully. 'If I Had a Sister' felt like it was poured directly out of my own brain, and 'His Name was Ryan' made me cry so hard. 'The Little Things' would have also been a reading in our wedding if we weren't already married, and that is incredibly high praise. Very grateful to Kelsea for sharing her heart with us through song and now poetry in such a stunning collection.
10) Come As You Are - Emily Nagoski
This is another of my favourites that I found through being a massive fan of Hannah Witton, and it's been on my list for a while and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it. It's such an incredibly important book and honestly, I think a lot of what's in it should be taught in schools. I had the world's most basic sex education at school so it is really something to be learning all of this at 27, but it deals with super important issues such as how 'sex drive' isn't actually a drive, (seriously, read about the Dual Control model, it's so fascinating), being sex positive in a sex negative world, (if you're someone currently disgusted that I'm writing about sex-positive books in this blog post, you're part of the problem), how to close the stress cycle, arousal nonconcordance, and so much more. It's hands down the most important book I read this year, and I absolutely loved learning about all of this.
When I was making my notes for this blog post, I wrote "quote 'to feel normal' when speaking about CAYA", which is a chapter in the book so I'm going to write what I think I meant when I noted this part as a very important part. 'The day you were born, the world had a choice about what to teach you about your body. It could have taught you to live with confidence and joy inside your body. It could have taught you that your body and your sexuality are beautiful gifts. But instead, the world taught you to feel critical of and dissatisfied with your sexuality and your body. You were taught to value and expect something from your sexuality that does not match what your sexuality actually is. You were told a story about what would happen in your sexual life, and that story was false. You were lied to. I am pissed, on your behalf, at the world for that lie. And I’m working to create a world that doesn’t lie to women about their bodies anymore.'
11) Freckles – Cecelia Ahern
I will be honest and admit that I found this book a little slow to start with, but it got a lot better as it went on. The book is about Allegra Bird, a young woman who is one day told off by a stranger and insulted when he says 'you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”, implying that her five people must be losers just like she is. From this, Allegra determines to find her five people who are good for her. I think I liked the book because it got me thinking about who my five people are, and how I'm so proud to know them and so grateful to have them. Reading about someone who thought she didn't have that for majority of the book made me realise that I do, and I'm so happy about it.
12) Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again - Katherine Angel
My final sex education book of the year, and again, another winner. Angel touched upon some of the same things that Nagoski did which I LOVE - makes me so well read in the field that authors start referencing other authors I've read. Definitely a cool moment. She also spoke a lot about consent, and vulnerability and it was a really great educational non-fiction to end the year with.
13) House Fires – Connor Franta
This one is an honourable mention as I haven't finished reading it yet, but I know that it's going to be a favourite as I own and love both of Connor's previous books, and I'm always so in awe of everything that he does - his Youtube channel, podcast, books, photography - all of it. He is so insightful, and in such a fun-loving, interesting way. He's been one of my favourite internet personalities for many years, and House Fires is beautifully written - it discusses depression, anxiety, and other 'taboo', honest topics and I love that he goes into topics that so many others are afraid to. I'm very excited to finish reading it.
This is my last blog post of 2021, so Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! xo
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