For the first time since I started keeping track of my reading, I’m actually sitting down to write this Year In Review post BEFORE the year is even over! Part of the reason for this is because I happened to get the last few days of the year off from work this time around (something that rarely ever happens, believe it or not), so I had an unexpected couple of days free to reflect on my reading experience and prepare to write this post.
In comparing my reading year to 2020, I actually read fewer books this year than I did last year, though not by a whole lot (62 books in 2020 versus 59 books in 2021). Having said that, I was still able to get a lot out of my reading in that the number of “impactful” books I enjoyed (the ones I rated 4-5 stars) increased. It was also nice to see that the number of books I rated 2 and 2.5 stars didn’t increase by too much, which I mention because I have a (bad) habit of not being able to DNF books once I’ve started reading them and will always push myself to finish no matter how difficult it may be. The fact that, out of all the books I read in a year, there are very few that I didn’t like to the point of rating them 2 stars or lower tells me that my strategy of balancing my inability to DNF with being super selective on the books I choose to read seems to be working out. Going into a new reading year, this is something that I will definitely continue to keep in mind.
Despite the number of books I read, I still feel like I wasn’t able to get to many of the books that I had intended to / wanted to read (so many books, so little time!). Reading through last year’s recap, one of my goals going into 2021 was to read more of the books from my own physical or digital bookshelves – a goal that I’m happy to report I was able to accomplish, as I read 21 books from my shelves this past year (compared with only 8 books in this category in 2020). One of the things that I think really helped me achieve this goal this past year was my commitment to not doing any reading challenges aside from the Goodreads one (which I don’t need to plan for, since I keep track of all the books I read anyway). I also did something different this year in that I finally found an app that helps me plan my reading each month easily and hassle-free, so I started making a list of the books I need to get to each month and checking them off as I read them.
With all that said, when I look back at my reading year in 2021, I noticed that I didn’t read as many backlist titles as I did in previous years. Much of this is attributed to the fact that many of my favorite authors released new books this year, plus I get approved for a lot more ARCs nowadays, so a good portion of my reading was dedicated to new releases rather than older titles. This is why I’m so grateful for book clubs, as almost all of the ones I participate in usually choose backlist titles, so I’m not just reading new releases all the time.
Looking forward to 2022, I want to keep the momentum going in terms of reading books from my own shelves and also reading more backlist titles, as I once again purchased a lot of books this past year (both backlist and new releases) and was not able to get to many of them. Aside from that though, there are 2 specific goals that I would like to focus on for the coming year:
- The first one is what I call my “completist” project wherein I want to read all the books written by all of my favorite authors. This is actually a project I’ve had for a long time, but with the number of favorite authors on my list (some of them with huge backlists), it’s a daunting task. Going forward, each year, I would like to at least finish 1 author on my favorites list (if I am able to do more, than all the better, but I don’t want to set the bar too high!).
- The second one has to do with my habit of reading widely and diversely. I always try to incorporate a large number of books by authors of color into my reading and this past year was no exception, as nearly a third of the books I read this year were from written by authors of color. Most of these books I usually buy rather than borrow from the library (even if I had read an ARC version of it originally) because I want to support these authors whenever I can. I usually buy my books from a few different sources, including from my local independent bookstores, but when the pandemic started, I decided that wasn’t enough, so I expanded to also buying from various independent bookstores in other states as well. Of course, I didn’t get a chance to read all those books I bought, so my goal in the coming year is to get to as many of these books as I possibly can.
Of course, I will continue to request and read ARCs this year as well as new releases, but I’m looking to be even more selective and only request / accept those that I really want to read so I can make more time to work toward the goals outlined above.
Ok, so without further ado, on to my recap for 2021, starting first with stats from my reading log:
Favorite Reads of 2021
Below is my list of favorite reads this year (in no particular order) – all of these books I rated 5 stars:
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
Writers and Lovers by Lily King
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
Swimming Back to Trout River by Linda Rui Feng
Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang
When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
Shiner by Amy Jo Burns
Joan is Okay by Weike Wang
The following books I rated 4.5 stars, which for me means that they were all excellent books in their own right, it’s just that they didn’t give me the 5 star “vibe” due to a minor flaw or two:
Finding Freedom by Erin French
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
At the Chinese Table by Carolyn Phillips
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
The following books I rated 4 stars but they were particularly enjoyable reads for me so I figured I would mention them as well (again, in no particular order):
Meet Me in Bombay by Jenny Ashcroft
Waiting for the Night Song by Julie Carrick Dalton
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen
We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson
The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
We Two Alone by Jack Wang
The Sixth Wedding by Elin Hilderbrand
Songbirds by Christy Lefteri
Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Oh William! By Elizabeth Strout
The Hidden Child by Louise Fein
How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang
Euphoria by Lily King
Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee
The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain
