2021 Reading Wrap-up

So, that was a year. Honestly, Reading is one of my top three things this year. All total, I managed 362 books this year. So many great books, both long and short. My longest book, according to Goodreads, was Lords of the Underworld collection 3 by Gina Showalter, with 1,340 pages. My shortest was a short from one of the series I was reading called Whybourne and Griffin, titled Fiction Isn't for Felines. My plan this year is to shoot for 200 books. We'll see if I get quite so high as last year, but my numbers definitely dropped after I got my new position at work last year, so I don't think I'll manage another 300 book year. We shall see.

My top book of the year was a close call, but I ended up going with Crooked Kingdom, the second in the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo. Though we have been told that there is a sequel coming, which I am very much looking forward to. Though this is the second of the duology, I enjoy it more than the first, though it's a close call. There's a lot to love in this book, including a spoiler I won't give up here, but I have to say my favorite pairing of the duology is Jesper and Wyland. I absolutely adore them, and I can't wait to see Wyland in the Shadow and Bone series when they finally add him, because I know he'll be a great addition.

My top ten genres of the year, in descending order:

1. Romance (281 books)
2. Fantasy (184 books - though this was divided with Urban Fantasy halfway through the year, so that changed some things)
3. Historical (107 books)
4. Supernatural (84 books)
5. Myth & Folklore (67 books)
6. Dystopia (57 books)
7. Sci Fi (45 books)
8. Mystery (45 books - more than I expected. Didn't help that I found an author that drew me in who did lots of mystery, though he wasn't the only one)
9. Contemporary (35 books - this is another that only got adopted halfway through the year, so it probably would have been a lot higher. We shall see how this year goes)
10. Steampunk (28 books - I definitely want to push this higher this year if I can)

Most read Authors of the year, again in descending order:

1. Jordan L Hawk (27 books - at least 3 different series here, but more, I think... Definitely a favorite author.)
2. JR Ward (19 books - all Black Dagger Brotherhood related. Wow.)
3. Josh Lanyon (12 books -  the Mystery author from above. Definitely a good writer, as Mystery is not my big favorite without something else to sell it to me.)
4. Sarah J Maas (11 books - Mostly one series, but a few others. I definitely have a preference of her series, but I'm looking forward to more.)
5. Anne Bishop (10 books - two separate series, but mostly Black Jewels. I'm caught up on both Black Jewels and Others now, and looking forward to more.)
6. Leigh Bardugo (10 books - nearly all Shadow & Bone aka Grishaverse series here. Definitely enjoying her Grishaverse)
7. Naomi Novik (9 books - a big mix here of her Tremiare series, but also a lot of her new stuff, singles as well as series. Looking forward to more of her Scholomancy series.)
8. Laurel K Hamilton (8 books - all Anita Blake)
9. Anne Rice (8 books - rereads of the Vampire Chronicles, but also finishing the Mayfair Witches, and a final sequel to the Beauty series. Mixed feelings about her passing this year. She had a great deal of talent, but at the same time, was very hard on her fans. It's hard to love a writer who does such damage to their fanbase. *gives a certain other too-well-known female author the side-eye*)
10. Tie:
1. Aiden Bates & Jill Haven (6 books - a few different series here, cute, if not great writing, definitely enough to keep drawing me in.)
2. Seanan McGuire (6 books - the entirety of the currently existing Wayward Children series, which I adore.)

So my big goal for 2021 was to finish at least some of the series I'd started. I probably started and finished more than I just finished, but I'm still very happy with how many series I finished for the year. According to my count, I finished 50 series. Not quite one a week, but not bad at all, really. The amount of books that covers is 192, though many of those were read before last year. I've included a few prequels or sequels for otherwise finished series in this list, too. I'll be curious to see what this ends up being like next year. Favorite series finished this year is probably the Grishaverse.

My reading for the coming year, I have decided to keep it loose and easy. Each time I choose a new book, I have a little board filled with prompts to help me figure out what to pick next. I'll definitely let you know how that goes. 

I have also decided to use a few prompts to see if I can expand my reading a little,  using challenges from Storygraph, which I am quite enjoying using, though I still use Goodreads as well. My current challenges are the A to Z challenge for both books and authors, an older books challenge of at least one per year until 2000, then one per decade through the 1900s, and one per century before that, though I doubt I'll get to much of those. I also am trying a sort of round the world challenge, and seeing how many US States, Canadian Provinces, and Countries of the world my stories are set in. Wish me luck!

So what are you planning to read this year?