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2021 has been my best reading year, for sure. Back in 2015 I set the goal to read 100 books in a year and for two years I just barely missed it, then I managed like, 130, then 140, and this year a whopping 202.
202 books! That blows my mind. I like to think I’ll be able to do it again but honestly, who knows. Maybe I’ll do better, maybe worse. Either way, I’m impressed with myself.
You won’t find any book descriptions in here but you will find favorites, stats, a few I look forward to reading, and more.
It’s mostly books but I’ve got two little blog-specific sections, too, because why not? And instead of doing a separate 2022 reading goals post, I’ve included them at the end of this one since I don’t have tons of them.
I would love to hear your 2021 reading stats and 2022 reading goals in the comments, too!
- If you want to listen to some of these, consider trying Audible! You can get your first month free (one free book) plus tons of others they have for free. Get that Audible deal here.
- If you’re on more of a budget, try Scribd! You can get your first month free there. You can read books and listen to audiobooks. It is unlimited (especially the reading) but if you listen to tons of new audiobooks you may be restricted after a few. I don’t listen to enough to confirm this, but I do use Scribd myself and like it a lot. Sign up for Scribd here!
- Shop my collection of bookish goodies on Etsy! These aren’t my shop items, but other shops I’ve curated into a book-themed collection. Shop my Etsy bookish goodies here!
- If you want to read more on your Kindle but don’t want to buy books, Kindle Unlimited is a wonderful option. It’s $9.99 a month but if you read a lot and like to read more than just new releases, it could be worth it. Get Kindle Unlimited here!
- Get $5 off of $25 from BookOutlet! This is a great place to find new books for pretty cheap. They also have sales quite a bit, so keep an eye out for those. I tend to check here for books I want if they’re more expensive other places. They don’t have everything but they do have a lot. Shop BookOutlet here!
- Thrift Books has become my go-to when I’m looking for a book and want it cheap. It’s great if you like buying used books. With this you can get a free book after spending $30!
- Shop my book lists here! You can find every book list I have on Bookshop.org (except my monthly round-ups) and I add everything I can but they occasionally won’t have some. I do occasionally add extras though. If any lists are empty, they’ll be filled in shortly! Shop my bookshop.org book lists here.
- Shopping internationally? Check out Book Depository!
Total books read: 202
You can see every book I read in 2021 here and what I thought of them.
Pages read: 52,650
Shortest book: Snowflakes by Ruth Ware – 26 pages
Longest book: Ringer by Lauren Oliver – 672 pages
Average book length: 260 pages
So, for this next part, I can’t math. I’ve done this like three times and it’s not adding up. Goodreads says I read 202 books, but then I go through and tally up the total for each star-rating, and the first time I got 187, then I got 198 and I’m not sure where those extras went so this is about four books off. Somehow.
Total one-star reads/DNFs: 4
Total two-star reads: 26
Total three-star reads: 47
Total four-star reads: 91
Total five-star reads: 30
Top ten graphic novels
Two of these I just included the whole series because I really enjoyed them but the rest are standalone. I didn’t list authors because a lot of them have multiple but they’re all linked below.
- Lumberjanes series
- Mooncakes
- Snapdragon
- Paper Girls
- The Witch Boy series
- The Okay Witch
- Cosmoknights
- Are You Listening?
- Mis(h)adra
- Valentine
Top ten books
This was hard to pick but also, as I scrolled through my GoodReads year in review, these stood out to me the most as ones I loved and enjoyed.
- Elsewhere by Rosita Boland
- Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
- A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
- That Weekend by Kara Thomas
- The canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling
- The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda
- Girls With Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young
- Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
- Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher
- The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Top five blog posts this year:
These are the top blog posts, traffic-wise. The most popular straight from my stats. These weren’t published this year (all of them were from last year, actually) but they brought in the most traffic.
- 29 Books Set In Hawaii That Will Take You To The Islands And Back In Time
- 27 Books About Food Travel That You Need To Read, Especially If You’re A Foodie
- 30 Wonderful National Park Novels To Read That Will Transport You To The Outdoors
- 33 Books Set In Iceland To Read Before You Visit (Or While You’re There!)
- 24 Perfect Cozy, Winter Books To Read When It’s Snowing
Favorite blog posts this year:
I went with seven posts for this because I couldn’t make up my mind but these are six posts that I published this year that I just love.
It’s posts/lists that I either really enjoyed writing or things that I read a lot of this year. Or both. They’re all topics I’ve been very into this year.
- 21 Solo Female Travel Memoirs I Love And Can’t Wait To Read
- Non-Violent True Crime For Everyone Interested In Theft, Obsession, And Cons
- Nordic Noir Books To Channel Your Inner Scandanavian Detective
- 17 Creepy Books To Read In October That Will Actually Scare You
- 49 Dystopian Books To Read To Make It Feel Like You’re Actually Reading About Current Events
- 31 Must-Read Pandemic Books Like The Hot Zone
Favorite authors of the year:
These are all authors that I’ll read everything they write and I read a lot of all of them this year. And by a lot, I mean at least two books. Or, I bought a lot of from these authors and have them currently waiting to read.
- Kara Thomas
- Megan Miranda
- Ruth Ware
- Sara Shepard
- Holly Jackson
- Dusti Bowling
Five books I can’t wait to read in 2022:
These aren’t necessarily 2022 new releases, I don’t really keep up with them but just five books that I have on my TBR that I can’t wait to read or want to try and read in 2022. Or eight, I guess.
- The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
- For the Wolf by Hannah Witten
- The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
- Stans By Me by Ged Gillmore
- The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson
- One by One by Ruth Ware
- I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
- They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
2022 Reading Goals
These are just general bookish/reading goals, not just the number I want to read. If that makes sense? It will once you see them.
- Read 100 books (I’ll probably always keep this as my number goal)
- Listen to one audiobook a month, at least
- Don’t buy books until I finish everything I have with me (exceptions are the rest of the City Of Brass series if I like it, Love and Olives if I see it in person, and Backpacked as a physical book because I need that.)
- Use the library as much as possible to find anything I might want to read but don’t have (or for finishing series.)
- Find a way to back up my Kindle books (if you know a way to do this please let me know!)
What did your 2021 reading look like? What are your 2022 reading goals? Tell me all the bookish things you’re proud of!
Hey, I'm Reading 
That’s crazy awesome. I’m always in awe of how some of you book bloggers can read so much. And here I’m struggling with one book per month. Wishing you all the best for 2022!
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Thank you! 🙂 Usually if I’m not working (sometimes I can at work), blogging, embroidering, or hiking, I’m probably reading haha. And one a month is still great! It’s more than a lot of people. I hope your 2022 is wonderful, too!
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