TOP 10 BOOKS I READ IN 2021

[@Michael_L_Morrison]

1 - Empire of the Vampire - Jay Kristoff 2 - Later - Stephen King 3 - Priest of Bones - Peter McLean 4 - The Rage of Dragons - Evan Winters 5 - Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir 6 - The Blackest Heart - Brian Lee Durfee 7 - We Are the Dead - Mike Shackle 8 - Dark Age - Pierce Brown 9 - Hellmouth: A Novella - Giles Kristian 10 - The Poppy Way - R.F. Kuang

[@nikkivenable3700]

You are my favorite reviewer! I love your energy, your sense of humor, all of it. You seem like such a cool dude. Thanks to you I’ll be reading Pillars of the Earth and C.J. Box soon. You’ve given me so many good recommendations this past year. Keep up the great work!

[@poorunsuspectinghunk]

10-15 books a month is amazing! I read like 2-5 books a month 😂 Also enjoyed the energy in this video as always!

[@Kal_Al_Thor]

I read like 2 books a month mainly coz I can't afford to buy more than 2 books a month.

[@Community-Compute]

Man, I love the energy you bring in every video!

[@dinocollins720]

I grew up in a small town in Northern Wyoming. I just heard about the C. J. Box series. I cant wait to read it.

[@AbbySalter]

I’m really hoping to get to both Tad Williams and Bernard Cornwell this year. Fingers crossed I can love their works as much as you

[@dinocollins720]

Thanks for the great review! I have plans to read your book this year Brian! I'm excited.

[@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS]

thanks

[@chuckmoss7414]

Let's get real. THIS year I got a book by some guy named Durfee (I understand the first is a series). It is on my top 10 books. AND, my most anticipated books of 2022, is a monster book (I believe) from the same author. I have been around enough to know the significance of the word "author." So, thanks, author, for your efforts.

[@thecaffeinatedbookwyrm3051]

Fantastic list. I love that I can count on you for an eclectic list. I definitely added some books to my TBR. Buona festa and Happy New Year!!

[@OkieAllDay]

100 pages an hour!?! Goodness gracious!

[@thomasstarkey4538]

The Joe Pickett series is why I came across your channel, and your reviews on the series is the reason why I decided after a few years to finally start reading them. I'm only three books in, but I'm hooked!

[@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS]

Great!!!!

[@thebookishbryants]

I loved Outlander, too! I finished it a couple weeks ago and thought it was completely engrossing. Great list! Scott.

[@trlns59]

Great video. Love that you include re-reads of older books.

[@nilulal545]

If i could only read as fast as you do!! Thats impressive 😃 Project Hail Mary was an amazing read!! The triology Green bone saga was also sooo satifying. I have to say awesome selections!! Nailed it!! Love it. Hope 2022 bring another exciting reading 📚 year for you!!

[@GemReadsALot]

Great favourites list!

[@RodgersReads]

Your enthusiasm for reading is infectious. Look forward to someday getting to read your Five Warrior Angels series :) I also look forward to checking out Tad Williams one of these days. :)

[@coleton7048]

Open Season added to the TBR. Love me a good mystery series.

[@mikequist1]

My top 10 books read in 2021: #10 - Two For the Dough (Janet Evanovich). I'm lovin' Miss Stephanie Plum, Jersey Girl Bounty Hunter. #9 - The Word is Murder (Anthony Horowitz). The author and a very non-PC detective solve a murder. Hilarious! #8 - Etymologicon (Mark Forsyth). I love a good book about words and their meanings. All the better if there is plenty of dry British wit liberally sprinkled in. #7 - 'Salem's Lot (Stephen King). First time read. #6 - Warbreaker (Brandon Sanderson). Also first time read and first time for this author. Great book! #5 - Pines (Blake Crouch). Read the entire trilogy this year. Will be diving into more of his back catalog next year. #4 - A Cold Day For Murder (Dana Stabenow). This series about an Alaskan PI (Kate Shugak) was recommended to me (thank you, Mr. Durfee) and I am eating it up. Since April, read the first 6 books in the series. #3 - Dracula (Bram Stoker). First time read. So well written and a really exciting story. Did not disappoint in the least. (Much better than Shelley's Frankenstein IMHO.) #2 - A Simple Plan (Scott Smith). Saw the movie years ago and have never been able to forget it. Finally picked up the book and it scared me half to death. #1 - Dune (Frank Herbert). First time read. Saw the movie and then devoured the book in less than a week. Thought it would be a "one and done", but now I'm planning on picking up some of the sequels next year.

[@chrisconrod6265]

Loved Warbreaker and the Pines trilogy. Dark Matter and Recursion are another great two from Mr Crouch.

[@mikequist1]

Thanks. I read Dark Matter and Recursion in rapid succession in 2020.

[@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS]

A Simple Plan is awesome

[@MagusMarquillin]

I did my 1st reading of Salem's Lot and Dune this year also! Both were amazing. Stephen King made Basements (and vampires) scary again. Frank Herbert showed the terror of being, or meeting, the Ubermench who can see through time.

[@angreehulk]

Great list! I've never read any Tad Williams but I have Otherland and Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn on my TBR for 2022. Here is my list for 2021: 1. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 2. The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch 3. Boy's Life by Robert McCammon 4. Morning Star by Peirce Brown 5. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica 6. Recursion by Blake Crouch 7. Iron Gold by Peirce Brown 8. The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones 9. Annihilation Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer 10. The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson

[@UncleMonk23]

C.J. Box and his Joe Pickett series is 21 books deep with number 22 due out in March of 2022 I gave C J Box a try because of your recommendation and I have liked the books I have read so far and I am enjoying them… I wouldn’t say love or 10 out of 10 but they are very good so far and I plan on continuing the series and I am trying to catch up on this series and hope to be caught up before the number 22 book Shadows Reel comes out in March of 2022…

[@moonbot7613]

100% agree with your CJ Box being #1 and I just finished Winter Kill. Open Season is about is good as you can get for a first novel. Also, I just was gifted 5 first editions of the Colleen McCullough series you showed and can’t wait to read them.

[@UncleMonk23]

Colleen McCullough’s 7 book Masters of Rome series is phenomenal and one of my top 10 historical fiction series of All Time and the best on the history of Rome…Highly Recommended

[@moonbot7613]

@@UncleMonk23 thats pretty much what my step dad said about them, so great to hear! I was told it’s about as close as one could get to matching dialogue and making it believable. Caesar’s Women was my step dad’s favorite. He passed 15 years ago but always raved about them and by chance my mom found them over x-mas and gave them to me. Oh and I do have all 7 in first editions I just counted them lol

[@UncleMonk23]

First editions of a great book series that your stepfather loved and owned and now they are yours…A treasure for you indeed in more ways than one…I hope that you enjoy and treasure them as much as your stepfather did…

[@moonbot7613]

@@UncleMonk23 thanks for the kind words and I definitely will treasure them. He encouraged me to read my entire adult life I knew him but only up until 2 years did I start reading more than 3 books a year. I’ve also started seriously collecting and enjoyed a lot. Brian’s channel is amazing and finding hundreds of books through him as got me more excited then ever to hit my 100 book goal in 22.

[@UncleMonk23]

@@moonbot7613 you are very welcome and always glad to hear about anyone who enjoys reading and wants to read more and encourages others to do so…I enjoy Brian’s channel very much too and he and I like many of the same books,series and authors but he has also introduced me to many new books and authors that I wouldn’t have read otherwise…Most recently C J Box…100 books in a year is a very lofty goal but I wish you the best of luck and enjoyment in doing so…sometimes though when you set a goal it becomes more of a chore and takes some of the enjoyment out of it…I don’t want to see that happen to you…so just try to record the books you read without actually counting them and see where you land… Any number whether it’s 2,10 or 100 is something to be proud of and the enjoyment you get from them is what is the real prize at the end of the rainbow…Good Luck and Happy Reading…😊 📚

[@beanie0026]

Great list and you couldn’t be more right on about Power of the Dog.! Such great hard hitting book. It left me completely emotionally gutted.

[@chrisconrod6265]

Awesome video as always Brian! I could agree more with your number one pick, CJ Box knows how too write a great mystery! Just finished Cold Wind... Joe's mother in law is just wow! Ended up getting the next five books for Xmas and I can't wait to dive into them! My only problem is making these last, and no reading all of them back to back! Have a great New Years! Can't wait for more reviews.

[@gon8go]

read the first joe pickett last month and it was great. just picked up a copy of shadow of the torturer today for a read along in February. I guess I'll find out how literate I am then.

[@BooksWithBenghisKahn]

great video!! Your top lists are my favorite videos of yours! My top-6 reads of the year, all 6 stars (following a one-author rule): 6) the Bonehunters 5) the Shadow Rising 4) the Wisdom of Crowds 3) Dragonfly Falling (Shadows of the Apt 2) 2) Golden Son (Red Rising 2) 1) Project Hail Mary

[@mikebruce3933]

I read Power Of The Dog this year too and it is indeed a scary and thought provoking read. Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian trilogy (another read of mine this year) is fantastic. Even if you go in knowing nothing about the legends it is based on, the sense of impending doom is inescapable from the first page and gathers pace as the story (s) progress. That he manages this without it being a depressing buzzkill shows what a great writer he is. Right until the last page you're sure the heroes might just pull something out of the bag!

[@UAANC]

Love the energy man!

[@AlbertTheConjugator]

Very clever grouping the Joe Pickett books 😆. If I may suggest a noir book...Nightmare Alley. I've seen the movie twice and am now reading the book. The characters are fascinating. The author is a very interesting and complex guy too. I haven't been this captivated in a long time.

[@akellerhouse83]

I'm really glad to see a good booktuber talk about Outlander. It's a romance book I guess, so none of the booktubers I watch ever talk about it. Also if you liked Jade War wait till you read Jade Legacy. I read it in December and I may put it as #1 on my top 10 list.

[@safinan8008]

Hi happy new year!! 🥳🥳 u always do a great job!! 🎬🎥

[@chevalierdulys]

due to you loving it I bought the first c j box open season , so let this be the first of 2021.

[@joel5962]

Love your videos Brian! I’m eager to check out CJ Box soon. My top read of 2021 was Blacktop Wasteland by SA Cosby. Like fast cars? Then you’ll think this book is DOPE! Highly recommend.

[@LiamsLyceum]

Book of the New Sun may have made my list too 👀. Great stuff. I can’t wait to get to Last King of Osten Ard

[@angelaholmes8888]

Here's my favorite books of 2021 1. Crescent city by Sarah j maas 2. In the ravenous dark by a.m Strickland it's a great fantasy read 3. Best served cold 4. The prison healer 5. The kiss quotient by helen Hoang 6. Wizard and glass by Stephen king 7. A little hatred by Joe Abercrombie 8. From blood and ash by Jennifer l armentrout 9. The wastelands by Stephen king 10. Legendborn

[@beanie0026]

Great list. I need to go back to Best served cold. I read like 10 pages got side tracked and didn’t get back into it.

[@duartelucas8129]

That tattoo got you a straight subscription.

[@sukhvindersingh2579]

I love your videos ❤️❤️❤️

[@goatman3358]

"i think im done, that's it we're done". quote for 2021 right there :)

[@nickfoster9350]

0:46 one hundred paged an hour? Goddam! I read about one hundred pages in about five or six hours, if I'm lucky, and thought that was decent. I am dyslexic, though, so reading is often physically difficult, despite my love of it.

[@cmsilver552]

Poor Game and fish guy gets into so many situations. Read them all back to back. I really enjoyed Project Hail Mary.

[@MrBendybruce]

Don't worry, Top 10 is an abstract concept. If our number system was base 12 (which would have been better, because 12 is divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12) everyone would be doing top 12's anyway. Wishing you a wonderful 2022 my friend.

[@loudoesreviews]

I liked Project, Hail Mary more than The Martian. Weir took the white room story start cliche and used it to the story's advantage. It's interesting how The Green Mile is more emotional than The Shawshank Redemption but the inspiration of Shawshank still manages to trump The Green Mile. I find Stephen Graham Jones hard to read - the sentences don't flow for me - have to constantly reread them which breaks the story flow. Same for My Heart Is A Chainsaw. Shame, because I love his story ideas. Also enjoying the CJ Box books.

[@benjaminmolina3456]

If you write more books, I am going to need more of that prison guard humor.....

[@dlackosrb]

100 pages per hour? How?!! That's immpossible

[@Thecatladybooknook_PennyD]

👏👏👏🥳🥳

[@amilton1015]

Congrats 15/20 books/mounth.

[@NamasteBbooktube]

Would be more interesting if you don't count re-reads (just an opinion)

[@dpacc88]

That horrific autofocus though! 😂

[@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS]

Godamnit the autofocus sucks

[@andreabknight]

Top 10 becomes Top 24 :-)

[@Joshua-fy1lu]

Turn off auto focus god danm

[@AcidicDelusion]

I loved the the power and the dog then I found Don's Twitter. Oh boy what a shitshow.

[@UncleMonk23]

I don’t get the love of other authors and BookTube people for The Only Good Indians… I just don’t get it…Is this book readable? Yes… Is it highly recommended? No…If you don’t read this book you are not missing anything…it’s not something you will regret not reading…Is it readable? Yes…but it’s just average at best and that may be giving it more credit than it deserves…Again I don’t understand the love and hype for this book…It was disappointing and a 3 ⭐️ read at best…based on your list I would swap this out with Project Hail Mary which was a tremendous book and one of my top 3 reads of this year and just leave this book out entirely…I don’t think it’s even worth an honorable mention…Read this book if you want too but just temper your expectations of it…

[@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS]

Great comment. Love your perspective!!

[@glibglob8755]

Si-CAR-io.

[@swampwampagus]

You lost me at "The Only Good Indian". I hated/DNF that book. You came back with C. J. Box though. Check his Highway Quartet Series which I enjoyed even more than Pickett. Best reads this year... The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osmand Vanishing Act - Thomas Perry The Sun Down Motel - Simone St. James London Rules - Mick Herron Dark Matter and Recursion - Blake Crouch The Good Daughter - Karin Slaughter And my regulars...Connelly, Sandford, J. A. Jance, Clancey, Jack Carr, ...etc.

[@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS]

I've been interested in Simone St James. I reckon you would recommend?

[@swampwampagus]

@@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS Yes. I have tried to get friends here to read it. A mystery/ghost story. I'm not a big ghost fan but I thought this was well done.