I love year-end reviews, the reflection on what worked and what didn’t, what was a highlight and what you wish you could forget. I’m also a sucker for all of the “best of” lists that are published around the new year. Top movies, top hits, top moments, and of course, top books.
It’s even more fun to reflect on your own personal reading year. What books were your favorites? What do you want to do differently in the coming year? And of course, set a goal or theme for your reading year.
Reflection
Outside of the general craziness of the world, 2021 was a great year for reading – to escape what was happening on the news, to imagine a safer world, to get lost in a previous time period – one where you know how it ends!
I read 142 books last year, blowing past my Goodreads goal of 125! This is my best reading year since middle school. I think it was due to my intentional efforts to read more, keeping a book with me at all times whether it was a physical copy, my Kindle, or an audiobook. I’m happy with this number but for 2022, I’m bringing my goal back down to 100. I read a little compulsively this year, taking away from family time, and I found it was difficult to read a lot while writing. As I hope to write book #2 this year, I think it’s best to set my expectations a little lower.
Thanks to my handy dandy book tracker from the Currently Reading podcast (join as a patron and you’ll get it!), I know the breakdown of my books:
General Stats:
- 142 books
- 2 DNFs (did not finish)
- 47,645 pages read
- 71% physical books, 31% digital, 1% audio (I had a few books in multiple formats)
- 75% fiction, 25% nonfiction
- 80% books for adults, 16% for middle grade, 4% for YA
- 40% of my books were purchased in 2021, 38% were from the library, and 12% were from my TBR (rest came as review copies or Kindle Unlimited)
- Book genre breakdown:
- Historical Fiction: 61
- Historical Nonfiction: 15
- Romance: 38 (including historical)
- General fiction: 13
- Classics: 6
- Memoirs: 5
- Parenting: 2
- Travel/Food: 1
- Thrillers: 1
I’ve really honed in on the types of books I love (historical fiction and nonfiction) but this year, I did break out of my comfort zone and tried historical romance and mysteries, literary fiction, and contemporary romance. I found books that I loved in all of these categories.
With 27 five star books and 52 four and a half star books, I read too many good books to list in a year-end review. I’ve broken my genres down into moods or sub-genres to help you find your next five star read. Here are some of my favorites! A reminder, these aren’t all 2021 releases, just books I read in 2021.
All books are Amazon affiliate links. You can also visit my Bookshop.org shop, where your purchases help independent bookstores and creators.
Favorite Historical Fiction
Favorite Author who never disappoints:
Susan Meissner – I’ve read seven of her books!
The Nature of Fragile Things (2021 release)
Favorite Books about a Specific Time Period:
American Revolution: Answering Liberty’s Call
Post-Civil War: Where the Lost Wander
Early 20th Century: Wild Women and the Blues
World War I: Last Christmas in Paris
Cold War: Our Woman in Moscow & A Woman of Intelligence
Favorite Books about World War II:
Italy:
Under the Light of the Italian Moon
France:
England:
Germany:
Superlatives:
Favorite multi-generational history: Haven Point
Favorite dual timeline: The Lost Apothecary
Favorite multi-year history: The Women of Chateau Lafayette
Favorite love story: Love, Theodosia
Favorite feel-good book: Once Upon a Wardrobe
Favorite book with a history unknown to me: The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba
Favorite book not set in America or Europe: Sparks Like Stars
Favorite book set in my home state of North Carolina: The Outer Banks House
Favorite Series:
Outlander – Books 1-5
Favorite Historical Romance:
A League of Extraordinary Women series:
Favorite Historical Mystery:
Maisie Dobbs series
Favorite Classics:
Emily of New Moon series
Favorite Young Adult:
The Light in Hidden Places
Favorite Middle Grade:
Favorite Picture Book:
Favorite General Fiction/Literary Fiction:
Book that is now in my top ten books of all time: The Midnight Library
Favorite book about parenting: Landslide
Favorite family drama: Apples Never Fall
Favorite time travel: Oona Out of Order
Favorite book about the writing life: Writers & Lovers
Favorite Travel:
2022 goals
Looking ahead at 2022, I want to make a few tweaks in my reading. I have two vacations to England planned so I want my reading to reflect this. There’s nothing better to me than to read a book about a destination and then go there, walking in the character’s shoes. I’m going to center most of my books around England and Scotland, both historical and nonhistorical books, at least until July.
It shouldn’t be too hard for me to do this since I already read a lot of books about England, particularly in World War II. And with my recent discovery of Outlander, Scotland has become a renewed interest in my reading. I can’t wait to dig into even more books about its history!
My plans also include some classics from Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen, Bronte, and more. We plan to spend at least one night in Stratford so I can’t wait to introduce my kids to Shakespeare’s birthplace. I’ve already downloaded Romeo and Juliet to my Kindle for January!
After our trip, I’d like to get back to reading Civil War fiction, which was sorely missing this past year as I was finishing my own novel about the war. I’ve been on a reading hiatus from any fiction set during the Civil War while writing and revising but as I’m getting closer to being done, I hope to add this missing piece back into my reading life.
Comment below with your favorite books about England and Scotland or your favorite classic I should add to my TBR!
Happy reading in 2022!
Wow…Jada…Amazing! I love that you share your love of reading. I have been reading some of the books you love and I make a list of what to read next.
Thank you!! Glad you are enjoying the lists!!
I think we have a lot of similar tastes in historical fiction, so you have probably read some of these already, but here are a few: The Summer Before the War, The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir, and The Last Garden in England, and The Firebird. Also, The Jane Austen Society — I read this after getting to visit Miss Austen’s home in 2019 so that was a special treat. For something not historical, Second Thyme Around (Katie Fforde) – contemporary romance with a sweet sense of English village life. Happy reading!
Thanks so much! Several of these are on my TBR or I have read. Will be adding the others to my list.
This list is incredible! I am such a historical fiction addict I am so thrilled I found your site. Thank you! It was actually a slower reading year for me, but I was able to find a book I absolutely loved by author Lise Arin called “Matilda Empress” (if you want to check it out here is the author’s website – https://www.lisearin.com/. This book is based on actual events from medieval times and it’s obvious the author has done her homework. Matilda, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire is someone I didn’t really know anything about. Come to find out she’s a strong and incredible woman who had her empire stolen from her by her cousin and what resulted was a 20-year civil war. Not only that, but they were also having a tumultuous love affair which results in a baby boy, the new rightful heir to the throne. It has drama, and suspense, and is beautifully written. I was telling my friend it’s like a mix of Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones, lol. If you check it out, I would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks again for this list. I’ve got a lot of reading to do!
Thank you for the kind words and the recommendation! I’ll have to check out the book!