2021 was not the greatest year of our lives but, for avid readers, it has had some terrific highlights. Here are my selections for the best of – would love to hear which books gave you the most pleasure. 

Overall favourites/champions

After Story – Larissa Behrendt; and Kazuo Ishiguro – Klara and the Sun

Best biography

James Campbell – Talking at the Gates: A Life of James Baldwin

Best political histories

Johanna Perheentupa – Redfern: Aboriginal Activism in the 1970s; Carolyn Collins – Save our Sons: Women, Dissent and Conscription during the Vietnam War.

Australian history

Henry Reynolds – Truth-Telling: History, sovereignty and the Uluru Statement

Short stories

Alice Munro – Too Much Happiness. 

Crime

Anne Cleves – The Darkest Evening

Philosophy

David Brooks – The Second Mountain: The quest for a moral life

Happy holiday reading!