My 2021 in Books

Some of the books I read this year

It’s becoming a yearly tradition to post some kind of bookish meme at the end of the year on my blog. It’s always a fun and relatively quick post to make, and this year I was inspired by the wonderful Lisa Hill from ANZ LitLovers LibBlog. It goes like this: you have to answer the questions using only books that you have read in 2021.

For me 2021 was a year in which I discovered some new authors thanks to a modern Russian literature book club that I joined, in which I let myself be inspired by Book Twitter, but also re-read some old favourites. Here we go:

In high school I was – Subtly Worded by Teffi

People might be surprised by – Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov

I will never be – The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson

My life in lockdown was like – Just the Plague by Ludmila Ulitskaya

My fantasy job is – Creating Anna Karenina by Bob Blaisdell

I hate being – Dracula’s Guest by Bram Stoker

At the end of a long day I need – Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov

Wish I had (been) – A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov

My family reunions are – In Memory of Memory by Maria Stepanova

At a party you’d find me with – The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky 

I’ve never been to – Sakhalin Island by Anton Chekhov

A happy day includes – Happy Half Hours by A.A. Milne

Motto I live by – Rock, Paper, Scissors by Maxim Osipov

On my bucket list is (a journey to) – Other Worlds by Teffi

In my next life I want to have – The New Adventures of Helen by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya

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Text and photo © Elisabeth van der Meer 2021