2021 Book Stats

Total Books Read: 129

Fiction- 66
Nonfiction- 61

Fiction  breakdown:

Fantasy/Sci-Fi- 16
Juvenile Fiction- 34
Young Adult- 8
Animals Fiction- 15
Classics- 1
Poetry- 1
Historical Fiction- 6
General Fiction- 9

Nonfiction breakdown:

Memoirs- 19
Gardening/Food- 10
Juvenile NonFic- 1
Nature- 9
Animals Nonfic- 29
Medical/Health- 9
Other- 6

Formats:

Short Stories- 6
Graphic Novels- 24
E-Books- 0

Sources:

Owned- 76
Borrowed from the Public Library- 52
Borrowed from a Friend- 1
Received from Publisher or Author- 2

Re-Reads- 10
Abandoned- 2

This felt like a better reading year. At least, I gave more books five stars! So many good books. They keep me sane and give me something to smile about (or even laugh) in this glum strain of living in an ongoing pandemic. Just glancing from one year to the next, my overall numbers are about the same. I read a few more books, because my ten-year-old kept putting her graphic novel choices into my hands. Enjoyed them a lot. I did use the public library more than last year, but also made some good headway into reading books off my own TBR shelves, without adding too much more to their numbers (I supported a local indie bookstore with purchases, and splurged on my birthday, but there was no friends-of-the-library sale this year, and I once again skipped my annual trip to The Book Thing).

Some places I traveled to in the pages: Japan, Europe, Mexico, Canada, Australia, the island of Malta, Singapore, Bosnia, Guinea, South Africa, Greece, Scotland and the skies of Pern! That last is a fictional planet, from a sci-fi series I really enjoyed re-reading. In fact, I did a lot more re-reading this year, which was fun and also very comforting.

Favorites:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer- beautifully written book about caring for the land and living in harmony with nature. From a Native American perspective.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell- so glad I finally read this classic. Even though I didn’t like the main character very much!

Stitches by David Small- amazing graphic memoir, but full of heartache. One that’s hard to look away from.

Animal Liberation by Peter Singer- powerful arguments about why humans should stop exploiting animals and using them for our own ends. Very thought-provoking and a surprisingly easy read.

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver- wow, what a powerful novel. Frida Kahlo’s household from the inside, but also so much more. You have to read it!

Do No Harm by Henry Marsh- brain surgery. Terrifying and fascinating at the same time.

A Cat Story by Ursula Murray Husted- just so lovely and fun. Two young cats searching for a home across an island, and visually romping through artworks. Delightful!

Spinning by Tillie Walden- another graphic novel memoir, by a woman who was into competitive figure skating. I won’t forget this one easily.

Quiet by Susan Cain- the power of introverts. There’s so much more to us than most people see.

Snapdragon by Kat Leyh- what a weird and awesome graphic novel, and so inclusive!

More titles to mention- on quirky women: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. The Cat I Never Named by Amra Sabic El-Rayess, on living through a siege in Bosnia. The Dark Swallows by Helen Griffiths- historical fiction set during the Spanish civil war. Heart and Blood: Living with Deer in America by Richard Nelson. The Salt Path by Raynor Winn- a middle-aged couple lost everything- home and health- and took a very long hike. Laughing Boy by Oliver LaFarge- even though this book about a young Navajo man had some problems, it was a really good story. And there’s more great reads here!

I hope you all had a good reading year. Here’s looking forward to another.

9 Responses

  1. I love that your daughter shares her graphic books with you. That’s so lovely.

    I’m reading Braiding Sweetgrass later this year as part of a Youtube online bookclub that reads books about nature (it will also do for a Book Bingo challenge I’m doing). Pleased to hear it’s a good book. And Pern is a wonderful place to visit!

    I want to read a few books about whales and dolphins, particularly interactions with humans. Can you recommend anything? I bought Voices in the Ocean by Susan Casey for my Kindle because it looks like the sort of thing I was looking for. Have you heard of it?

    Happy New Year, Jeane!

  2. Hi, Cath! Yes, the graphic novels were great. I like them in general, but would not have read nearly so many this year without my daughter’s insistence! I am eager to hear what you think of Braiding Sweetgrass. Such a good book.

    I don’t think I’ve read Voices in the Ocean, but it looks great so I’m adding it to my list now! Of the books I’ve read on whales and dolphins, some that stood out were: The Grandest of Lives by Douglas Chadwick, Dolphin Chronicles by Carol Howard, Dolphin Days by Kenneth Norris, Dolphin Doctor by Sam Ridgway and Death at Sea World by David Kirby- though this last can be depressing and opinionated. Quite a few of these are older titles, so I don’t know how easy they’ll be to find though. Happy reading!

    1. Braiding Sweetgrass is actually scheduled for November. I might have to read it before then. LOL This month’s book is Under the Sea Grass by Rachel Carson, an author I haven’t read before. Do you know this book? I believe she’s the author of Silent Spring and she’s a classic nature writing US author so I feel rather stupid not having heard of her.

      Thanks for all the recs for books about whales and dolphins. DElighted with those. I’ve made a note of all of them and if some are hard to find then that’ll be a nice little project for me.

      1. Yes, I’ve read quite a few Rachel Carson books- I think the one you mean is Under the Sea Wind? She did write Silent Spring, but I like her other works better, that just describe the life habits of creatures in and around the sea.

  3. You really had a good reading year…thanks to books, most of us seem to have learned to cope much better with the pandemic than we were coping at the beginning. I especially admire your near-even split between fiction and nonfiction…and I suspect that without your daughter’s contributions to your reading list that your nonfiction reading probably topped your fiction reading. I always hope to have a year when that happens for me, but I don’t think I will ever see it happen.

    1. Yes, the books have definitely helped us weather another year of stress. My youngest especially has gotten excited about reading this past year- and without her recommendations I for sure would not have read as many graphic novels and middle grade fiction! They were definitely fun, and raised some good conversations too.

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