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Kirsty Logan

Hello! I’m Kirsty Logan, a writer of novels and short stories. My latest work is the Audible Original The Sound at the End. My other books are Things We Say In The Dark, The Gloaming, The Gracekeepers, A Portable Shelter, and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales.

Latest News

Kirsty Logan

Hello! I’m Kirsty Logan, a writer of novels and short stories. My latest work is the Audible Original The Sound at the End. My other books are Things We Say In The Dark, The Gloaming, The Gracekeepers, A Portable Shelter, and The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales.

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Best Books of 2021

31st Dec 2021 in Books, News

I read a bunch of books in 2021. Not as many as last year, but probably more than next year (as I now have a baby, a book out in January, and two more to write). I also read advance copies of novels by Heather Parry, Camilla Grudova and Julia Armfield: all due out in 2022, and all highly recommended.

Here are my top 25 books of 2021:

Books out in 2021:

Best book that was so beautifully written I copied my favourite bits into a notebook: The Ormering Tide, Kathryn Williams

Best magical-realist horror about pregnancy and parenthood: Chouette, Claire Oshetsky

Best book that (surprisingly) lived up to its odd premise: Absorbed, Kylie Whitehead

Best short stories about language, queerness and homesickness: Between Tongues, Paul McQuade

Best Halloween vibes: Bad Apples, Will Dean

Best poetry collection about grief and queerness: Butcher, Natasha T. Miller

Best horror graphic novel: The Crossroads at Midnight, Abby Howard

Best book that convinced me of things I didn’t know I needed to know (but I’m glad I now do): Laziness Does Not Exist, Devon Price

 

Books Out Before 2021:

 

Best kids’ book I initially read for nostalgia but then as a metaphor for finding a queer community: Moominland Midwinter, Tove Jansson

Best re-read that makes me want to stop writing because it’s too good: Fingersmith, Sarah Waters

Best horror sci-fi novella: The Employees, Olga Ravn (translated by Martin Aitken)

Best thriller set in the world of filmmaking: Pretty As A Picture, Elizabeth Little

Best book about the power of stories: True Story, Kate Reed Petty

Best queer classic: The Love of Good Women, Isabel Miller

Best dark, weird, beautiful poetry inspired by Scottish folklore: Grimoire, Robin Robertson

Best book about internet linguistics which is way more fun and interesting than that sounds: Because Internet, Gretchen McCulloch

Best feminist analysis of horror: Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers, Sady Doyle

Best smart analysis of true crime: Savage Appetites, Rachel Munroe

Best mix of horror film analysis and confessional memoir: House of Psychotic Women, Kier-La Janisse

Best non-fiction written years ago but eerily relevant to now: On Immunity, Eula Biss

Best creative, experimental book about trauma: Notes Made While Falling, Jenn Ashworth

Best book about insomnia I read while feeding a baby at 4am: The Shapeless Unease, Samantha Harvey

Best book that got me out of a reading slump: Shit, Actually, Lindy West

Best folklore-inspired graphic novel set in 1930s Spain: Tales of the Mist, Laura Suárez

Best absolutely batshit 90s horror series read for Teenage Scream podcast: Fear Street Cheerleaders: The First Evil, R.L. Stine

What were your favourite books of 2020?

Want to keep up with what I’m reading? Follow me on GoodReads

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