2021 was a slow reading year. At some point mid year, I just stopped reading. I was really anxious about getting paid to write about books and that anxiety came through in just…not reading at all. Anyway, here’s what I managed to read this year. Some of them are too short to really be “books” but for the purposes of Goodreads where I track my reading, they are.
I tend not to rate a book unless it’s a 4 or 5-star rating. Not rating books at all is probably worse than rating it a 3 star but this is just what I do. I tend not to finish books that I feel like are less than 3- star because life is short and there are so many book choices and reading is (mostly) a personal pursuit, so why not enjoy it?
I discovered Talia Hibbert either in 2020 or 2019 but in 2021, I read a lot of her back catalogue. She writes mostly interracial romance with sex scenes that are at the edge of commercially published books.
Milk Fed was unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s fundamentally about mistaking obsession and infatuation for love even though the blurb won’t say that.
I found open water so lyrical and beautiful but when we read it in a book club, most people didn’t like it. It’s a book that’s written very inwards, with a lot of thoughts and feelings of the protagonist more than outward with plenty of action and dialogue. I’d say, like I advise for all books you want to read, download a sample- amazon and iTunes (where I buy 90 percent of my books) let you download samples of most (or all) books. The sample length differs but there’s generally enough to get a feel of the book. If you prefer physical books or don’t shop on those stores, you can still download samples there and decide what to buy. Very rarely do I buy books without first reading a sample unless I already trust (or want to support) the author.
I finally read Atomic Habits and can I say something that will no doubt lead to judgment? He sounded a lot like me. In fact, I believe that one of the reasons I read it was because someone messaged me to tell me that, but a lot of the habit formation tools and principles are ones I’ve talked about a lot- but he had the number one bestselling book on amazon (across all categories) in 2021- so it’s safe to say, me and him are not the same.
Finlay Donovan is killing it was such a fun read- completely different to what I would normally read but the writing was fast and compelling and the plot was oh so ridiculous- but in a good way. Basically, a babe is talking to her agent about a book idea and someone thinks she’s a hitman and pays her to kill someone.
The Split was kind of different to what I expected- it was kind of accidentally finding yourself in the process of trying to win back the person who dumped you.
I really loved so many of the books in this but she drives me crazy was a five star read for me because it really did a good job at exploring so many hard feelings, such as how difficult it can be to let go of an old relationship even if you’ve moved on from it.
Seven Days in June is a plot that I enjoyed because it’s something I’ve been into all year- ex romantic partners finding their way back to each other after they’ve had time to grow apart.
Made in Korea is a cute YA love story about two teens competing in Korean skincare businesses at school.
Just last night is about what happens when you’ve loved your best friend for years and are finally ready to confront that
Excuse me while I ugly cry is about a babe who is blackmailed to face her fears by facing the fears on her list of worst fears
Where the rhythm takes you is set in Tobago where Reyna chose to stay when her boyfriend moved to the US. Now he’s back as a famous international superstar and they have to confront the things they never faced up to.
The mismatch was great because while the premise was a popular one-two people in love who can’t seem to make a relationship work- the way it delved into it was unique. It also explored how our parents, childhoods and demons affect how we come to love and relationships as adults.
I’ve read all of Chibundu’s work but Sankofa is definitely my favourite of hers. It’s about a biracial woman that seeks to find and know her dad- An African dictator after finding her mum’s old journal.
I haven’t watched Manifest (well, I’ve watched one episode) but I imagine that the plot of your life has been delayed is very much like Manifest. Manifest, I believe, has a plane landing and 5 years have passed- in this book, 25 years have passed so that makes the plot kind of different.
In 2022, I have no reading goals whatsoever. For the first time ever, I also don’t have an extensive TBR list. I find that I’m always excited to read what’s new and I still have a lot of books that were new when I got them but are now “old” that I want to catch up on. I also find that I’m a bit tired of trope romance (my definition for romance that follows the standard format - people meet, people fall in love, people have a minor obstacle which they overcome to be happy together forever. While I’ve enjoyed many a trope romance in my life, I just enjoy more stories that take those stories and go a little bit deeper. What happens if you’re in love and your demons stop you from being able to have a healthy relationship? what if you’re in love but it’s with someone you shouldn’t be in love? what if yoi’re in love but it’s too scary? What happens if you’re in love but you’re bad at communication? or you have an opportunity you can’t refuse? Love isn’t some magical elixir that replaces every other thing in life and while I understand the comfort in those stories- a lot of it reads like fantasy to me- a genre I’m simply not into.
Here’s to discovering new characters and stories in 2022.