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Does anyone have any great books they read this year? (any genre)

*looking for recommendations for 2022*

I really enjoyed The Icarus Hunt and the first two books in the Quadrail series, both by Timothy Zahn.
The DFZ trilogy by Rachel Aaron.
The Alex Benedict Series by Jack McDevitt was also good.
And, if you are interested in women's fiction/contemporary romance, I loved The Bequest by Bridget Baker.

2021 was the year I started reading a broader range of genres instead of just fantasy. Here were some of my top books in no particular order:

The Reckoners series - Brandon Sanderson
1984 / Animal Farm - George Orwell
Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck - Mark Manson

Been a mixed bag with multiple reading slumps. That said, there were some gems...

The Slanted Gutter - S. Craig Zahler
Norylska Groans - Michael R. Fletcher & Clayton W. Snyder
Pawn's Gambit - Rob J. Hayes
Skin - Peter Fugazzotto

And on audio, We Men of Ash and Shadow - H.L.Tinsley

I enjoyed most of what I read this year, but here's the ones that stick out the most:

A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate in the Scholomance series by Naomi Novik--I love the whole inventive bestiary and the dark twist on the magic school trope. I enjoy El as a narrator--it just took a few chapters to get used to her occasional rambly info-dumps.

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne--read as a buddy read here (very first one!). Viking inspired world, cool creatures, characters with mysterious backstories forging into an unknown future.

Kings of the Wyld and Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames--it was actually reading a review on GR here (@Niki, it was yours!) that led me to find the Fantasy Buddy Reads group. These books were a breath of fresh air. Fun world, with lots of fantasy gamer nods that I got and music nods that I didn't. Refreshing to read about characters in their 50s, with knees that creaked and bodies that didn't move as fast as they used to.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. As a teacher, I loved reading about an MC who is also a teacher. And I really enjoy Andy Weir's sciencey plot points. His writing has really matured since The Martian, but all the good points are still there. Also has a really sweet buddy/bestie relationship develop. All the hugs.

The Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season / The Obelisk Gate / The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin. I read this in a local book club, and boy did we have a lot to talk about. Issues of racism and genetic slavery. A world that has faced destruction more than once, but this might be the last time.

The Blacktongue Thief by Chris Buelhman. Read as a BR this December. Interesting world, irreverent narrator, writing that made me stop and enjoy turns of phrase.

The Lady Astronaut series, starting with The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal--she wrote the novella The Lady Astronaut of Mars first, but it takes place many years after, so I read in chronological order. Was actually glad I did that. I really enjoy SF books that get into the science aspect, and the alternate history aspect was really cool too. Due to a major disaster, the space race has become more important than ever, and opens up job opportunities for women and people of color while they still have to deal with racism and sexism.

All of the Dresden Files. Including the graphic novels, which were fun side notes. (Reread everything in order to catch up to the new releases)

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. It reminded me a lot of Jacqueline Carey's Starless, in that it feels like a whole book series encapsulated in one book. It has cultures inspired by medieval England and Tokugawa-era Japan, end-of-world prophecies, and characters who are not what they seem.

Lovecraft CountryLovecraft Country by Matt Ruff. I read this with a local book club. The narrative is almost like a series of novellas strung together, where each viewpoint character knows each other, and the world all comes together. The horror of the Lovecraftian aspects served extremely effectively to highlight the true horror of racism in the 1960s.

I enjoyed:
Bewilderment
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The Cutting Season
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Carry On
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Manners and Monsters
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Diary of a Young Naturalist
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The Fifth Season
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The Push
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@Nirkatze how does shadow of the gods compare to other books that John Gwynne have? That's one of the books I'm interested in reading next year.

Julian Viso wrote: "@Nirkatze how does shadow of the gods compare to other books that John Gwynne have? That's one of the books I'm interested in reading next year."

It was actually my first Gwynne--but a bunch of us who did the BR last month are planning on doing a Buddy Read of Malice in February! Hopefully other folks will have a better comparative answer for you. :)

@Saar--thank you for the review links! I like your style.

As an introduction to Gwynne--I loved it! It made me want to read all his other books.

Julian Viso wrote: "@Nirkatze how does shadow of the gods compare to other books that John Gwynne have? That's one of the books I'm interested in reading next year."

If you haven't read his Faithful and the Fallen series yet, I'd recommend starting with that since the series is already finished. I really liked Faithful and the Fallen and the first of the Bloodsworn Saga. :)

I'll have to add them to my list of books to read then. This new year is going to be so busy with stuff that I want to read! :D

Bit of a hard year last year, had a lot of flops and inadvertently ended up reading too much YA (wouldn't recommend it, even if they're all books you love), but I somehow scraped a few great reads;

Ash and Sand series by Richard Nell- great prose AND storytelling.
Gunlaw- Lawrence on fucking form!
The Fault in Our Stars- caught me by surprise.

And also gave Skyward 5 stars, though it took half the book for me to really get into it.