2021 Reading Begins!

My goal in 2020 was to read 100 books - which was my annual goal prior to going back to work.  I made it, by the skin of my teeth, and enjoyed quite the journey along the way.  Since I didn't do an end of year look back for 2020, I thought I'd share my usual book thoughts here instead.  

Best books I read in 2020: 

1. The Invisible Life of Adie LaRue, V.C. Schwab (the absolute best of the year!)
2. The Book of Delights, Ross Gay
3. The Blood of Stars Duology, Elizabeth Lim
4. Seveneves, Neal Stephenson
5. The Nine Realms Series - 4 books, Sarah Kazloff
6. How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse, K. Eason
7. The Murderbot books, Martha Wells
8. The Mere Wife, Maria Dahvana Headley
9. The Empire of Gold, S.A. Chakrabordy
10. The Once and Future Witches, Alix E. Harrow
11. Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything, Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

Yeah, I know I cheated a little bit by putting whole series in here and having a weird number in the list.  But who cares!  My blog, my rules!

Lessons learned:

1. Life is too short for books that you don't enjoy.  To be fair, this is something I'd come to a long, long time ago....but 2020 made it super easy to set aside any books that just weren't my cup of tea and/or weren't right for the moment. It also made it easier to walk away from authors who I generally love, but who had disappointed me one too many times.  
2. When life is tough, you just need someone to tell you a story. The longer the pandemic went on, the more my needs reduced to a simple craving for a story.
3. Audiobooks are a gift from Heaven.
4. 100 books is a bit of a stretch while also working full time, raising teenagers, and trying to enjoy other pursuits.  In my perfect world, I'm still reading 10 books/month...but the reality is that I need to let go of that for the time being.  

Goals for 2021:

1. Continue to work through my queue, reducing the number of to-read books to at least half of its current level - which stands at 47, not including preorders.  Note:  This does not actually cover all of the books on my wish list, just those that I've already purchased.  Also note, this list has been built up over years, so it's not just a bunch of books I bought last week.
2. There are a lot of books in my queue that are first books in a series...and I've never quite gotten around to reading them, in part because there were so many books in the queue, and I was trying to work through them before I added more.  I want to make sure I give them all a try this year so they don't continue to just sit. 
3. Likewise, while I've read a lot of great books in recent months, they've by and large been stand-alone or new books in old, ongoing series.  I've been missing a good, old-fashioned deep dive into a trilogy or series - the type of long story that you get to sit with for a while.  
4. Finally, get through War & Peace.  

And now, let's talk about what I read in January!

1.  The Midnight Library, Matt Heig (audio) - Anther pick from the NPR 2020 Book Concierge, as well as a recommendation that was given to me by several trusted sources, this turned out to be the perfect book to start the year with.  In fact, I listened via audio from the library, and will be purchasing a hardback copy for my shelves.  That good.  I tend to get a tad nervous when reading a book that very clearly visits a well-worn trope - like that of being shown the paths not taken - but in Heig's hands it felt new and fresh.  In the end, it was a far more powerful story than I had anticipated.  (You know it's good when I get up and start pacing the house in excitement as soon as I finish!). Nora's journey through the library was exactly the right book for the right time for me - a hopeful way to start a new year after a year of intense challenges.  And it ended on just the right note.  I can't wait to revisit this book as I have a feeling it will unfold differently each time.  

2.  Across the Green Grass Fields, Seanan McGuire - McGuire did something very smart with this newest addition to her Wayward Children books.  Instead of returning to the same school and characters we've come to know and love, she instead tells the tale of an all-new character in the same world - the sort of girl who will likely end up in the school.  I'm not a horse girl at all, but I delighted in Regan and related to her more than I expected I would. Her journey was pure magic.  

3. A Rhythm of Prayer, ed. Sarah Bessey (advanced copy) - I happened to check my email just as an invitation was coming through to apply for an advanced copy for review...and I was lucky enough to receive it. This is another example of the right book for the right time, and I will be keeping a hardback copy on my desk to return to again and again.  (Kind of like my beloved copy of John O'Donohue's To Bless the Space Between Us.). This book is a book of prayers, written by many of my favorite faith leaders and more.  There are poems, and call and response pieces, and essays, and everything else.  Some I read quickly, some I had to sit with for a while.  All spoke to that thing in me that's been lacking for a while.  Thank you, Sarah.  

4. Amberlough, Lara Elena Donnelly - Getting one of those 2021 reading goals started by tackling this first book in a trilogy that's been sitting in my queue forever.  I'd picked it up and had tried to start it probably a half dozen times in the past, but had never really made it that far in.  It is a tiny bit thorny to get into because there's a fair amount of exposition....and there's so much going on that it can be a tiny bit difficult to keep the politics and spymastery straight sometimes.  But my oh my, once you let yourself fall in it is a gorgeous book.  I went straight to the next book in the trilogy, so I'll do more in-depth notes when I've completed them all. 

And that's it.  I spent a Looooooooot of time in January listening to podcasts, so that's a little bit of why the list is so short.  That, and stress.  And several unfinished books that I haven't given up on yet!