I think everyone can agree that 2021 was a weird year. In 2021, I read 165 books more or less. That number is, well, it’s a number. Is it accurate? Not exactly.

Let me explain.

On New Years Day 2021, I binged The Bridgertons on Netflix. When I realized it was adapted from a book, I immediately went to find it. So I started off the year reading Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series. I wrote about my journey of reading Happily Ever Afters (HEAs) so I won’t rehash it here. Needless to say, I found HEAs to be a much-needed respite in a time of uncertainty.

Eventually, I made it through several romance series and a few other books but then fell into a bit of a slump. So I started rereading one of my favorite fantasy series, The Belgariad by David Eddings. Actually, I listened to it. I love these books and since adapting to audiobooks, I purchased the audio version. I found it to be a new experience to listen to it on audio.

The rest of the year was a mixture of new reads and rereads, including my annual October rereads of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book.

As the year went on, I found that I re-reread books, including several I read for the first time this year. I didn’t keep track of every reread, which is why the 165 number is not exactly accurate. But 165 does include all the new books I read this year and at least some of the rereads.

And I also found that my reading was inconsistent. Some months I read a lot, some months I read only a couple, some months were full of rereads. So instead of doing a fave book of each month, I opted to pick my overall favorite 12 new reads of 2021.

In no particular order (you can easily view all of these on my Bookshop* Top 12 Books of 2021 shelf):

• Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant
• The God of Lost Words, Book 3 of the Hell’s Library Trilogy by A.J. Hackwith
• The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
• A Good Day for Chardonnay, Book 2 of the Sunsine Vicram series by Darynda Jones
• Every Body Yoga by Jessamyn Stanley
• The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
• Kitchen Table Tarot by Melissa Cynova
• Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson
• Under The Whispering Door by TJ Klune
• Talk Bookish To Me by Kate Bromley
• Devil’s Daughter, Book 5 of the Ravenels series by Lisa Kleypas
• Wild Sign, Book 6 of the Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs

If I had to pick a favorite fave, I don’t know if I could. T.J. Klune’s Under the Whispering Door brought all the feels with a story about tea and life and hope. Broken reassures us we are not alone and all awesome in our own way. The Happy Ever After Playlist took a music playlist and made a beautiful story of finding new love. The God of Lost Words is a tribute to the love of words and stories. Every Body Yoga shows that yoga really is for everyone.

How could I ever choose just one favorite? I enjoyed each and every one for different reasons. And isn’t that one of the best things about reading? That is certainly why I love reading a variety of genres.

Did you read any of these books? What were your favorite books of 2021?

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