I started 2021 with a goal to read 35 books. I blew that out of the water by June and went on to read 88! I kinda hoped I’d make it to 90 but there are only so many hours in a day.
This was the year I discovered audiobooks. While I prefer reading books for fiction, I found that memoirs read by the author and more scientific books were easier to listen to. I also found myself preferring digital books over hard copies because as my eyes age, teeny tiny fonts just don’t work for me anymore. I rely primarily on my local library to keep up with my habit.
For digital books, my personal preferences for apps are Kindle> Overdrive (Libby)> Cloud Library> Hoopla. Hoopla has a weird tendency to skip ahead a chapter when you turn the page. It’s irritating. While I don’t love anything Amazon, OG Kindle has the best functionality overall with the best user experience. Thankfully books I checkout using Overdrive can then be read on the Kindle app.
Some standouts of the year were finishing reading the entire Dune series again and adding in Brian Herbert’s two books to finish out his father’s vision. Those took up a big chunk of time. I discovered The Mortal Instruments series and loved it so much, I read it through TWICE and read all the other series set in the Shadowhunters world too. I’m eagerly awaiting the release of two new novels by Cassie Clare this year. I even foresee reading the OG series again because I love it so much. However, so not watch the Shadowhunters tv show. It was so incredibly awful but I forced myself to finish it.
In contrast to TMI vs Shadowhunters, I discovered that The Magicians and Killing Eve shows are better than their original source material, though the books are pretty good.
One of the non-fiction standouts was my last book of the year, Lifespan, by David Sinclair. Listening to the audiobook added in conversations between the authors about updates in the field since the book was released. My other non-fiction favorite was Whitney Cummings’ I’m Fine…and Other Lies. She perfectly balanced comedy with the deep emotion of discussing difficult subjects like eating disorders. I am such a fan of hers and listening to her book only made me like her more. Also, we share the same favorite movie, Labyrinth. Too bad we aren’t friends. She really is fantastic and her podcast is one of my favorites.
All that said, here’s the list, with notes on favorites and some total bombs.
1. Where’s Bowie?
2. Jew(ish)
3. Where the forest meets the stars
4. A Bittersweet Surprise
5. When we believed in mermaids
6. Postcards from a stranger
7. The midnight library (Haig❤️)
8. Where the crawdads sing
9. The other miss Bridgerton
10. How to stop time (Haig❤️)
11. The further musings of Mrs whistledown
12. The duke and I
13. The viscount who loved me
14. Candide
15. The speed of light
16. A discovery of witches
17. Shadow of night
19. An offer from a gentleman
18. The Book of Life
20. The light through the trees (excellent, Vanderah)
21. Widow(ish)
22. Holly Banks full of angst (terrible 😖)
23. Here to Stay (also terrible. Mark Edwards. Never read again)
24. Romancing Mister Bridgerton
25. To Sir Phillip, With Love
26. The Magicians
27. The magician king
28. The Magician’s Land
29. Codename: Villanelle
30. No Tomorrow
31. Die for me
32. The invisible life of Addie Larue (VE Schwabb Great!)
33. Time’s Convert
34. City of Bones (books 34-49 Cassandra Clare 😍)
35. City of Ashes
36. City of Glass
37. City of Fallen Angels
38. City of Lost Souls
39. City of Heavenly Fire
40. Lady Midnight
41. Lord of Shadows
42. Mistress of Air and Darkness
43. Clockwork Angel
44. Clockwork Prince
45. Clockwork Princess
46. Chain of Gold
47. Chain of iron
48. The red scrolls of magic
49. The lost book of white
50. Have we met?
51. City of Bones (again)
52. City of ashes (again)
53. City of glass (again)
54. Vulnerable AF (Tank’s poetry)
55. City of fallen angels (again)
56. City of lost souls (again)
57. City of heavenly fire (again)
58. Lady midnight (again)
59. I don’t know where you know me from
60. Lord of shadows (again)
61. Queen of air and darkness (again)
62. The Bane Chronicles
63. Untamed (Glennon Doyle 🥰)
64. A gentleman in Moscow
65. Lovecraft Country (book group)
66. The house in the cerulean sea ❤️
67. Her body and other parties 👎🏻
68. Dune
69. Dune Messiah
70. Loss Protocol Vol One
71. Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair
72. Children of Dune
73. God Emperor of Dune
74. Heretics of Dune
75. Chapterhouse Dune
76. Hunters of Dune
77. Sandworms of Dune
78. I’m Fine… And Other Lies (Whitney!)
79. Broken Horses (Brandi Carlile)
80. The Body Keeps the Score
81. Love without Reason: The lost art of giving a fuck
82. From crook to cook (snoop!)
83. Run fast, cook fast, eat slow
84. A Tablé
85. Secrets of the millionaire mind
86. Getting the Love You Want: synopsis
87. Codependent No More
88. Lifespan