December is always a good time for reflection as we finish out another year and prepare to head into the next one. There are many areas of your life you can reflect on, but since I’m not a life coach or counselor, we’re just going to focus on reading here. I feel like I personally had a surprisingly satisfying year in terms of the books I was able to read, and I’m excited to leap into my 2022 TBR and keep the momentum going! But what I’m really curious about is how you are doing.
Here are a few questions to consider as you reflect on your reading life:
- How did you feel about your reading in 2021?
- Were you happy with the number of books you read and the types of books you chose?
- What would you like to be different and how could you make it happen in 2022?
If you feel comfortable sharing, I would love to hear your answers to some of these questions in the comments. After all, one of the main purposes of these monthly books in progress posts is to open up discussions among readers. I like to talk about books almost as much as love to read them, so I will always happily chat about specific books, give tips for how to read more, or share recommendations!
Speaking of recommendations, how about we get to the good stuff where I tell you what I’ve been reading lately?
This post contains affiliate links, which means I might make some extra coffee money at no extra expense to you if you buy something through one of my links. Read more about that here.
Just Finished:
This book checked every box for me. It’s a YA fantasy with historical and dystopian vibes in which a mysterious fever plagues a kingdom governed by a very young king and his even younger brother. They are hated by the people who perceive them as cruel and uncaring, but are they really? As the fever becomes worse, smugglers of rationed medicine abound and Prince Corrick is swift and brutal in his treatment of them. Tessa is a smuggler alongside her partner Wes, until a tragic loss sends her to the palace seeking vengeance, but instead she discovers an unexpected ally and learns that the situation is far more nuanced than she could ever have imagined.
I loved this book! The characters and their struggles are well-developed and the constant tension of secrets, romance, and danger keeps the story moving. I liked that Corrick and Tessa each have to deal with their perception of right and wrong and decide for themselves if ‘right’ is black and white in every situation. I’m so sad that I have to wait for the next book to come out to see what happens to the characters and the kingdom!
This is a modern marriage of convenience story (you I’m a sucker for this trope) and it’s so fun, funny, and delightful. There is plenty of chemistry but no open doors, and I love the snarky dialogue between the two main characters. Emma St. Clair is my new obsession. After I read this one I immediately went straight to The Twelve Holidates and I’m planning to pick up Falling For Your Best Friend’s Twin soon. All of them are available on Kindle Unlimited, which makes it super easy to just keep binge reading!
Billed as a suspenseful thriller, it lived up to that name. Faith is the only survivor and witness of a stabbing that took the life of her father, sister, and two family friends. No one ever caught the man responsible ,and now, several years after the fact, she is barely keeping herself together. No one takes her seriously when she says she has recently seen the man responsible because of her alcohol abuse issues, but it quickly becomes clear that she is truly in danger as the past rears its head. This book kept me guessing up to the last few pages and I was certainly surprised by the perpetrator. I will say, there are some scary scenes and I made the rookie mistake of reading it right before bed one night, which didn’t end well for me.
In Progress:
The tagline you see on Amazon for this book pretty much sums it up: ‘The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband – and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.’ I’m over halfway through, and I honestly don’t know if I even believe at this point that Alicia actually murdered her husband or if there is someone else involved. I do know that I’m highly intrigued by this mystery and can’t wait to see how the mystery resolves.
I’m currently reading Ginger Pye as a read aloud with my kids and it is delightful! I remember enjoying it as a child but didn’t recall anything specific about it. In this charming story, Jerry Pye and his sister Rachel are thrilled when they get a puppy of their own — until someone steals him! There are so many fun characters in this book and it follows the same pattern as all great children’s books with minimal parental involvement, though the parents are unique, interesting, positive characters when they do enter a scene. We are having a lot of fun with this book!
This is the third and final installment in the Shadow and Bone trilogy and I’m chomping at the bit to see how this thing ends! Will Alina be able to overcome the Darkling without losing herself in the process? I’m really afraid that Mal is going to get the short end of the stick here, so I hope their love story has a satisfying ending.
The description of this book sounds like a mashup of The Martian, Andy Weir’s super famous book from a few years ago, and that movie Passengers with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Laurence. I loved both of those, so I’m hopeful this will be hit for me since it has been a named a favorite by so many this year. I’m only a few pages in so it’s too early to tell for sure, but so far so good!
Up Next:
Falling for Your Best Friend’s Twin
I’ve recently discovered the treasure that is Emma St. Clair. Her books are absolutely delightful rom-coms that I can’t put down. This one is the first in her Love Cliches series that I started in the middle of, and now I’m trying to backtrack and read the first few books before I read the last two. Each one is standalone so you can enjoy them individually but I liked it so much that I really want to get the full experience.
I’m going to address others who have read this series for minute here because I know there are a lot of you based on the number of Amazon and Goodreads reviews. Are you Team Dorian or Team Chaol? I’m rooting so hard for Chaol but I have a feeling this is going to end like the Hunger Games when she has to choose. I don’t think that’s going to come up in this book, though, because Celaena is traveling to the land of her people under the guise of performing a task for the king, but of course with her own agenda. I do hope we find out the answer to the secret she whispered at the end of the last book though!
I know next to nothing about this book. All I know is that I loved Station Eleven and I’ve heard that people like this book too, so when I saw that my library had it I grabbed it. Fingers crossed that was a good gamble!
The Prey is the second in a trilogy following Gene, a human trapped in a world full of vampires. I don’t want to give away too much from the first book, so I’ll just say that the world that is built in this story is so creative and inventive, and I can’t wait to see how Gene will manage to stay alive.
Much like The Glass Hotel, I know very little about this books. I do know that it is a YA fantasy about a girl with a gift for killing that came highly recommended by two of my sisters, so why not give it a try? Here’s hoping I love it as much as they do so there are no relationships destroyed.
What are you reading and loving right now? Let me know in the comments! And as always, if you are looking for more great recommendations, Modern Mrs. Darcy’s quick lit post is great place to see what other bookworms are reading!
I hope you enjoy Project Hail Mary- it was probably my favorite book of 2021.
To answer your questions… I feel good about my reading in 2021. I feel like I prioritize reading over most other hobbies/activities, and as long as I’m reading something good I choose reading over scrolling social media, which is a good practice for me. I read over 100 books this year, and my page count (according to Goodreads) is just under my 2020 number. I feel like I’m busier now than last year, so I’m happy with how much I’ve been able to read.
As far as 2022 goes, I’d like to find a little more balance in my reading. Lately my reading is either heavy non-fiction or contemporary romance, I need to do a better job of finding good literary fiction and some occasional mystery/thrillers to even it all out.
That’s great! I’m glad you feel pretty good about your reading this year. I’m really loving Project Hail Mary — I can’t believe how good Andy Weir is at combining humor and poignant humanity.