2021

What I Read in 2021

 

1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes — Suzanne Collins (?)

2. The Bell Jar — Sylvia Plath (?)

Only 1 and 2 were from January to May (ie. Semester 2 of 1st year)

3. Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury (?)

4. Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children (1) — Ransom Riggs (?)

5. I'll Give You the Sun — Jandy Nelson (?)

6. Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children (2) — Ransom Riggs (?)

7. Speak — Laurie Halse Anderson (?)

7.5 Nothing Could Possibly Go Wrong — Prudence Shen (?)

8. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore — Robin Sloan (7/4)

9. Tender is the Flesh — Augustina Bazterrica (?)

10. Emerald City — Jennifer Egan (7/16)

11. Red, White, and Royal Blue — Casey McQuiston (8/3?)

11.5 Princess Jellyfish — Akiko Higashimura (?)

12. The Lying Game - Ruth Ware (9/20)

13. Dark Places — Gillian Flynn (10/18)

14. Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue — Mackenzi Lee (11/13?)

15. The Story of Earth — Robert Hazen (11/25)

15.5 Madoka Magica — Gen Urobuchi (?)

16. A Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy   — Mackenzi Lee (12/4)

16.5 If The Fates Allow — Rainbow Rowell (12/8)

17. Night — Elie Wiesel (12/21)

18. The Haunting of Sunshine Girl — Paige McKenzie (12/25)

19. A Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks — Mackenzi Lee (12/28)

What I Thought

19 is a good number but I wish I'd read more than 2 books in my second semester. January to May is awhile to only read 2 books. I didn't make any goals for reading last year which I think was good because 2020 was rough. I will make a goal for next year though but it'll be achievable. 

My goal for 2021 is 20 books. 

1. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 

I enjoyed the death game part of this but the ending dragged. I read it long ago so I don't remember as well but it was good. Seeing Pres Snow formulate himself from a younger age was very interesting. Good pacing, good action, could have been shorter. 

2. The Bell Jar — Sylvia Plath (?)

I wanted to love this book. I wanted it to speak to me on a deeper level. It didn't. I liked it. It was very good and the portrayal of poor mental health was very impactful and disturbing. But it wasn't some a-ha moment. I wish it was but it wasn't. 

Only 1 and 2 were from January to May (ie. Semester 2 of 1st year)

3. Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury (?)

Classic, short, great read. 

4. Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children (1) — Ransom Riggs (?)

This book could have been shorter but I liked it. I love the creative full world created by the author. 

5. I'll Give You the Sun — Jandy Nelson (?)

I really loved this book. The split twin POV was wonderful. I loved the 3 year gap in the story and plot and everything meshed together. There were no loose ends. All the characters were well fleshed out. It was wonderful. 

6. Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children (2) — Ransom Riggs (?)

This book was ok but it was too much of the children traveling from place to place. I finished this and started number 3 but decided to stop reading because I felt like I had to drag myself through the series. The first book was good but I didn't enjoy the series very much. 

7. Speak — Laurie Halse Anderson (?)

This book was impactful and I think it should be required reading for young people. 

7.5 Nothing Could Possibly Go Wrong — Prudence Shen (?)

Cute, short, graphic novel.

8. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore — Robin Sloan (7/4)

I really loved this book. It was atmospheric with SF and each of the characters was fleshed out. I loved the mystery and the bookstore and while Kat was a dream girl, she still had passion and interest and she seemed real. The locations were beautiful and the meshing of technology and print/books was wonderful. Loved it!

9. Tender is the Flesh — Augustina Bazterrica (?)

This was disturbing but incredible. I don't even know what to say. The different aspects of this fictional world were well thought out. 

10. Emerald City — Jennifer Egan (7/16)

This collection of short stories was adequate but not exceptional. I felt like Egan kept things under the surface which could be interpreted in many ways. She wanted to be Hemmingway-esque but could have benefited from more specific takeaways. It wasn't A Visit from the Goon Squad but I suppose it was fine. Some of the stories were standouts, the rest blended together. Too many stories of similar middle-aged women. One thing Egan really excels at is time and place. She choses lots of different locations and describes them vividly. This book was like going on a mini vacation in a way.

11. Red, White, and Royal Blue — Casey McQuiston (8/3?)

This novel is overhyped. I think that the protagonist (Alex?) is pretty annoying and the relationship is purely sexual at the start. The book is fine but it isn't that good and it was so overhyped. The prince character has very little personality and flaw and the main character is also somewhat lacking in personality. I appreciate the representation and at least it's not poorly written. It is overall fine. 

11.5 Princess Jellyfish — Akiko Higashimura (?)

This was a manga and I really enjoyed it!

12. The Lying Game - Ruth Ware (9/20)

The twist wasn't that shocking which isn't ideal for a thriller but I really enjoyed this. The atmosphere is spot on. It takes place in this misty English seaside town with the small community. The four main characters were all complex, individually characterized and well written. The complexities of their relationship was very interesting. I really enjoyed that. I appreciated seeing them as young people and then again as adults. There was a good range of women and good representation. I enjoyed it. 

13. Dark Places — Gillian Flynn (10/18)

This book is wonderful. It does what every good thriller should; it builds slowly. All the characters, all the twists, it was so completely disturbing. The split POV was great. Just great. 

14. Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue — Mackenzi Lee (11/13?)

I LOVE this book and this series. The writing, characters, adventure, representation, combo of humor and drama, happiness and sadness, it is all on spot. There is so much character growth. I love this book. I love this series. I love these characters. I love Monty and Percy and I love Monty's inner world so much. 

15. The Story of Earth — Robert Hazen (11/25)

I read this book for school but I enjoyed it. Too geology based but I did learn a lot and Hazen laid things out in a very clear way for someone who knows nothing of chemistry and physics. I wish he went more in depth about the things I personally am most interested in but of course that's what we feel when we read these things. He also misrepresented some things like attributing discoveries to men not women and things like that. 

15.5 Madoka Magica — Gen Urobuchi (?)

Manga. Ok but a little confusing since I just read the first one. 

16. A Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy   — Mackenzi Lee (12/4)

I loved it! I loved Johanna's character so much. I felt seen. She is a woman doused in pink who also is fascinated by ecology and botany and all the things I love. She is looked down on by everyone for her choice to be so very girl while still being a scientist. I love her and I love this book and I love it all! I loved the moral questions it brought up. I love love love. 

16.5 If The Fates Allow — Rainbow Rowell (12/8)

This was a short. It was fine. The characters weren't so fleshed out but it was fine. 

17. Night — Elie Wiesel (12/21)

This is about the Holocaust. It was very hard to read but I'm glad I did. 

18. The Haunting of Sunshine Girl — Paige McKenzie (12/25)

This book is awful! Just terrible! Yes I read and finished it, mostly to make fun of it. Sunshine is such a 'not like other girls' like she literally says it all the time. Nolan is nice I guess. The plot is contrived and barely there and every time there is a ghost, Sunshine says something like 'Jeezus Beezus' or 'Holy jamoly!' The girl never even says Oh my god or god forbid a curse word. There are like 4 characters and so little plot my god. I read it to hate on it so I'm not mad in the slightest I had a great time laughing at it. The author wrote it when she was like 16 so it's ok, she'll laugh at it later in life. 

19. A Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks — Mackenzi Lee (12/28) 

I love this series so much I'm gushing. I loved seeing where these characters, all these characters, ended up 20 years later. I loved Adrian as the third sibling and the trios dynamic was lovely. I love the relationship between Adrian and his fiance. His fiance, Louisa, was a strong new character. I loved Felicity and Monty's relationship and seeing them as siblings now. I love Lee's writing style. I loved it all. The stakes always feel high enough with these stories. I love them so much. The depiction of Adrian's mental health was impactful. I loved the author's note at the end. It almost made me cry. I've found a new series that I love and I feel so lucky to have stumbled upon it by accident. 

This has been a... year. It has been better than 2020 I think but it's still just rough. I'm trying. I've been trying. It's ok though. Things are ok because they have to be! Let's hope that things just get better and better.