A Summary of my 2021 Reading

With another year of reading and blogging under my belt, I’ve come to the realization that writing out the entire list of books I read each year is a waste of time. And because time is something I have less and less of these days, I figured it made more sense to use this end-of-year summary to do something more worthwhile – talking about the highlights, the lowlights, and what I learned. I’ve included a few of the same stats from years past, but some new ones as well. Although I don’t typically set reading goals other than a vague number on goodreads, it doesn’t hurt to analyze what I tend to read more of in an effort to expand my bookish horizons.

The picture above is my current TBR pile: books that publishers have sent me for review that I have not yet read. I generally put them on the shelf in the order I get them. Many are books I’ve specifically requested after looking at catalogues or sifting through pitches, but some are just randomly sent to me. Because I have the luxury of choosing and requesting books that I want to read, I take some responsibility in the diversity of who and what I read, which is why I’m making more of an effort to track these statistics. If you can think of anything else I should start tracking, let me know in the comments!

Total Number of Books Read in 2021: 109

Total Number of Pages Read in 2021: 31,138 (according to Goodreads)

Number of Books Written by a BIPOC Author (Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour): 18 / 109 (Yikes this is low!!!!)

Number of Books Written by Canadian Writers: 48/109

Number of Books Written by Indigenous Writers: 4/109

My Favourite Book of the Year: Speak, Silence by Kim Echlin

The Book I Recommended Most: The Prairie Chicken Dance Tour by Dawn Dumont

Most Popular 2021 Review posted: Animal by Lisa Taddeo

The Book I Rated the Lowest: Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket

I’m proud of the number of books I was able to read this year despite the other demands on my time (my two young children, my full-time job, and my contract with the CBC to name a few) so needless to say – things are busy! But I’ve discovered a secret weapon, and that is getting up at 5am before anyone else in my house is awake. It’s amazing what you can get done in the wee hours of the morning, and the best part is I never have trouble falling asleep at night. I turn out the lights by 9:30pm and I sleep like a baby, excited to wake up and drink tea and read books in silence. This no doubt sounds like a nightmare to some and a dream come true to others but it’s currently my reality and I’m grateful for it.

Speaking of being grateful, it’s the one side effect that remains consistent across my reading; reading people’s stories, both real and fictional is a constant reminder of how much I have to be grateful for in my life. That being said my the work is never done, and I clearly need to seek out more BIPOC writers when shaping this year’s reading list, which will be my bookish goal for 2022.

I’d also like to give a public shout-out to my new reading companion Makita, who is always happy to join me in my 5am reading sessions. She refuses to open her eyes fully at that time of the morning, but I appreciate the warm purring body all the same.