Season 8, Episode 21: A Look Back - Our Top 10 Reads of 2021
Release Date: 12/29/2025
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On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are taking a look back at their favorite reads of 2021. This was one of the best reading years. This was also the year we added the superlatives which everybody loved! Most of these books should be available for you to grab if any interest you after hearing us rave about them! Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the of the episode (this link only works on the main site) . . . 2:38 - Our Top 10 Reads of 2021 12:35 - by Tracy Deonn (Kaytee #10) 12:39 - 14:09 - 16:39 - by Brandon...
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info_outlineOn this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are taking a look back at their favorite reads of 2021. This was one of the best reading years. This was also the year we added the superlatives which everybody loved! Most of these books should be available for you to grab if any interest you after hearing us rave about them!
Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site)
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2:38 - Our Top 10 Reads of 2021
12:35 - Legendborn by Tracy Deonn (Kaytee #10)
12:39 - Season 3: episode 40
14:09 - Currently Reading Patreon
16:39 - Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
16:52 - A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus (Meredith #10)
18:50 - The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (Kaytee #9)
21:25 - Furyborn by Claire Legrand
21:36 - Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
21:56 - A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (Meredith #9)
22:21 - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
23:01 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
23:46 - The Day The World Came to Town by Jim DeFede (Kaytee #8)
23:50 - Season 4: Episode 14
25:32 - Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May (Meredith #8)
25:41 - Season 3: Episode 41
29:03 - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Kaytee #7)
29:25 - Season 3: Episode 42
31:41 - State of Terror by Hilary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny (Meredith #7)
34:22 - Intermission: Lowest Rated Books
34:58 - Roar by Cecilia Ahern (Kaytee)
35:41 - Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard (Kaytee)
36:48 - Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay (Meredith)
37:30 - Survive the Night by Riley Sager (Meredith)
38:25 - Meredith and Kaytee’s Top 10 Books of the Year cont’d
38:36 - Love Lives Here by Rowan Jette Knox (Kaytee #6)
K NOTE: while I do think it’s clear that I love my sister dearly here, I want to be extra super clear that when I say “love covers all manner of sins” I am referring to the ways we as her family fail at times to do the best we can. I am not in any way referring to her gender identity as a sin. My sister knows this, but I want to be sure that anyone else who hears me, hears me correctly as well.
40:25 - Pony by R.J. Palacio (Meredith #6)
40:50 - Page & Palette Bookshop
42:05 - Wonder by R.J. Palacio
43:01 - The Guncle by Steven Rowley (Kaytee #5)
43:04 - Season 3: Episode 45
44:29 - The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (Meredith #5)
47:46 - Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston (Kaytee #4)
47:51 - Season 3: Episode 35
47:56 - Bookshelf Thomasville
48:47 - Blackwell’s
49:05 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend
49:06 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
49:28 - 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard
49:37 - The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard (Meredith #4)
53:14 - Intermission: The Books that Surprised Us Most in 2021
53:44 - Season 3: Episode 34
53:50 - The Black Count by Tom Reiss (Kaytee)
55:38 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Meredith)
59:25 - Meredith and Kaytee’s Top 10 Books of the Year cont’d
59:50 - How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith (Kaytee #3)
59:56 - Season 4: Episode 19
1:01:37 - Fabled Bookshop
1:01:39 - We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker (Meredith #3)
1:04:52 - Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby (Kaytee #2)
1:04:56 - Season 4: Episode 2
1:07:18 - Matrix by Lauren Groff (Meredith #2)
1:07:59 - Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
1:11:14 - All The Lonely People by Mike Gayle (Kaytee #1)
1:11:22 - Season 4: Episode 12
1:11:38 - Minisode w/Mike Gayle
1:14:09 - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (Meredith #1)
1:15:42 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
1:22:48 - Reflections from the 2021 Reading Year
1:24:25 - Pony by R.J. Palacio
1:24:45 - Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
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