Lost in Pages

Hello, everyone! As one of my first official posts back on the blog, I thought I’d take a stab at some survey questions about my 2021 reading year. I saw Kayla from booksandlala answer some of these questions which inspired me to do the same! The questions originally come from The Perpetual Page Turner, and she goes quite in-depth with some of them. I’m too lazy to answer them all, so here’s my abridged version – enjoy!

1.How many books did you read in 2021?

I read 29 books this year – which isn’t great, but not my worst reading year either.

2. How many pages?

9431 – but in all honestly, the majority of my reading this year happened through audiobooks. My new job allows me way more time to listen to things, so I’ve been really relying on good audiobooks!

3. Most read genre

Here’s a breakdown of the genres I read:

• Fantasy: 8
• Graphic Novels: 3
• General Fiction: 3
• Romance: 5
• Mystery/Thriller/Horror: 10

4. Favorite 2021 release that you read

I feel like I was probably in the minority here, but I really enjoyed The Maidens by Alex Michaelides. Was it absolutely ridiculous? Yes. Did it entertain me? Also, yes. I didn’t read many 2021 releases as well, so this one would be my favorite one out of a very short list of choices.

5. Favorite book you read in 2021

This would have to be The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I finally took the plunge and started this series this year (a few weeks ago to be exact), and I’m kicking myself for not having started it sooner. The world is so immersive, and Kvothe is such an engaging protagonist. Despite the audiobook being almost 30 hours long, I was never bored and could’ve listened to hours more. I guess that’s a good thing since the sequel’s audiobook is basically 43 hours long…

6. A book that lived up to the hype

It can’t be anything other than A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab – yet another older title that I put off for way too long. She truly can’t write a book that I’ll dislike, and I can’t wait to keep going with this series in 2022.

7. A book that didn’t live up to the hype

For me that would be The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. Everyone praised this book as one of the best romances written in the last 5 or so years, so I think I went into it with too high of expectations. I also had wanted to read it so I could watch the movie, and this was sadly one of the situations where I liked the movie adaptation a little more than the source material. There were one too many cheesy moments for me.

8. Biggest reading accomplishment

Again, it’s gotta be getting through the behemoth that is The Name of the Wind. Finishing that monster was so satisfying, and it’s definitely a perk that I loved the story so much, too.

9. Favorite/least favorite character

My favorite would be Kvothe from The Name of the Wind, and my least favorite would be any character from Nothing But Blackened Teeth. I’m not sure if I read a different story than the majority of you guys, but I truly despised all the characters in this book. It just wasn’t what I was wanting.

10. Favorite writing of the year

This is a tie between The Name of the Wind and A Darker Shade of Magic. I loved the writing in both of these – Schwab and Rothfuss are insanely talented.

11. The book you recommend the most from this year

I sound like a broken record, but I just truly loved The Name of the Wind.

12. Favorite cover

I really love the cover of This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno. It’s ominous and simplistic in the best ways.

13. One book you didn’t get to in 2021 but will prioritize in 2022

I have multiple answers for this one, so I’ll just leave this collage of book covers! I have some big reading goals for 2022, so let’s hope I can stay motivated!

It feels good to be back into reading and blogging again, and I’m so glad some of you stuck around long enough to see me return.

Let me know some of your favorite 2021 reads in the comments below!

Until next time,