What I Read in 2021

I’m proud of how many books I read this year: 42. Not many by some people’s standards and way more than a lot of people. I read a lot of novellas this year, so that helped me reach my goal of reading at least 40 books.

What shouldI have read more of this year? Poetry, Mystery, non-fiction in general. Biographies and plays, too. Maybe in 2022.

And here are some impromptu awards for the the books I read this year:

• Better the 2nd time around award:
  • Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
  • Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
  • The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons

• Better than I thought it would be award:
  • In Calabria by Peter S. Beagle
  • The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
  • We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep by Andrew Kelly Stewart
  • Story Genius by Lisa Craft
  • The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell

• Definitely going to finish this series award:
  • The Shock of Night by Patrick W. Carr
  • The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

• Top Five Favorites from this year because I can’t pick just one award:
  • A Parchment of Leaves by Silas House
  • The Golem and the Ginni by Helene Wecker
  • Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
  • Dustborn by Erin Bowman
  • We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep by Andrew Kelly Stewart

And here’s a list of what I read in 2021 arranged by category:

Science Fiction and Fantasy

• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• In Calabria by Peter S. Beagle
• Escape from Bythos by Phil Tucker
• The Devil in the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
• The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
• The Shock of Night by Patrick W. Carr
• The Forever Sea by Joshua Phillip Johnson
• Dustborn by Erin Bowman
• The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
• We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep by Andrew Kelly Stewart
• The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
• Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson
• The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
• The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
• The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
• Battletrain Seige by Mark William Chase
• Mercenary Seige by Mark William Chase
• Gearmeister Seige by Mark William Chase
• Aircruiser Seige by Mark William Chase
• A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
• A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
• All Systems Red by Martha Wells
• Artificial Conditions by Martha Wells
• Percepliquis by Michael J. Sullivan
• We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen
• River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
• Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks

Writing Instruction

• Story Genius by Lisa Craft
• The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell
• NaNoWriMo Ready by Cindy Tomamichel
• NaNoWriMo: A Cheater’s Guide by Laura Roberts
• How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermansen

Self-Improvement

• The Atomic Habits by James Clear

Spiritual

• The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg
• Live the Impossible by Jenny Smith
• Winning the War in Your Mind by Craig Groeschel
• Spirit Walk by Steve Smith
• Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods by Rick Warren

General Fiction

• A Parchment of Leaves by Silas House
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• The Golem and the Ginni by Helene Wecker

Graphic Novels

• Becoming Andy Warhol by Nick Bertozzi

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels