2021 books
Nicholas's 2021 books poll
These are the
books I read in 2021
, with
my favourites listed here
. How many have you read? (Not just in 2021, but ever?)
1.
Which of these 30 non-sf books have you read?
Foucault’s Pendulum, by Umberto Eco (R)
Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding (R)
Middlemarch, by George Eliot (R)
The Silence of the Lambs, by Thomas Harris
The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje
Schindler’s List, by Thomas Keneally
4.50 from Paddington, by Agatha Christie (R)
Forrest Gump, by Winston Groom
The Wych Elm, by Tana French
The Wonder, by Emma Donoghue
Dances With Wolves, by Michael Blake
The History of Mr Polly, by H.G. Wells
Beautiful World, Where Are You, by Sally Rooney
The Home and the World, by Rabindranath Tagore
Time Must Have a Stop, by Aldous Huxley
Thirteen, by Steve Cavanagh
Jack, by Marilynne Robinson
Sugar and other stories, by A.S. Byatt (mostly non-sfnal)
Kipps, by H.G. Wells
The Complete Short Stories Of Guy de Maupassant
Ann Veronica, by H. G. Wells
Summer, by Ali Smith
Martin Lukes: Who Moved My Blackberry, by Lucy Kellaway
Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick, by Zora Neale Hurston
All Among the Barley, by Melissa Harrison
Three Daves, by Nicki Elson
Lying Under the Apple Tree, by Alice Munro
Gallimaufry, by Colin Baker (mostly non-sfnal)
The Ice Cream Army, by Jessica Gregson
2.
Which of these 131 (non-Doctor Who) sf books and stories have you read?
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien (R)
The Princess Bride, by William Goldman (R)
Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton (R)
The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley (R)
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (R)
The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury (R)
Quicksilver, by Neal Stevenson (R)
Contact, by Carl Sagan (R)
Startide Rising, by David Brin (R)
Iron Council, by China Miéville (R)
The Fountains of Paradise, by Arthur C. Clarke (R)
Mortal Engines, by Philip Reeve
The Starless Sea, by Erin Morgenstern
Chasm City, by Alastair Reynolds (R)
Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake (R) - NB just the second volume, not the whole trilogy
Titus Alone, by Mervyn Peake (R)
Light, by M. John Harrison (R)
The City We Became, by N.K. Jemisin
River of Gods, by Ian McDonald (R)
A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik
Network Effect, by Martha Wells
Set This House in Order, by Matt Ruff
Camouflage, by Joe Haldeman (R)
The Food of the Gods: And How It Came to Earth, by H. G. Wells
Not Before Sundown, by Johanna Sinisalo
Black Sun, by Rebecca Roanhorse
Harrow the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir
The Kingdom of Copper, by S.A. Chakraborty
The Consuming Fire, by John Scalzi
Greybeard, by Brian Aldiss
In the Days of the Comet, by H. G. Wells
Midnight Blue-Light Special, by Seanan McGuire
Legendborn, by Tracy Deonn
Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas
Staring At The Sun, by Julian Barnes
The Space Between Worlds, by Micaiah Johnson
Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey
The Dragon Republic, by R.F. Kuang
The House of Shattered Wings, by Aliette de Bodard (R)
City of Blades, by Robert Jackson Bennett
The Place of the Lion, by Charles Williams
The Ministry for the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo
Come Tumbling Down, by Seanan McGuire
The Separation, by Christopher Priest (R)
Silver in the Wood, by Emily Tesh
The Empire of Gold, by S. A Chakraborty
Axiom's End, by Lindsay Ellis
Cryptozoic!, by Brian Aldiss
Ring Shout, by P. Djèlí Clark
Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, by Gary Wolf
The Unspoken Name, by A.K. Larkwood
City of Miracles, by Robert Jackson Bennett
The Man Who Walked Through Walls, by Marcel Aymé
“Sandkings”, by George R.R. Martin (R)
A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkady Martine
The Dawn of Amber, by John Gregory Betancourt
Raybearer, by Jordan Ifueko
Riot Baby, by Tochi Onyebuchi
The Serpent Sea, by Martha Wells
Elatsoe, by Darcie Little Badger
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, by T. Kingfisher
The Burning God, by R.F. Kuang
Felaheen, by Jon Courtenay Grimwood (R)
The Relentless Moon, by Mary Robinette Kowal
A Hero Born, by Jin Yong
Empire Games, by Charles Stross
The Last Defender of Camelot (2000 not 1982), by Roger Zelazny
The Vanished Birds, by Simon Jimenez
An Excess Male by Maggie Shen King
The Bloodline Feud, by Charles Stross
Bold As Love, by Gwyneth Jones
Finna, by Nino Cipri
Waste Tide, by Chen Qiufan
The Doors of Eden, Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Orphans of Raspay, by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Kappa Child, by Hiromi Goto
Comic Inferno, by Brian W. Aldiss
The Primal Urge, by Brian Aldiss (R)
The Sunken Land Begins To Rise Again, by M. John Harrison
The Gameshouse, by Claire North
Koko Takes a Holiday, by Kieran Shea
“Fire Watch’, by Connie Willis (R)
The Last Witness, by K. J. Parker
Kaleidoscope: diverse YA science fiction and fantasy stories, eds Alisa Krasnostein and Julia Rios
A Little Gold Book of Ghastly Stuff, by Neil Gaiman
The Mammoth Book of SF Stories by Women, ed. Alex Dally MacFarlane
Black Oxen, by Elizabeth Knox
The Return of the Discontinued Man, by Mark Hodder
Fish Tails, by Sherri S. Tepper
Science Fiction: The Great Years, eds. Carol and Frederik Pohl
Light of Impossible Stars, by Gareth Powell
“Enemy Mine’, by Barry B. Longyear (R)
Hurricane Fever, by Tobias S. Buckell
The Secret, by Eva Hoffmann
The Prisoner: A Day in the Life, by Hank Stine (R)
Shanghai Sparrow, by Gaie Sebold
Zodiac Station, by Tom Harper
Comet Weather, by Liz Williams
Riding the Unicorn, by Paul Kearney
The Autumn Land and other stories, by Clifford D. Simak
All the Fabulous Beasts, by Priya Sharma
“The Saturn Game’, by Poul Anderson (R)
The Lowest Heaven, eds Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin
Shadowboxer, by Tricia Sullivan
The Rain-Soaked Bride, by Guy Adams
Crashland, by Sean Williams
Two Truths and a Lie, by Sarah Pinsker
The Empire of Time, by David Wingrove
Little Free Library, by Naomi Kritzer
Worlds Apart, by Richard Cowper
Who Framed Roger Rabbit, by Martin Noble, based on the screenplay by Jeffrey Price & Peter Seaman
Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, eds. Zelda Knight and Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald
Pūrākau: Māori Myths Retold by Māori Writers, eds. by Witi Ihimaera and Whiti Hereaka
The Evidence, by Christopher Priest
Cloud on Silver, by John Christopher
Ivory’s Story, by Eugen M. Bacon
The Monster's Wife, by Kate Horsley
Strange Bedfellows, ed. Hayden Trenholm
Threading the Labyrinth, by Tiffani Angus
Water Must Fall, by Nick Wood
“Stories for Men’, by John Kessel (R)
One Bright Star to Guide Them, by John C. Wright
“Grotto of the Dancing Deer’, by Clifford D. Simak (R)
Club Ded, by Nikhil Singh
Into the Ashes, by Lee Murray
Mama Bruise, by Jonathan Carroll
Splinters and the Wolves of Winter, by William Whyte
Splinters and the Impolite President, by William Whyte
Blake’s 7 Annual 1982
3.
Which of these 8 works of poetry and screenplays / scripts have you read?
Beowulf, tr. Seamus Heaney (R)
Beowulf: A New Translation, tr. Maria Dahvana Headley
Mostly Void, Partially Stars, by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
Great Glowing Coils of the Universe, by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
Driving Miss Daisy, by Alfred Uhry
The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun, by J R R Tolkien, ed. Verlyn Flieger
Day of the Dead, by Neil Gaiman
Blind Harry's Wallace, tr. William Hamilton
Love, Fishie, by Maddy Gaiman
4.
Which of these 53 non-fiction books have you read?
Out of Africa, by Karen Blixen
A Beautiful Mind, by Sylvia Nasar
The 48 Laws Of Power, by Robert Greene
Goodbye To All That, by Robert Graves
The Johnstown Flood, by David McCullough
A Woman in Berlin
Humankind, by Rutger Bregman
Carrying the Fire, by Michael Collins
Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, by Nick Mason
The Last Manchu: The Autobiography of Henry Pu Yi, Last Emperor of China
Paul: A Biography, by Tom Wright
Boys in Zinc, by Svetlana Aleksievich
The Idiot Brain: A Neuroscientist Explains What Your Head is Really Up To, by Dean Burnett
John Quincy Adams: American Visionary, by Fred Kaplan
An Introduction to the Gospel of John, by Raymond E. Brown
Those About to Die, by Daniel P. Mannix
A Buzz in the Meadow, by Dave Goulson
Don’t Be Evil: The Case Against Big Tech, by Rana Foroohar
The Republic: The Fight for Irish Independence, 1918-1923, by Charles Townshend
Gods and Tulips: Neil Gaiman on Writing, Signings, and Selling Good Comics, by Neil Gaiman
Watling Street: Travels Through Britain and Its Ever-Present Past, by John Higgs
Free Speeches, by Neil Gaiman et al
A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia Butler, by Lynell George
Ghost Light, by Jonathan Dennis
It’s the End of the World: But What Are We Really Afraid Of?, by Adam Roberts
The Secret of Kit Cavenaugh, by Anne Holland
T.K. Whitaker: Portrait of a Patriot, by Anne Chambers
Rose, by Jon Arnold
The Massacre, by James Cooray Smith
China's Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy, by Peter Martin
Kathedralen uit de steentijd: hunebedden, dolmens en menhirs in de Lage Landen, by Herman Clerinx
The Ambassadors of Death, by L.M. Myles
Image of the Fendahl, by Simon Bucher-Jones
Dark Water / Death in Heaven, by Philip Purser-Hallard
The Mind Robber, by Andrew Hickey
Black Orchid, by Ian Millsted
The Young H.G. Wells: Changing the World, by Claire Tomalin
Romeinse sporen: het relaas van de Romeinen in de Benelux met 309 vindplaatsen om te bezoeken, by Herman Clerinx
Doctor Who: The Pandorica Opens: Exploring the Worlds of the Eleventh Doctor, by Frank Collins
The life and adventures of Mrs. Christian Davies, commonly call'd Mother Ross; who, in several campaigns under King William and the late Duke of Marlborough, in the quality of a foot-soldier and dragoon, gave many signal proofs of an unparallell'd courage and personal bravery, taken from her own mouth when a pensioner of Chelsea-Hospital, and known to be true by many who were engaged in those great scenes of action
Ties That Bind: Love in Science Fiction and Fantasy, ed. Francesca T. Barbini
Groetjes uit Vlaanderen, by Mohamed Ouaamari
The Unstable Realities of Christopher Priest, by Paul Kincaid
Discipline or corruption by Konstantin Stanislavsky et al
Endgames: Political Cartoons and Other Stuff, 2015-2020, by Martyn Turner
Statement and Correspondence Consequent on the Ill-Treatment of Lady de la Beche by Colonel Henry Wyndham, edited by Ann Auriol
Too Innocent Abroad: Letters Home from Europe 1949, by Joan Hibbard Fleming
Britain and the Puzzle of European Union, by Andrew Duff
Exploding School to Pieces: Growing Up With Pop Culture In the 1970s, by Mick Deal
Building Healthy Boundaries: An Over-giver’s Guide to Knowing When to Say ‘Yes’ and How to Say ‘No’ in Relationships, by Helen Snape
Northern Ireland a Generation after Good Friday, by Colin Coulter, Niall Gilmartin, Katy Hayward and Peter Shirlow
5.
Which of these 40 Doctor Who fiction books have you read?
Doctor Who and the Image of the Fendahl, by Terrance Dicks (4) (R)
Doctor Who - Ghost Light, by Marc Platt (7) (R)
Doctor Who - Black Orchid, by Terence Dudley (5) (R)
Doctor Who - The Massacre, by John Lucarotti (1) (R)
Doctor Who - The Ambassadors of Death, by Terrance Dicks (3) (R)
Doctor Who - The Mind Robber, by Peter Ling (2) (R)
The Book of the War, ed. Lawrence Miles (FP)
Doctor Who - Rose, by Russell T. Davies (9) (R)
This Town Will Never Let Us Go, by Lawrence Miles (FP)
At Childhood’s End, by Sophie Aldred (13)
Adventures in Lockdown, ed. Steve Cole
Doctor Who - Dalek, by Robert Shearman (9)
The Ruby’s Curse, by Alex Kingston (River)
Doctor Who: The Witchfinders, by Joy Wilkinson (13)
Doctor Who: The Crimson Horror, by Mark Gatiss (11)
Star Tales, ed. Steve Cole
The Wonderful Doctor of Oz, by Jacqueline Rayner (13)
Mind of Stone, by Iain McLaughlin (Brig)
Times Squared, by Rick Cross (Brig)
Night of the Intelligence, by Andy Frankham-Allen (Brig)
Blood of Atlantis, by Simon A. Forward (Brig)
The Havoc Files 2, ed. Shaun Russell (Brig)
The Havoc Files 3, ed. Andy Frankham-Allen (Brig)
Life of Evans, by John Peel (Brig)
Doctor Who Annual 2022, by Paul Lang (13)
Angel of Mercy, by Julianne Todd, Claire Bartlett and Iain McLaughlin (Erimem)
The Last Pharaoh, by Iain McLaughlin and Claire Bartlett (Erimem) (R)
The Beast of Stalingrad, by Iain McLaughlin (Erimem)
Prime Imperative, by Julianne Todd (Erimem)
The Xmas Files, ed. Shaun Russell (Brig)
6.
And finally, which of these 48 comics, picture books, art books and photo books have you read?
Monstress, vol. 5: Warchild, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist, by Adrian Tomine
Parable of the Sower, written by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy and John Jennings
Barbarella vol 1, by Jean-Claude Forest, tr Kelly Sue DeConinck
Once & Future vol. 1: The King Is Undead, by Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts, by Rebecca Hall
DIE, Volume 2: Split the Party, by Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans and Clayton Cowles
Once & Future vol. 2: Old English, by Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora and Tamra Bonvillain
Invisible Kingdom, vol 2: Edge of Everything, by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward
Barbarella vol 2: The Wrath of the Minute-Eater, by Jean-Claude Forest, tr Kelly Sue DeConnick
Feeders & Eaters & Other Stories, by Neil Gaiman
Ghost-Spider vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over, by Seanan McGuire, Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosie Kämpe
Kaamelott: Het Raadsel Van de Kluis, by Astier/Dupre
Sweeney Todd and other stories, by Neil Gaiman
A.I. Revolution vol 1, by Yuu Asami
Sculpture Stories, by Neil Gaiman with Lisa Snellings
Retour sur Aldébaran, Épisode 2, by Leo
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Volume 4: A Tale of Two Time Lords, by Jody Houser, Roberta Ingranata and Enrica Eren Angiolini
Le dernier Atlas, tome 1, by Fabien Vehlmann, Gwen De Bonneval and Fred Blanchard
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Volume 2: Hidden Human History, by Jody Houser, Roberta Ingranata, Rachael Stott and Enrica Eren Angiolini
Retour sur Aldébaran, Épisode 3, by Leo
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Volume 3: Old Friends, by Jody Houser, Roberta Ingranata, Enrica Eren Angiolini and Tracey Bailey
Muse vol 1: Celia, by Terry Dodson & Denis-Pierre Filippi
Muse vol 2: Coraline, by Terry Dodson & Denis-Pierre Filippi
Le dernier Atlas, tome 2, by Fabien Vehlmann, Gwen De Bonneval and Fred Blanchard
The Story of Sex: From Apes to Robots, by Philippe Brenot and Laetitia Coryn
Wonder Woman: The Golden Age, Vol. 2 by William Moulton Marston
La Ciudad, by Roser Capdevila
Le dernier Atlas, tome 3, by Fabien Vehlmann, Gwen De Bonneval and Fred Blanchard
Trocoscópio, by Bernardo P. Carvalho
Fridolin Franse frisiert, by Michael Roher
My Father's Things, by Wendy Aldiss
In de tuin, by Noëlle Smit
Hr. Alting, by Bente Olesen Nyström
De walvisbiliotheek, by Zidrou and Judith Vanistendael
Les Mondes d’Aldébaran: L’Encyclopédie Illustrée, by Christophe Quillien
Meidän piti lähteä, by Sanna Pelliccioni
Mijn straat: een wereld van verschil, by Ann De Bode
Otthon, by Kinga Rofusz
Sortie de nuit, by Laurie Agusti
Reflected, ed. Peter de Rijcke