What I Read: 2021 edition
I somehow managed to read or listen to 36 books this year (beating my goal of 30!), in the midst of the decluttering/purging/remodeling/packing. This number probably would have been higher had it not been for some podcasts that were as long as books (#riseandfallofMarsHill), haha.
I also had a goal that half the books I read would be ones we owned. Did I mention that I did a great job meeting my first goal? 😅 Anyway, here's what I read this year, along with thoughts on some of them.
Loved it. We hadn't fully committed to our trip around the country yet when I read this, but I'm now realizing I should probably read it again, except that I don't think I brought it with me.
After several failed attempts, I finally managed to complete this book. I'm not sure why I never finished it in the past, but I feel like I'm finally a real reader now that I've read it.
Another excellent Kristin Hannah book.
Thought provoking and challenging. Definitely recommend.
5. Just Mercy
Read this one, too.
Probably my favorite Charles Martin book thus far.
Excellent book that has been instrumental at helping me try and parent my kids' hearts.
The ending fell really flat for me (and I've heard the same from other friends), but it was still very well written.
10. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Finally saw what all the fuss was about.
11. Hannah Coulter
Re-read it to see if I still loved it as much as I thought, and yep, I do.
13. The More of Less
Had some helpful tips, but was a little heavy on the "minimalism will change your life" mantra.
14. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
15. The Hungry Road
Finally...historical fiction that isn't about WWII! I was glad to learn about a time in history I didn't know a ton about. The book itself was fine, not great or anything like that.
16. Dyslexia 101
17. Kitchens of the Great Midwest
18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
19. Before and After
20. The Flight Girls
Quite possibly the most poetically written novel I've read. Beautiful...highly recommend.
If Jen Wilkin writes a book, I'm going to read it. And if I read it, I'm going to love it.
24. Being Known
I still overthink things sometimes (okay, maybe a lot of the time), but there were some good tidbits in this book.
Excellent.
Recommended to me awhile back by a wise lady, and I should have listened to her and read it sooner.
Entertaining and rather unbelievable in parts. Although according to what I googled later, he apparently made up or at the very least embellished some of his escapades??
30. Unbroken
Read for the second time, and I'm still just as amazed at Louie's life as I was the first time.
31. The Bomber Mafia
32. The Water Keeper
Listened to this while sanding cabinets in the RV. The only problem is that I now associate the cabinets in our room with some seedy people in the book...
33. The VanderBeekers Make a Wish
So good. This entire series has been the unanimous favorite of my kids.
Rambling at times, but wonderful book. And now I'm wishing our trip included some English footpaths.
Had to resist the urge to take a red pen to my Kindle and correct some grammatical errors. Most of what was in this book I had either read online or figured out from living in an RV the last month. So maybe if you're at the beginning of thinking about RVing it could be helpful, but I didn't get much out of it. I only read it because Chris suggested we read it together.
36. Behold the Lamb of God: An Advent Narrative
Read it every year during Advent, and love it every year during Advent.
So there you have it! My goal for 2022 is to read 40 books or 10,000 pages, because a couple that I have on my list are long, but I'm looking forward to them. I'm also attempting to track our family read alouds (and maybe picture books) on Goodreads, just out of curiosity.
.
Comments