In the past few months, I’ve been getting more and more inspired to write posts about books. I’ve been loving watching Youtubers’ and Instagramers’ reading updates, book recommendations, and sharing in their love of books. So, I thought I would do the same! I have always loved to read and I love data, so I thought why not? (Click here if you would like to skip the preamble and go right to the reading summary.)
In 2021, I didn’t read as much as I normally do, but that’s okay! I was working and going to grad school, so that didn’t leave much time. I also switched from Good Reads to The StoryGraph in the past couple of years (sometime in 2020, I think?) and have been loving it!
I also want to make sure that I point out that it doesn’t actually matter how much you read or how you read it. Audiobooks, physical copies, e-books all count! Reading, to me, is about enjoying the story or learning something new; however, you or I go about that is fantastic! Again, it’s not about how much you read, but rather that you are enjoying it and getting out of it what you are hoping to.
With all of that said, let’s dive into my 2021 reading summary!
The StoryGraph provides its users with some very cool data and charts. I’m not sure that I’ve shared this on my blog before, but I am a huge fan of data, spreadsheets, pie charts, bar charts, all of it. I got a degree in math, so that might have something to do with it. The StoryGraph provides an end-of-the-year summary for you, which is what we’ll be walking through together.
Overview of the Year
I’ve always had a goal of reading 50 books in the year. At the start of 2021, that was no different. However, it quickly became apparent that I needed to adjust my goal due to work and grad school. I then adjusted my goal down to 30 books. Around the end of the year, I started reading the Stormlight Archives series by Brandon Sanderson. So, I decided to create a pages goal instead of a books goal, since the books I read at the end of the year were so much longer. For me, a reading goal is used as a way to encourage myself to read. Therefore, I’m 100% okay with shifting my goal around as needed.
This is one of my favorite charts that The StoryGraph makes! I feel like this is a great insight into my year. I started my internship in January and submitted a big assignment for grad school in March, and it’s interesting to see how my reading increased in the month after that. I was still in classes and working, but my workload in April and May was less than it had been. Also, in August my dissertation was due (and I finished grad school!) and I started a new job in September. It’s interesting to see how my reading decreased at the beginning of the fall. This is probably due to the fact that I was very tired and worn out from the past few months. It’s also very cool to see my reading pick up again as I got settled in my job and had time off in November and December for the holidays.
Moods, Pace, and Length
These charts just confirmed what I already knew about myself. I tend to flip between wanting to read lighthearted books and ones that are a bit darker. I am a mood reader through and through. I just read whatever book sounds good at the time. This often means that once I’ve read a darker book I’m ready for a lighthearted one again and vice versa. My top three moods: adventurous, light-hearted, and dark. My three least read moods: relaxing, informative, challenging.
The pace chart makes total sense to me. I love to be completely engrossed in the books I read. So, I much prefer books that are fast or medium-paced. As a lover of fantasy and science-fiction, it comes as no surprise to me that most books that I read are over 300 pages. I love to be part of a story for a while (also why I love reading series). It might be worth looking into shorter books though, I’m sure I’m missing many great stories!
Genres
As you can see from the chart, romance was my most read genre this year. This is a newer development. I used to rarely read romance, however, as I’ve gotten older and busier, I think that the more lighthearted, face-paced reads of romances have started to appeal to me more.
Though, it’s no surprise to me that fantasy is my second most-read genre. I love fantasy and it’s been my favorite genre since I was a kid. I would have expected science-fiction to be a bit higher, but I’m not surprised that young adult, contemporary, and LGBTQIA+ were higher. Those books overlapped with both the fantasy and romance books I read in 2021.
I don’t read a lot of non-fiction. When I do, it’s usually a biography or for work/school. I am someone who reads for escapism.
The Books I Read in 2021
My top five favorite reads this year were: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson, The Flatshare by Bethany O’Leary, and Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
Finally, here are all the books I read in 2021 in order from left to right, top to bottom:
As much science and math fitted into “Project Hail Mary”, it’s almost non-fiction at times. Nice reading list! Read on!
So true! The research that went into it was great!
congrats on graduating! did you also go to grad school for math or something else?
Thank you! I got a masters in education
Andy Weir is on my list – he’s a great writer but I’ll also consider the others as recommended. Good to see you Acire 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
My list of books is oh so much shorter. Your list is amazing. A lot of my reading is in journals that are non-fiction. I try to read at least 1/2 hr each morning after the newspaper. That doesn’t count the reading/study time for writing tasks I do weekly in my part-time pastorate.
Setting aside time in the morning sounds like a great idea! I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, and would love to read a lot more!