Best Books of 2021

2021: what a year. The pandemic still rages on and the state of politics in the U.S. is... well, it’s a pile of stinking garbage. But I’m not going to get into that. Let’s talk about books! I read so many great works of fiction: novels, collections of short stories, and micro fiction. Yes, that’s a thing—a marvelous thing! Here is my list of the Best Books of 2021. Many of these were released in 2021. Some were released just prior to 2021, give or a take a year, or three. I have eclectic taste in books so their categories vary from humor to literary to thriller to microfiction. One thing is for sure: all of these books are great! Let's congratulate these stellar writers for their fantastic books.

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

Trust Me by Richard Z. Santos

Summerlong by Dean Bakopoulos

Memorial by Bryan Washington

Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann

River, Sing Out by James Wade

A Burst of Gray: A Novel In 100-Word Stories by Ran Walker

Porno Valley by Philip Elliott

The Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh

Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore

Escape from Oblivia: One Man's Midlife Crisis Gone Primal by Brian Kindall

Sisters of the Undertow: A Novel by Johnnie Bernhard

Honorable Mention: If you read all of these wonderful books, then I offer up my 2021 Honorable Mentions. Another fun indie novel is Knock on Wood by Leslie Tall Manning. A fun indie short story collection is Walking The Wrong Way Home by Mandy Haynes. A non-fiction book that is very moving and very powerful is Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. I also read a ton of classic fiction, but the two classic novels I loved the most in 2021 are The Dog of the South by Charles Portis and All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers: A Novel by Larry McMurtry; both novels are very funny and very unique. Oh! The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale is also a great literary, suspense / thriller novel from the early 2000s.

Support writers as well as indie bookstores this holiday. Find most of these books over on Bookshop.org at the following link:

https://bookshop.org/lists/books-featured-on-austin-liti-limits

I am grateful to have interviewed many of these fantastic writers on the web series I host along with my esteemed colleague Larry Brill (who has another great novel coming out, but not until 2022): Austin Liti Limits. Watch here:

https://austinlitilimits.com

Have a great holiday whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza. And may 2022 be a great year for books, writers, bookstores, and readers everywhere!

Take care,
Scott