Today, I’m sharing some of my favourite and least favourite reads of 2021, along with goals for 2022! I am chuckling at the fact that in my mid-year check in I mention how much I am sweating in the heat, and now I’m typing from my chilly bedroom! (Hello, climate change…)
This year, I’ve read 37 books which is pretty great (probably helped along by the fact I included a few long fics in there as well). But overall, I had a great reading year. Since I almost reached 40 books this year, that is going to be my goal next year. It would be really cool if I reached it, as that would be my new record!
I already did a few wrap ups earlier, so I will focus on what I read later in the year!
Related posts:
What did I read in 2020?
Mid-Year Book Freak Out
Some favourites were:
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
I wasn’t sure what to expect since this had pretty mixed reviews, but overall I loved it. Nikolai’s one of my favourite characters, so I guess I was biased on that front, but I also loved reading Zoya’s character development. *Them* I felt like this book was cliffhanger after cliffhanger which I loved. Especially, Nina’s chapters!! I will admit the last half was a bit slower as we crawled deep into the political strategy of the war, so that was less entertaining for me. However, I still have to say it was one of my favourites of this year, and a must read for any Grishaverse fan.
Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare
This book has me in a chokehold which I will not be released from until Chain of… whatever the next one is called is in my hands. The drama, the romance, the mystery (had to be my fave)! I thoroughly ate this story up, and yes, I will not be relaxing until I read the third book!!
The Renegades Trilogy by Marissa Meyer
Another end of the year fave has been the Renegades Trilogy by Marissa Meyer. Now, I can’t say this series is a literary masterpiece but by my level of enjoyment, it is! I’ve had this on my TBR list for a while and wasn’t sure when I’d get to it. But, when I saw someone on BookTok compare it to Miraculous Ladybug, it skyrocketed up there. This is a story you can have a lot of fun with if you don’t take it too seriously. There’s enemies to lovers (of course), and secret identities (my favourite), oh and superheroes! I’ve been listening to the audiobook of the third book Supernova while working on a book-themed puzzle I received for Christmas <3
I just read the hardcover Vol. 1 of Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe and fell in love with it! Now, I’ve been catching up on Webtoon and just finished Season 1 of the comics.
I have also been on the Marvel train recently as I caught up with my movie marathon that I started in the summer just in time to watch Spider-Man: No Way Home. The movie was fantastic, and now I’m hoping to get into reading some of the comics. I’ll be starting with Daredevil because I am obsessed with the show and would like to learn more about his character!
End of year disappointments:
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
I think what hurt the most was the fact that this was going really well! I read over 100 pages just on the first day of having the book, and I was so happy to have an actual book back in my hands! (I had only had time for really listening to audio) However, this one really fell flat. There were so many obscure twists and turns I really thought were going to get explained that never were. The mystery was just never solved… There were some really beautiful lines in here about stories and magic, but by the end it felt like a lot of that had been lost, as I was just struggling to comprehend what the point was. There also was a romance thrown in here which felt really lacking. It was like the book was trying to get you to root for them when there was nothing to root for.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
I think with all the rave reviews, I really just expected too much from this one. It just didn’t hit as hard as I was expecting it to and maybe knowing how it would play out it didn’t affect me as much.
Some book related goals for the future:
Annotate & Review More
I’m getting more into annotating and recording my thoughts of what I read. I’d like to write a short review for every book I read and either leave it in the book on a sticky note (if it’s mine) or record it in my reading journal. I think it’s occurring to me that I am not forgetting what I enjoyed so much in books I read 4, 5 years ago and hey I’d like to remember! Tabs just don’t do it for me anymore! I have yet to reread a book that I’ve annotated, but I think that would be a lot of fun too. I’m more comfortable writing in my own books now, but I did get some translucent sticky notes from Muji which I am super excited to try out!
Start a book club
My friends and I had an idea to start our own little book club. It got a bit derailed because of business during the semester, but we had a few people interested, so I hope we can make it a reality!
Start a ya lit podcast
This might be a bit ambitious considering I can barely now post on my blog or TikTok account, but I think this would be so fun! I’d love to start a podcast with my close friends and delve deeper into themes, tropes, and issues relating to YA literature. We would probably branch into conversations on writing and reading experience as well! I think it would be a great way to stay in touch with them as well as start conversations about what we are reading. I’ve had a lot of topic ideas, so we’ll see if I can someday bring them into fruition. 
How were your reads of 2021? Do you have any anticipated reads for this year or book goals?
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