Saturday, January 1, 2022

2021 Reading Challenge, end of year update

 



Happy New Year, Readers! I hope everyone had a festive and safe holiday. I've never been one to really celebrate New Year. It was a pretty low-key evening for me. The husband and I mostly just sat around playing video games. Hubs played a final fantasy game for the 800th time, and I played Some Paper Mario. It was a nice relaxing evening. 

Overall, 2021 was not a terrible year for me. Personally, many important things happened for me that made it all around pretty good. I mostly finished Grad School (I have one final project to go), the husband and I bought a house. I took on a lot of exciting projects at work. Got to go home and see family for the first time in a year and a half. Definitely feel really fortunate and looking forward to seeing what 2022 brings.

In 2021, I had set a goal of 50 books for the year. I came really close and read 46 books. I did not review every book read this year, especially a couple, towards the end. Everything was just super busy, and I really didn't have the energy to write a review up. I've set a goal of 48 for 2022, and the new reading challenge can be found here.

According to Goodreads, my ratings for the year were 3,9 stars Which sounds about right. I feel like I read a lot of books I really enjoyed. I think I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favorite for the year. 15 of the 46 books I rated 5 stars. The only Tier I completed for the 2021 Reading Challenge was Tier 1. I jumped around a lot. 


Level 1: Book of the Month Club: -Complete-

1.) Read a book obtained from Kindle Unlimited, Audible, Amazon First Reads, Paperback Swap, or the Library Spellbreaker by Charlie N. Holmberg

2.) Read a book under 400 pages, The Palace of Lost Memories by C.J. Archer

3.) Reread a book that makes you happy Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers (Link to original review, did not do a secondary review on it)

4.) Read a stand-alone novel (not in a series), The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

5.) Read a book that starts with the letter D Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce

6.) Read a book that was recommended to you
The Passage by Justin Cronin

7.) Read a book with the color white on the cover, A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

8.) Read a book where the main character is a High School or College StudentA Dream so Dark by L.L. McKinney

9.) Read a book by an author named Michael/Mike/Michelle or variant, The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

10.) Read a book that's been turned into a TV series or a Movie, The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

11.) Read a book with exactly two words in the title Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

12.) Free Space! Pick any book! Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (Combined review with An Offer from a Gentleman)

Level 2: Casual Reader Club: -3 away from being completed-

13.) A book from https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com

14.) Read a Murder Mystery,  Murder in Ratcliffe by Emily Organ

15.) Read the first book in a series you've wanted to start, Everlost by Neal Schusterman

16.) Read a book that has a person on the cover Everwild by Neal Shusterman (Review combined with the review for Everfound)

17.) Read a book where the main character's occupation is a chef or baker

18.) Read a book by an author born in the 20th Century (1901-2000), An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

19.) Read a book with a form of royalty in the title (Queen, King, Prince, Princess, etc.) The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

20.) Read a book you meant to read on last year's challenge,
 The Fever Code by James Dashner


21.) Read a book by Barbara Cartland
 
22.) Read a book that takes place in Spring  Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers (Link to original review in 2015. Did not update)

23.) Read a book with the word Human/Person/People in the title, The Legacy Human by Susan Kaye Quinn

24.) Free space! Pick any book! The Deep by Alma Katsu

Level 3: Dedicated Reader Club: -2 away from being completed-


25.) Read a book by a Self Published author Haunting Charlie by Wendy Wang

26.) Read a book for under $5Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas 

27. Read a book from https://time.com/collection/100-best-fantasy-books/

28.) Read a book published in the 2010s The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

29.) Read a book from your favorite genre Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon

30.) Read a book that has had at least three different covers, The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

31.) Read a book that takes place in Europe, An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn (Combined review with Romancing Mister Bridgerton)

32.) Read a book by an author with the same first name as one of your grandparents, When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O'Neal

33.) Read a book where the main character is a magic-user The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

34.) Read a book with a time of day in the title (Morning, Noon, Evening, Dusk, Dawn, etc.)

35.) Read a book by an author of a different ethnicity than you, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

36.) Free Space! Pick any book! The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

Level 4: Speed Reader Club: - 3 away from being completed-

37.) Read the next book in a series you've started, Everfound by Neal Shusterman (Combined review with Everwild)

38.) Read a book with an orange cover Circe by Madeline Miller

39.) Read a book over 600 pages, The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks

40.) Read a book that uses the "Chosen One" trope, The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan

41.) Read a book where the main character is elderly, The Haunting of Leigh Harker by Darcy Coates

42.) Read a book with the letter V in the title or author's name Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

43.) Read a Science Fiction

44.) Read a book that starts with the letter P

45.) Read a book with a bird on the cover

46.) Read a book (fiction or nonfiction) about a lady on this list: https://www.historyextra.com/100-women/100-women-results/, The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George

47.) Read a book with the main character of a different ethnicity than you, The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

48.) Free space! Pick any book! Quest by Angie Sage (No Review)

Level 5: Overachiever Club: - 6 away from completion-

49.) Read a book with an interesting cover font, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon

50.) Read a book about orphans

51.) Read a book with the word "wind" in the title

52.) Read a book by John Irving

53.) Read a book that was published with you were eleven Georgiana: The Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman

54.) Read a book that takes place in the 1960s

55.) Read a book (fiction or nonfiction) about a topic that's always interested you but you haven't read about it yet  Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris

56.) Read a nonfiction book that teaches you a new skill

57.) Read a book without a picture on the cover

58.) Read a book (fiction or nonfiction) involving mental illness, Burn This City to the Ground by N. Daniel

59.) Read a book that has had unfavorable reviews, but you're still curious about  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne

60.) Free space! Pick any book! Star Mother by Charlie N. Holmberg (No Review)

Overall, I feel pretty good about how I did on the challenge. I do wish I would have completed more tiers. I had a lot of books on my shelf to use for Tiers 2 and 3, just ran out of time and got busy.

How'd you do on the challenge? Feel free to let me know in the comments!

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