End Of December Reading And 2021 Reading Wrap Up / #AMonthofFaves: This Is How We Read & Blogged

Well, just like that Winter Break is over and today, I'm back to work. For my first blog post of 2022, I wanted to write about the remainder of my 2021 reading. Also, in terms of the #AMonthofFaves prompt, I managed to write a bit about every single book I read on the blog this year. This was a first for me. I posted twice a month (most months). My best reading month was July when I read 25 books and my worst month of reading was November when I only read 8 books. I read across genres -- everything from romance to chick lit to general fiction to fantasy to young adult to science fiction. I didn't read any westerns or horror novels however :)

Every quarter, I added in the statistics for 2021 to date and named a few favourite books from the quarter. At the end of this post you will find the total number of books I read in 2021 as well as some stats on diversity and my favourite books from October through December.

This is the third book in A League of Extraordinary Women and I love that these women don't allow romance and love to sway them from their dreams. These are refreshing reads of an alternative view of what a woman could be in the 1880s. I am already looking forward to the fourth book in the series although it isn't published yet (coming September 2022 it looks like).

I'd heard so many good things about this book and it was very good. It was an unexpected thriller and the main character made many brave choices, in my opinion. This is one of the better thrillers I've read and, I think it broke the mold of what thrillers have become.

This book was amazing and everyone should read it. It talks about homelessness and follows eight (I think) families as they live with housing insecurity. This book made me MAD and it made me want to learn about the issues here in Canada. I'd like to think they aren't as bad as in the US but I'm likely wrong about that.

I think I'd read this book before. It was so interesting and I loved becoming reacquainted with the haenyeo and the history of Korea. This book was also heartbreaking as the story of Mija and Young-Sook unfolds and things aren't always as they seem.

This was the book I downloaded for Jólabókaflóð and I read it in one night. It was perfect for that and a fun Christmas story. And I liked it way better than the last Jenny Colgan book I'd read.

 

I tried to read this book about six times (even getting as far as a third in a couple of times) but had never been able to finish it. Clearly, I needed the relaxation of Saskatchewan to be able to finally finish it. This was a beautiful fairy tale of a story and I'm just sad that the ending was ambiguous. (You all know how I feel about ambiguous endings...) This book wasn't as amazing and lovely as The Night Circus but I'm so glad I finally finished it.

If you liked Where The Crawdads Sing then you will probably enjoy this book. I thought it was so good and woke up early to keep reading it. I loved the ending, I loved the relationship between Ada and Matilda. There were definitely hard parts (Emily, you probably shouldn't read it) but I liked it.

This was a book which I found out about from Kimberly at GirlXOXO and the #AMonthofFaves linkup. I'm soooo glad that Kimberly mentioned this book because I LOVE it. I cannot wait until the second book comes out in July 2022. This is a beautiful fantasy novel set in Africa and it draws on Afrian folklore from across the continent. Read this book.

 

This is a book which Joanne at Slices of Life recommended. I think Bryson is quite funny and I laughed out loud a few times. I also enjoyed the history and the science he brought into the story. I was a little disappointed that he didn't hike The Appalachian Trail from end to end. However, this book also completely put to rest any ideas I had of trying to complete that same feat. I would not survive -- if the bears didn't get me than the exertion and remoteness would.

And now for my final reading stats for 2021.

Total books read: 200 (a nice round number!)

Books written by BIPOC authors: 62 (31% of my reading) My goal for 2022 is to increase the percentage of BIPOC authors I read.

Non-fiction books: 46 (23%)

Favourite books from this quarter of reading. Please note, these books are in the order I read them, not in order of favourite.

The One -- John Marrs

We Ride Upon Sticks -- Quan Berry

Sunrise By The Sea -- Jenny Colgan

Once There Were Wolves -- Charlotte McConaghy

Beasts Of Prey -- Ayana Gray

Thank you for joining me on my reading journey in 2021. See you back here around mid-January for my first books read of this New Year post. I mean, I'll be blogging between now and then, but not about my reading :)