2021 on Goodreads

2021 Year Wrapup
There's only two weeks left of the year, so I decided now is the best time to reflect on my 2021 reading. My past few years (2017-2020) of reading were absolutely pathetic, but this year I did fantastic. My best reading year ever. As I write this, I'm at 160 books read and I still have much faith that I might make it to 175 books by New Year's Eve. And I've read some amazing books this year.

Update: I have like 200 pages left of a book to finish, but I have hit 178 book so round of applause for me

2021 Favorite Books
These Violent Delights duology by Chloe Gong (I will never get over Our Violent Ends)
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Gilded Wolves trilogy by Roshani Chokshi
House of Hollow by Katherine Sutherland
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A Promise Land by Barack Obama
Becoming by Michelle Obama

I'd also like to address the books I hated the most. Fuck you G*ld by Raven Kennedy and Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by JLA :)

Anyways, at the beginning of the year, I made a bunch of goals of things I wanted to read/do this year. (you can read them all below if you care) I thought I would address my reading goals and if I actually achieved them or not:

What were my 2021 reading goals
1. Only read the Foxhole Court maybe once a month instead of ten times in a row...

I only read the Foxhole Court three times this year so honestly I smashed this out of the park.

2. In 2020, about 75% of the books I read were rereads, I want to drop that percentage down to about 50%. Even though I am crazy and absolutely prefer rereading a book to reading a book for the first time, but I'm running out of books to reread.

If I counted right, only 68 out of the 160 books I've read (so far) have been rereads. Which translates to 43%. I also smashed this goal

3. Prioritize reading more. I usually tend to priotize Harry Styles over everything in my life and it cuts into my reading time...

I did not priorize Harry Styles over reading. That was the biggest fail of all time and Idk why i would even think it's possible. I traveled to two different states to see him in person and did zero reading in either state. But honestly Harry will never stop being my #1 priority.

But other than that, i did pretty good with this goal.

4. Read more diverse books

I wish I did better, but I did try to read as many div

5. Read the books that have been sitting on my bookshelf for years, unread

Hahahahahahahahahaha nope

I've read a few books that have been on my shelves for years (like Burn for Burnby Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian and The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee) but like this was an epic fail

6. Write more reviews

Yeah nah this didn't happen

7. Read at least one book a week

Technically, I've read over 3 books per week so go me




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2021 Year Goals
I'm just gonna jump on the bangwagon and list all my reading goals for 2021 and maybe I can actually get around to them for once. We'll see but probably not

2021 Reading Goals
1. Only read the Foxhole Court maybe once a month instead of ten times in a row...
2. In 2020, about 75% of the books I read were rereads, I want to drop that percentage down to about 50%. Even though I am crazy and absolutely prefer rereading a book to reading a book for the first time, but I'm running out of books to reread.
3. Prioritize reading more. I usually tend to priotize Harry Styles over everything in my life and it cuts into my reading time...
4. Read more diverse books
5. Read the books that have been sitting on my bookshelf for years, unread
6. Write more reviews
7. Read at least one book a week

Books I Want to Read
1. Moment of Truth by Kasie West
2. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
3. If I'm Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
4. Child of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
5. Sadie by Courtney Summers
6. The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
7. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
8. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
9. King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
10. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

Series I Actually Want to Finish Reading but Haven't
1. The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maaz
2. The Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir
3. The Renegades series by Marissa Meyer
4. The Strange the Dreamer duology by Laini Taylor
5. The Nevernight trioligy by Jay Kristoff
6. The Red Rising series by Piece Brown
7. The Aurora Cycleseries by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
8. The Winner's Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski
9. The Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi
10. The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson

Books/Series I Want To Reread
1. The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic
2. Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
3. Venegful by Victoria Schwab
4. The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith
5. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
6. The Eragon series by Christopher Paolini
7. We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
8. Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner
9. The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler
10. The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
11. Looking For Alaska by John Green
12. Winger by Andrew Smith

Happy 2021!

My goals this year are to read more consistently, so i don't have to read so frantically and worry so much about ‘catching up'
enjoy the journey, think deeply and seek out meaning to what i'm reading
log in a journal again but in ways that are more useful
read the books i own: i am a cat, the hobbit, lotr 1-3, magician, a nest for celeste
... more to come!
i did start using notion to log my reading, which meant i didn't use this 2021 page so much. i wish it had more options for graphs and stats but i love it for what it can do.i didn't read ANY books i owned, and i purchased another 32 (all second-hand!) another one to push to next year haha. i did enjoy my reading more this year, i tried to force it less. i am struggling with reading only things i know i will like and trying to branch out a bit, meaning i'm getting a lot of 2.5 star books as they're just okay. i do enjoy venturing outside of my comfort zone with reading and have really enjoyed reading more memoirs.when i was overwhelmed and drained with the state of the world i really wanted to escape with books but struggled with concentration and enjoyment. re-reading twilight really helped me when i was in those dips. i think i'll need to find more low-key books that i can just listen to casually. while plotting all the events, characters and theories i had for the locked tomb was a wonderful experience and really enhanced my reading, i definitely couldn't do that for every book and it was quite mentally challenging.

Series completed: 4 {The Raven Cycle, Twilight, The Hunger Games, Brooklyn Brujas}
Series to finish: 1 {The Gilded Wolves}
Series ongoing: 3 {The Dreamer Trilogy, Thursday Murder Club, The Locked Tomb}

January
1.

Total books read: 114
Total pages read: 35,791

Top 10 Fiction:
1. Anne of Green Gables series, by L.M. Montgomery (favorite: Anne of Green Gables)
2. Wingfeather Tales, by Andrew Peterson and others
3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
4. The Story King, by Matt Mikalatos
5. The Curator's Daughter, by Melanie Dobson
6. Other Words for Home, Jasmine Warga
7. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling
9. A Night Divided, by Jennifer A. Nielsen
10. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas

Top 10 Nonfiction:
1. Breaking Free from Body Shame, by Jess Connolly
2. This Too Shall Last, by K.J. Ramsey
3. I Am Restored, by Lecrae
4. Talking Back to Purity Culture, by Rachel Joy Welcher
5. Jesus and John Wayne, by Kristin Kobes du Mez
6. What to the Slave is the Fourth of July, by Frederick Douglass
7. Forgiving What You Can't Forget, by Lysa TerKeurst
8. The Listening Life, by Adam S. McHugh
9. The Color of Compromise, by Jemar Tisby
10. Don't Overthink It, by Anne Bogel

12 January 2021: New year's resolutions
1. Continuing with what I started last year: I decided that I am allowed to buy a new book after I finished reading at least two books, in order to decrease my quite abundant paper tbr-pile (currently standing at 115 books). It worked so far, it just takes long.
2. Concluding the series that I have started and not yet finished, giving priority to books that I own in paper format:
- Midnight Breed
- Demonica Update: 01/12/2021
- Parasol Protectorate Update: 11/03/2021
- ASOIAF
- Fever Update: 25/07/2021
- BDB
- Night huntress
- Kate Daniels
- Legion
- Dresden Files
- Farseer trilogy
- Vampire Empire
- Throne of glass
- The falconer
- Legends of the first empire
- Lotus war
- Mistborn era 2
- All souls trilogy
- Heartstrikers
- Stormlight Archive Update 27/07/2021
- Iron Fey
- Legend of Drizzt
I am curious to see my progress on the second point throughout the year. It is unrealistic that I will complete all the listed series, but I would be glad if I will conclude at least three of them. Also, I am a person who needs to change after sticking to the same world (aka, series) for some time.

Top Reads of 2021These are my top reads from 20211) [b:Leviathan Falls 28335699 Leviathan Falls (The Expanse #9) James S.A. Corey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600283641l/28335699.SY75.jpg 48382891] - 5 Stars - (My Review)2) [b:Reaper 57640065 Reaper (Cradle, #10) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630800925l/57640065.SX50.jpg 90283509] - 4 Stars - (My Review)3) [b:Project Hail Mary 54493401 Project Hail Mary Andy Weir https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597695864l/54493401.SY75.jpg 79106958] - 4 Stars - (My Review)4) [b:Bloodline 55595995 Bloodline (Cradle, #9) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616477745l/55595995.SY75.jpg 86702392] -4 Stars - (My Review)5) [b:The House in the Cerulean Sea 45047384 The House in the Cerulean Sea T.J. Klune https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569514209l/45047384.SY75.jpg 62945242] - 4 Stars - (My Review)For the rest of my review here's the report generated by my GoodReads Parser Application and some general comments about the numbers. ^_^**** Yearly Report ****Year: 2021Total Books: 30Total Backlog Books: 7 (23.33%)Rereads: 8 (26.67%)2021 continued my downward trend of reading. I aimed for 25, and exceeded it, but just barely. I did a lot of other things (including listening to music with the windows down when the weather was nice) rather than reading. I mostly I'm ok with this, as reading was starting to feel like a chore, however my backlog continues to grow and there were several 2021 releases I just didn't have time for.Part of that was due to my massive Expanse re-read. That turned out to be worth it as [b:Leviathan Falls 28335699 Leviathan Falls (The Expanse #9) James S.A. Corey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600283641l/28335699.SY75.jpg 48382891] was my favorite read of the year.******* Format Breakdown ******Total AUDIO_BOOK Count: 25 (83.33%)Total BOOK Count: 1 (3.33%)Total EBOOK Count: 4 (13.33%)I haven't been motivated to sit down and read at all this year. I only completed 5 books that way. The others were all audio. Now I typically do far more audio than other formats, but this is an especially high ratio.******* Genre Breakdown ******Total FANTASY Count: 11 (36.67%)Total HORROR Count: 1 (3.33%)Total MYSTERY Count: 1 (3.33%)Total NONFICTION Count: 1 (3.33%)Total SCIFI Count: 16 (53.33%)This is probably the first time since I started tracking my reading that I read more Sci-Fi than fantasy. A large part of that (9) was the expanse. However there were a few other Sci-Fi releases from 2021 that padded that out as well. I expect next year things return to normal, especially since there are several fantasy releases of 2021 I haven't gotten to yet that I plan to next year.******** Author Gender Breakdown ********Total MALE Count: 26 (86.67%)Total FEMALE Count: 4 (13.33%)I had been trending more towards at least 3:1 or even 2:1 in years past, but I think since I mostly stuck with authors I already read, I ended up with a pretty bad ratio. I do have a few books by female authors I hope to add next year, but we'll see what I have time for.** Ratings ****Average Rating: 3.9Total 3 Count: 7 (23.33%)Total 4 Count: 19 (63.33%)Total 5 Count: 4 (13.33%)This is slightly higher than normal. It's skewed by the Expanse reread which are all either 4 or 5 star reads. I typically don't read many books I don't enjoy anymore though.Years Published:Total 1992 Count: 2 (6.67%)Total 1994 Count: 1 (3.33%)Total 2011 Count: 1 (3.33%)Total 2012 Count: 2 (6.67%)Total 2013 Count: 2 (6.67%)Total 2014 Count: 2 (6.67%)Total 2015 Count: 2 (6.67%)Total 2016 Count: 1 (3.33%)Total 2017 Count: 1 (3.33%)Total 2019 Count: 2 (6.67%)Total 2020 Count: 6 (20.00%)Total 2021 Count: 8 (26.67%)Decade Published:Total 1990 Count: 3 (10.00%)Total 2010 Count: 13 (43.33%)Total 2020 Count: 14 (46.67%)Heavy on the new stuff since it was mostly stuff from the last 2 years. That trend is likely to continue given how few books I'm doing now.Number of Books: 5Total Pages: 1625Total From Backlog: 1Longest Book: Reaper (Cradle, #10) by Will Wight - 465 pagesShortest Book: Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson - 171 pagesAverage Pages: 325Number of Books (Excluding Graphic Novels): 5Total Pages (Excluding Graphic Novels): 1625Average Pages (Excluding Graphic Novels): 325Number of Audiobooks: 25Total Audio Hours: 398Total From Backlog: 6Longest Book: Persepolis Rising (The Expanse, #7) by James S.A. Corey - 21 hoursShortest Book: Fugitive Telemetry (The Murderbot Diaries, #6) by Martha Wells - 5 hoursAverage Hours: 15.92Overall this is the lowest quantity of reading I've done since I started tracking on goodreads, and that includes a partial year in 2012. I'm not sure what 2022 will bring. Maybe I'll read more, but likely about the same. I still enjoy reading books, but it's not my main focus anymore.

As I look back on reading in 2021 I find another mixed bag: Just like in 2020, my average rating was a mere 3.5 Goodreads tells me and that feels about right.The year started on a high and hopeful note when [a:Amanda Gorman 17342520 Amanda Gorman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1640521263p2/17342520.jpg] recited her poem “[b:The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country 56914101 The Hill We Climb An Inaugural Poem for the Country Amanda Gorman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612178266l/56914101.SX50.jpg 90207932]” at Biden's inauguration. If Gorman's ideas took hold, we'd really “raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.”The older I get the more difficult I find it to adapt to change. At the same time I realise a lack of adaption inevitably leads to obsolescence - in this case, my own.Thus, I was both challenged and delighted when my personal book of the year 2021, the unforgettable “[b:Girl, Woman, Other 41081373 Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1542296262l/41081373.SY75.jpg 64185267]” by [a:Bernardine Evaristo 51051 Bernardine Evaristo https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1267567621p2/51051.jpg], stormed against my own perceptions and prejudices and while not blowing them away, changing them. Helping me change.Also highly emotionally moving and absolutely brilliant was the revised and updated collection of the “New York Times” column collection by [a:Daniel Jones 7738970 Daniel Jones https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1565645360p2/7738970.jpg]: “[b:Modern Love, Revised and Updated: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption 45864039 Modern Love, Revised and Updated True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption Daniel Jones https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566881908l/45864039.SY75.jpg 70465154]”Next to Evaristo's novel, this is one of the few books I cannot recommend highly enough. Another highlight was “[b:The Vanishing Half 51791252 The Vanishing Half Brit Bennett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1577090827l/51791252.SX50_SY75.jpg 73423787]” by [a:Brit Bennett 10802967 Brit Bennett https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1588549491p2/10802967.jpg]: Two black twin sisters, one passing and living as white, the other as black, Bennett tells a story about family and relationships that still resonates with me...“[b:Junge Frau, am Fenster stehend, Abendlicht, blaues Kleid 56676337 Junge Frau, am Fenster stehend, Abendlicht, blaues Kleid Alena Schröder https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610724858l/56676337.SY75.jpg 76311105]” by [a:Alena Schröder 5624237 Alena Schröder https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] - Schröder's fiction debut - and, as of now, translated from its (and my) native German to Dutch only, was a riveting tale of a family from the 1920s till the present day. Very impressive!With autumn came “[b:The Four Winds 53138081 The Four Winds Kristin Hannah https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594925043l/53138081.SY75.jpg 79888572]” by [a:Kristin Hannah 54493 Kristin Hannah https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517255843p2/54493.jpg] which is, to me, a must-read and immediate entry to my favourite books of all time!Last but most definitely not least: “[b:Blaue Frau 58747947 Blaue Frau Antje Rávik Strubel https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1628667844l/58747947.SY75.jpg 92478145]” by [a:Antje Rávik Strubel 19032690 Antje Rávik Strubel https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], winner of the German Book Prize 2021, which took me on a tour de force about a personal as well as European history. Sadly, this masterpiece has not yet been translated to other languages.All in all, a year with some extraordinary books! Happy new year 2022! Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

Short and sweet this year. Some made up categories, and my favourite book for each (plus a few honourable mentions), then some statistics, and my list of 5 star books from 2021.
Thanks all those who read and comment on my reviews, keeps me motivated to keep writing them. Happy 2022 everyone.

So first to the “Best of the Year” books I have read:

Best Travel - Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking Japan, by Will Ferguson

Best History - Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing

Best Military - The Soccer War, by Ryszard Kapuściński. Not technically military, but conflict is the central theme.

Best Biography - Dare to Dream: The John Britten Story, by Felicity Price. Close second Nemarluk, by Ion L. Idriess

Best Science - Mammoth: The Resurrection Of An Ice Age Giant, by Richard Stone

Best Nautical - Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing

Best Mountaineering - The Land of the Sherpas, by Ella Maillart (Ok not strictly mountaineering, but great book).

Best Photography - Changi photographer: George Aspinall's Record of Captivity, by Tim Bowden

Best Penguin P60 - To War in Spain, by Laurie Lee

Best Published by The Travel Book Club - Islands of the Marigold Sun, by Suresh Vaidya. Close second: Forbidden Sands, by Richard Trench

Best New Zealand Authored - Road through Kurdistan , by AM Hamilton

Best Non-fiction Short Story Collection - Baghdad Without a Map and Other Misadventures in Arabia, by Tony Horwitz

Best Fiction - 1984, by George Orwell. Hard on the competitors this year. Empire of the Sun and No Country for Old Men

Best Fiction Short Story Collection - Foreign Devils on the Silk Road

Best digital read - The Button Man and the Murder Tree, by Cherie Priest

And downer of the year:

Biggest Disappointment - Gun Island, by Amitav Ghosh. A favourite author of mine, but his book stinks.

Some Statistics - Read 108 books this year, at a touch over 23,500 pages.

My average rating for books is a healthy 3.8 stars.

Longest book: The City of Joy, by Dominique Lapierre at 528 pages.

Of the 108 Books I rated:
20 books 5 stars
51 books 4 stars
32 books 3 stars
5 books 2 stars

Given the 3.8 average rating, and the high proportion of 4 stared books, 4 stars for the year it seems is most appropriate, once again.

So these are the five star books from the year (in order read):
Empire of the Sun, by J.G. Ballard
Fortunes in Minerals, by Ion Idriess
Islands of the Marigold Sun, by Suresh Vaidya
Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss
The Land of the Sherpas, by Ella Maillart
Forbidden Sands, by Richard Trench
1984, by George Orwell
Baghdad Without a Map and Other Misadventures in Arabia, by Tony Horwitz
This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor, by Adam Kay
Nemarluk, by Ion L. Idriess
Dare to Dream: The John Britten Story, by Felicity Price
Year One, by Marianne Faithfull
To War in Spain, by Laurie Lee
Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey, by multiple authors
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing
Blue Sky Kingdom: An Epic Family Journey to the Heart of the Himalaya, by Bruce Kirkby
No Country for Old Men , by Cormac McCarthy
Road through Kurdistan, by AM Hamilton
Changi photographer: George Aspinall's Record of Captivity, by Tim Bowden
Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking Japan, by Will Ferguson

My goal list from - 2021 - science x2 <2>Empire of the SunThe Forest People - Colin TurnbullFrom Emperor to CitizenOracle Bones - Peter HesslerImmeasurable DesertWilliam Wills - An angel on Each ShoulderLand of the Sherpas - Ella MaillartGods of the Stones - Peter RiordanHigh Adventure - StannageElephant Kingdom - MarshallShe - H Rider HaggardDark Emu - Bruce PascoeHorwitz - Baghdad Without a Map1x Olaf Ruhen - Minerva ReefOccupation Adventure - Jim Thorne1x Kapuscinski - The Soccer Wars1x Richard Pape1x Gustav BollinderDervla Murphy - Tibetan Foothold1x Ed Hillary1x Hans HassJohn BrittanSimon Winchester - OutpostsHokkaido Highway BluesStonedogsFlashman #11x van der Post1x Norman LewisProfessor Challenger #21x Graham Greene1x Penguin Orange1x Penguin Purple3x P60s < 3 >1x Re-read - Perfume?3x Idriess < 3 >2x Clune < 2 >3 on Circumnavigator books < 6 >12 TBC < 13 >12 From Travel shelf < 12 >Carried over from 2020* Finish Orwell Omnibus (1984)* Another John Man -Genghis - didn't get there* 1 x wells from omnibus* Another Mathiesson - I am 1/3 through one, it is still looking at me...