My top 10 books of 2021

Gosh I love books. I really struggle to think of a better return on investment. For around $30, you can get years' worth of someone's in-depth knowledge on a particular topic or if fiction is more your thing, you can get four to five hours of pure joy / escapism, which works out at around $6 per hour. Seriously, what a bargain.

My reading habits changed a lot during 2021. Normally, my non-fiction reading list far outweighs my fiction one. But this year, I've leant heavily into fiction. Most nights in Melbourne's lockdown were spent on the couch with a book.

Here are my top ten books from 2021 that either changed and improved my thinking the most or brought me tonnes of joy - and sometimes, a combination of the two.

Think Again - The world really needed this book. In a time when everything feels so polarised and people seem more set in their views than ever before, Adam Grant produced a brilliant, research-backed guide to help us question what we know.

Humor, Seriously - Written by Naomi Bagdonas and Jennifer Aaker who teach humour to MBA students at Stanford (yes, that's a thing), this book taught me how to be funnier (and why it matters so much). It also happens to be the funniest business book I have ever read.

A World Without Email - My goodness I was excited to read Cal's latest book. As with all his books, it challenged the way I worked and lead me to create far better workflows and processes for myself, and also for clients. So good.

Effortless - I loved Greg's first book Essentialism and I could not wait to read this one. Just like Essentialism, it became an automatic business book classic in my mind. I learnt so much from Effortless that I now apply it to my work life literally every day to make work better and easier.

Attached - Having spent 2021 post-divorce and dating a variety of different men, I read and now refer to this book as my dating bible. It helped me make sense of my own behaviour and that of the men I dated. Essential reading for anyone who is single or is struggling in their relationship.

Social Chemistry - If you really hate networking but know that it's important, read this book. Marissa gives some really practical advice on how we can get better at forming - and keeping - connections in our life.

No One Listens to your Dad's Show - I am not a big memoir reader, nor had I really thought much about Christian O'Connell before a pre-release copy of this book was sent to me. Over dinner one night, I started reading the first few pages. By the end of my meal, I was hooked. Not only is the book gripping, hilarious, and moving, it also introduced me to the radio genius that is Christian O'Connell.

The Younger Wife - It's always exciting when one of your favourite fiction writers releases a new book. I was lucky enough to get a preview copy of this one and devoured it within a few days. It was So Good so good. Just what I needed during lockdown number six. The only downside was that I had a bad case of post-good-book depression when I finished it (that horrible feeling you get when you finish a great book and don't know what will take its place.)

The Mistake - This was the debut novel by Katie McMahon. I saw it in my local bookshop and liked the cover. It was so funny! And moving! And surprising! I can't wait for Katie to write her next book.

The Plot - Written by Jean Hanff Korelitz (who wrote the book behind the HBO Series The Undoing), The Plot kept me so gripped from start to finish. Such great characters and such a great plot (which one would expect, given the title.)

What was your favourite book from 2021? Comment below - I'd love to know!

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