2021 was an interesting reading year. Despite the fact that I read more books in 2020 than in 2021, I have way more favorites in 2021. It was a year of many changes in my life including adjusting to post-college graduate life (especially being class of 2020), moving and starting a life in a new state, and beginning a new job. It is no surprise to see this reflected in my reading. In 2021, I read more genres outside of my usual YA fantasy (in fact, I think I read the least amount of YA fantasy I ever have in a year), I become more critical in my ratings because I’ve finally become comfortable separating the work from the author and objectively looking at a book to determine the two important things; whether it was written well and whether I enjoyed reading it. Because ultimately that is all that matters when I read for entertainment; not how nice the author is or whether or not I like their other works.
Nerdy Stats
Before we dive into the favorites, here are some 2021 reading stats. I don’t set reading goals for myself because I don’t like to put pressure on my reading. Therefore, I don’t have a reading goals update or summary. I am very much a mood reader and this year I seemed to be in a romance mood quite a lot; probably because they are the easiest for me to read and in 2021, I needed a lot of easy and feel-good reads. Hence, the year of butterflies. I also do not rate books with half stars because I find it easy enough to fit books in the 5-star scale. The half and quarter scales confuse me and due to my indecisive nature, just don’t work well for me. Here are some high-level 2021 reading stats.
Best Reads
My top 5 books of 2021 are as follows:
Anybody that knows me knows that I don’t generally reach for non-fiction, nor am I able to read via audiobooks but somehow the combination of both impediments worked perfectly for this book and I absolutely adored it. I think mostly because I was surprised by it; I didn’t expect to love it as much as I do. All I can say is that it was the perfect read at the perfect time. My detailed Goodreads review.
At the beginning of the year, in my Goodreads review, I claimed that this book was unlike anything I had ever read and 11 months later, the statement still stands. I knew this was going to be great when I picked it up; it’s so well-known and loved (for good reason) but I wasn’t prepared for how much it would blow me away. I had the longest of book hangovers after completing this book.
I’m a sucker for the best-friends-to lovers trope (it is the superior trope) and because I had enjoyed Beach Read at the beginning of the year, I was kind of excited for this. I didn’t have too high of expectations, I just thought it would be a fun read but boy, was this so good. I rarely give romances 5 stars because a lot of them require suspending my disbelief to a certain extent (despite my already hopelessly romantic nature) but this book had no faults. It was realistic, so incredibly precious, and had such great characters.
I started 2021 with a bang by reading the finale to my favorite YA fantasy series of all time; The Diviners. I only gave this book 4 stars but it was not a bad finale by any means. I’m not happy with how certain things unfolded but I just love this series so much and the entire cast of characters, and the writing, and the story. They will all stay with me for years to come. There is no way The King of Crows wouldn’t make the best reads of the year list. I mean, I didn’t know what to do with myself for days after completing it.
I’ve thought about this book a lot, even months after completing it. I have to admit, I expected to love it. I really liked the author’s debut You Deserve Each Other earlier in the year and had already heard great reviews about this book, even from people who did not enjoy You Deserve Each Other as much as I did. My love for this book was a no-brainer and I’m glad I was not disappointed. It was sweet and simple and everything I wanted at the moment.
Every Book I READ IN 2021
Goals for 2022
As I mentioned, I am not one for setting reading goals. But in 2022, I wish to read more books from Nigeria, not books written by Nigerian authors in the diaspora but actual Nigerian books published in Nigeria for Nigerians. As a child, when I lived in Nigeria, I used to be so involved in Nigerian literature and I have definitely fallen out of this due to the sheer amount of books from different countries and ethincities that I became exposed to. This exposure wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but I feel myself wanting to find a balance. I am not putting a number value on this goal, it is more just something I will be more conscious of when seeking out new reads.
I also want to read more non-fiction in 2022. I’m starting to realize that while audobooks and non-fiction are things I don’t particularly lean towards individually, together they seem to be able to win me over. Based on my one-sample success in 2021 with The Anthropocene Reviewed, my theory is that I enjoy non-fiction more as audiobooks and I can not listen to an audiobook unless it is non-fiction. I hope to test this theory out in 2022.
That’s all for this blog. 2021 was a great year and I hope 2022 can be even better for us all!
Happy New Year!
– What are your 2022 reading goals
– How was 2021 as a reading year for you?
– If you could describe 2021 as a reading year in headline, what would it be? (e.g. The Year of …)
Haliyah 
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