Top TBR books for 2021

With every new year, I always decide to make a list of books from my TBR that I want to prioritise reading. I have never managed to get through all of the ones I choose, but I think it's enjoyable to do it and it serves as a bit of inspiration for when I'm struggling to choose what to read next. I decided not to include books I started in 2020, but these are all books I already own, and almost all of them ended up being belonging to series I've started/want to start.

1) Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens

I'll begin with the only standalone book in this list, Where the Crawdads Sing. This was a very hyped book a while ago and I got it on a Kindle sale last year but haven't picked it up yet. For the past couple of years, I've really enjoyed reading some literary fiction and I really want to give this one a go. I don't really know what this is about, but I believe it's about a young girl who's lived in isolation for most of her life and we follow her in a journey to find some kind of companionship.

2) Mistborn Era 1, Brandon Sanderson

First up we have the Mistborn series. I read book one, The Final Empire, in March last year but, because of lockdowns, books two and three only arrived here late September and I didn't manage to squeeze them in before the end of the year. However, I am dying to read The Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages as soon as possible, and I think I might even reread book one given how much I loved it. This is about Vin, a young woman who discovers she has magical abilities and is recruited by a guy named Kelsier, to learn how to use her powers and join a group that's looking to overthrow the Lord Ruler.

3) The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I was making my way through this throughout 2020 and I only have the last two books to go (His Last Bow and The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes) but the audiobook I was listening to became unavailable on Scribd and I have yet to find a narrator I love as much as Kyle Hayes. I got so used to Watson sounding like him, but I haven't found his version of the audiobook anywhere else, so I'll have to find someone else to voice these stories I was loving so much.

4) Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien

Then we have the actual bane of my existence, LOTR. I've been wanting to read this series for so long, but I haven't even started it yet. I thought reading The Hobbit last year would finally push me to read the series but I think it's actually made me sceptical of it. I listened to The Hobbit on audiobook and, although I do think it's the best way for me to experience this series, I thought it was so dull and boring that I'm scared of reading the actual series. But hopefully, I'll get to it this year, otherwise, I think I might just accept it isn't for me and move on.

5) Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas

Another series I'm hoping to finish this year is Throne of Glass. I have the last two books to go (Tower of Dawn and Kingdom of Ash) and really want to read them soon. I've enjoyed this series for years and, even though it's not a favourite, it's entertaining and I'm invested enough to find out how it ends. I'd hoped to read it last year but, much like Mistborn, I only got the last two books at the end of the year and didn't have enough time to read them. This is a fairly long YA fantasy series and in the first book, we follow Celaena Sardothien, a young girl competing to become the king's official assassin. Honestly, this series is way more than that but I'm worried about giving away spoilers so that's all I'm going to say.

6) The Diviners, Libba Bray

I read The Diviners back in October and really loved it, so I can't wait to finish this series. I have book two, Lair of Dreams, but I'll hopefully read it and want to read the next two books in the series as well. This is a very fun breed between mystery, fantasy, and historical fiction, with multiple POVs and all things ghosts/paranormal. The first book ended in such a way that it's made me desperate to find out what happens next.

7) Arc of a Scythe, Neal Shusterman

And lastly, we have the Scythe series. I only own the first book and, because I didn't want to start yet another series, I've been putting this off, but I do hope I read this series this year. I've heard nothing but great things and the concept really intrigues me. Also, I've never read any Neal Shusterman and I feel like this is as good a place to start as any. This is set in a world where humans have conquered death, so it's up to individuals named Scythes to reap people's souls as to control overpopulation, and I believe we follow to different characters training to become scythes.

I have a lot of other books that I'd love to read this year, but these are the ones I already own and would like to read soon. Let me know which books you're prioritising this year and if you've read any of these books, which one I should get to first!

Love,

N.

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