And Now, Darlings, For The Only Book List That Matters--MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           To hell with "The New York Times."  Here are my "Top Five Fiction Picks For 2021."  Through references and other posts, some of you may have gleaned this list already, or not be so surprised by it.    For my money, not to mention reading time invested, this was the best of the best.

                                                    "The Five Best Works Of Fiction Of 2021"

                                                                                  

                                             1. "Crossroads," by Jonathan Franzen--Not only Number One, but Book Of The Year!  With Franzen writing at the height of his powers, how could this be overlooked?  If you have not yet read it, it is high time you did.

                                                                                

                                                2.   "The Lincoln Highway," by Amor Towles--Never have I had a year with so many easily chosen gems.  For the first eight months, I feared nothing would show up, and then WHAM!  I had a hard time not making this choice a tie with Franzen; it is that good.  Adventurous, with strong characters, driving narration, all reminiscent of the boys' adventure books of some of our youths, Towles goes for something different--and wins!!!!!!!!!!!!  Get on this wild ride quick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                   

                                         3. "Cloud Cuckoo Land," by Anthony Doerr--Beautiful, poetic prose, cloud filled castles in sky, guaranteed to take readers somewhere beyond where we are living now--and can't we all use that? --Doerr scores another triumph.  I cannot wait to see what he does next!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                         

                                            4.  "The Magician," by Colm Toibin--The author does an even better job with Thomas Mann, than with Henry James, in "The Master," good as that was.  This will have readers reaching for their Mann--especially those, like me, who have not read him yet!  What are all of us waiting for????????????

                                                                                

                                          5.  "Black Buck," by Mateo Akaripoor-- Hey, how come the high and mighty, agenda oriented "New York Times" did not have this listed anyway?  This tale of a barista worker's rise to power speaks as much about racism on both sides, Black and White, and if the Millennials or Gen Z crowd would take the time to read and develop insights, a powerful message awaits all, at the end of this novel.

                                             Pay no attention to "The New York Times" behind the curtain!  The great Raving Queen book list has SPOKEN. To date, I have read 120 books this year, and I am currently two thirds of the way through book number 121.

                                                 Have a merry, girls, and read some of my picks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!