Year in Review: 2021 & Looking Ahead

How 2021 Started

One of my favorite ways to kick off the New Year is being able to take part in Sheila's (of Book Journey) First Book of the Year event, in which Sheila collects photos of readers and the first book they plan to start reading in the New Year to put together into a cool collage. The last couple years I have threatened convinced my family into taking part too. I am fairly sure I know which book I will begin the year with this year, but, until then, I reserve the right to change my mind. 

While 2021 did not feel nearly as long as 2020, it did, at times, feel just like an extension of 2020. It was quite the year. As life returned to some semblance of normalcy it was (and is) anything but. At the start of the year, I dove into blogging and reading and was on quite the tear. Until I wasn't. Even so, my reading year did not suffer too much this year even if my blogging did. I must have chosen the books I read wisely because I enjoyed them all. Not one fell below a 3 paw (good) rating. There were a couple of books I nearly gave up on, but my decision to persevere paid off in the end. 

Mouse and I spent a lot of time reading together at the beginning of the year, but she's taken to wanting to read more on her own in recent months. We still have our together reading time now and then--and share recommendations--but I sometimes miss cuddling on the couch and reading with her more often than we do. It comes with growing up. What does make me happy is seeing her go from a reluctant reader to really enjoying to read. 

Looking over my list of the books I read this year, I find I gravitated most often to lighter books, books that would make me smile or feel good. For the most part, I avoided reading books that were too dark or too heavy subject matter-wise. Although, there were exceptions--some among my favorite books of the year.

Some Fun Meaningless 2021 Reading Statistics:

Number Of Books Read: 81

Genres Read The Most:

(Some of what I read falls under more than one genre. Here, I count them under the genre I most identified with the book. Also of note, my categorization of each book by sub-genre using broad definitions).

Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror - 25

• 13 Fantasy
• 4 Middle Grade Fantasy
• 4 Manga/YA Fantasy
• 2 Horror
• 1 Science Fiction
• 1 Fantasy YA

Fiction - 20

•  12 Middle Grade 
•  5 Historical 
•  1 General Fiction
• 1- Magical Realism
• 1 Poetry/YA (novel in verse)

Crime Fiction/Mysteries - 15

• 6 Cozies (4 paranormal, 2 contemporary) 
• 5 Historical
• 3 Thriller 
• 1 Science Fiction

Romance - 10

• 7 Contemporary
• 3 Paranormal/Fantasy (2 full length novels, 1 short story collection)

Nonfiction - 7 

• 3 - Memoirs (2 of which were written in poetry/verse form)
• 1 - Science/History
• 1 - Science/True Crime
• 1 - Hobby
• 1 - Pop Culture/Humor

Poetry Collections - 4 

Of the books I read, 27 were print copies (hardcover or paperback), and 54 were e-books.

I shared my top fifteen books read in 2021 list earlier in the week, but here is a quick look at my top five 2021 reads:

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See 

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson 

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo 

What Mothers Withhold by Elizabeth Kropf 

Becoming by Michelle Obama

How was 2021 for you reading-wise? What were some of your favorite books? 

My Blogging Bookish Life in 2021

I got behind on my review writing this year and will be making up for it into the new year. My blogging also fell by the wayside about half way through the year. It was a combination of things, including a drop in motivation and time. Especially time. My new work schedule has not helped.  

In 2021, I continued to take part in Michelle's My TBR List feature at Because Reading, enlisting your help in choosing one book each month to read. I really enjoyed having you take an active part in selecting what I would read. It can be difficult to choose on my own with so many choices. You wouldn't believe the amount of time I can waste in deciding. Or maybe you can . . . I am grateful to Michelle for coming up with the idea. I plan to continue to participate in the meme in 2022, and hope you will join me! 

Books Read Because Of You (My TBR List Poll Winners of 2021):

• January: Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg

• February: The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

• March: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

• April: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

• May: The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) by Becky Chambers

• June: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

• July: Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim

• August: Blogging Break

• September: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

• October: Cackle by Rachel Harrison

• November: Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings (Mrs. Claus #1) by Liz Ireland

• December:  Blogging Break

I took part in quite a few challenges in 2021, all of which I completed successfully if one overlooks the fact that I did not get my reviews posted for many of the books I read. If you would like to see which challenges I participated in and what I read for each one, please check out my Reading Challenge Wrap Up post. 

My Goodreads 2021 Reading Challenge goal, which I rarely take seriously, was to read 10 books. I knew I would hit that mark early on, but I enjoyed seeing the percentage rise over 100% with each book I read after that.  I think 810% is a worthy completion rate, don't you?   

How are you feeling about your blogging as the year wraps up? If you took part in any reading challenges, how did you do? 

Looking Ahead to 2022 in Reading

As of this moment, I am not planning to sign up for any reading challenges this coming year. I have some of my own projects I would like to focus on. I told myself I was not going to make a list, but, here I go anyway:

1. Read The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas over the course of the year ~ It sounds like my husband might be joining me for this one!

2. Catch up on my series reading ~ (inspired by Katherine of I Wish I Lived in a Library) This will likely be a long-term project and not just reserved for this year. A side goal is to update my series' lists so I can better track my progress.

3. Read more from my existing TBR ~ and not just those shiny ARCs, which I will continue to read  because I have little will power when it comes to books.

4. Catch up with my review writing and stay on top of it ~ There. It's in writing. 

Thank you to all of you for your visits and comments this past year. It means so much to me. Coming back from my recent blogging break has only been a reminder of how much I enjoy being a part of this community and connecting with all of you--whether through my own blog or yours. I have enjoyed visiting with you and look forward to seeing what this year will bring us, both in books and in life. 

Here comes 2022, ready or not! I hope you all have a great New Year.

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