The end of 2021 means book lists.
I always enjoy them, because it means I get to find books I may have missed, and I get to make my own, with all the books I encounter and enjoy. My Goodreads account says I read 38 books. (In 2020, I read 31 books.) But it appears I read less YA this year than ever before. YA is trending downward? Oh no, because I generally enjoy a good YA. Next year will be very different.
Otherwise, in no particular order, here is the list of my most rewarding books of 2021.
A List of Most Rewarding Fantasy Books You don’t want to miss
Fascinated me Epic Fantasy: the Witcher series by Andrew Sapkowski
Romance me as fast as possible: the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn
Take your time Sci Fi: The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu
Best Loved them, then Hated them, then Loved them character: Sophon from Death’s End by Cixin Lou
Most adventurous and resourceful protagonist: Ropa in The Library of the Dead by T L Huchu
Most charming charmer (and why didn’t I read this sooner?) Kvothe from The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Best vampire warriors: Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews
Best parents: Sunshine from Darynda Jones’ Bad Day for Sunshine
Most fascinating magic: in Akata Witch by Nnedi Okarafor
Most expected and unexpected transformations, literally: Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde
Most triumphant unexpected transformation, also literal: Yeine from The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
Honorable mentions:
Unexpected Fairy Tale Retelling: the Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
The one book I really want to read and checked out four times, but haven’t finished because I get distracted: Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows
Another book series I finally finally picked up: Tui Sutherland’s Wings of Fire
Reading Goals for 2022
More YA
Next year, the plan is to catch up on my YA, all the books I’ve missed. So, if you have any recommendations, please let me know in the comments. I just started Tui Sutherland’s Winds of Fire. The first book was an amazing start to the adventures of colorful Dragons, and I must, absolutely must, read more of these. This may be related to a book I’m writing, just fyi.
More indie authors!
I’m seeing a lot of my reading is big publishers, from lists other people have made or book series that Netflix is making into a TV series (which means I have to read them first. I like knowing ahead of time what a story is about, before all the TV-only people.) Anyway, I’m a self-published indie author who needs to work on her marketing skills, and I’m a fast reader, so why don’t I put this skill to good use and read other indies. I think that I will do better this yet.
About My Rating System
I have many opinions about Goodreads and their stats, but for the most part I love using it to track my reading.
I use a two-system rating on my Goodreads account, which you can find here.
A 5-star means it’s a must-read, and a 4-star is highly recommended. Anything else I read that doesn’t fit within my bookshelves, I leave off. That means my account is curated. It’s the best of everything I encountered that year. I tend to rate books highly that have inspired me, but especially if I enjoyed the experience. For instance, I found reading all seven Bridgerton books in a few short months very exciting.
There was a long, long waiting list at the library, and I refused to buy them, so I put them all on hold.
That means I had no idea which part of the series I’d read next. I ended up reading them all out of order and gobbling them up as soon as I got a notification. Whether they’re any good or not is another topic we can debate, if you’d like.