2021 Reading List
- Ashley
- Dec 29, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 27, 2021
2020 was a record year for a lot of things - can we just all agree to be happy to have it behind us? Posts were skimpy, because life was complicated and tough to navigate, and I absolutely didn't even want to think about blogging, let alone experimenting with new recipes or trying to travel often IF at all. But, the one thing all of that quarantining was good for was reading, and read I did. I noticed a lot of my friends on GoodReads also got a lot of reading done, which made my heart happy. I enjoyed seeing what everyone was getting into and whether or not they liked what they read.
I'm proud to have read 41 books in 2020, but am trying to be realistic that a goal of that height probably will be unattainable in 2021. I'm sure if I watched less Wicked Tuna in the evenings and picked up a book, it would be achievable, but we'll see what happens.
One genre I read a lot of in 2020 was biographies, and while all or most of them were immensely interesting and educational, I want to include more diversity, I think. Coming out of 2020, I felt heavy with what I read, which is good, but I'd like to still sprinkle in some lighter titles as well. My friend, Rachel, and I have started a book club, so I'll have a separate list including the titles we read in that club as well as the titles in a 2021 Reading Challenge focusing on community (there is some overlap). I think 2021 is also the year that I'm going to try to read every novel that Jane Austen has written - maybe not back-to-back, but thrown in every once in a while. I think that would give me something to look forward and keep the mood light. As always, this is an active list that I update throughout the year, so keep checking back! I will try to post the recap of my book reviews every month, but it's always a good idea to consult GoodReads too. Without further ado, here is my 2021 Reading List.
2021 Reading List
Book Club Reading List
January: Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski ✔️
February: Becoming by Michelle Obama ✔️
March: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot ✔️
April: home body by Rupi Kaur ✔️
May: Your Perfect Year by Charlotte Lucas ✔️
June: Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness ✔️
July: Untamed by Glennon Doyle ✔️
August: Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey ✔️
September: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho ✔️
October: The Maidens by Alex Michaelides ✔️
November: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann ✔️
December: What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey*
"Community" 2021 Reading Challenge
A book beloved by a good friend: Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans ✔️
A book "everyone" has read but you: Becoming by Michelle Obama (double from Book Club) ✔️
A book recommended by someone with great taste: Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta ✔️
A book recommended by your local librarian or bookseller: A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik ❌
A book chosen for you by your spouse: Eat a Peach by David Chang ✔️
A book by an author of a different race, ethnicity, or religion than your own: home body by Rupi Kaur (double from Book Club) ✔️
A book currently on the bestseller list (in Dec. 2020): The Midnight Library by Matt Haig ✔️
An immigrant story: World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil ✔️
A book by a local author: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass ✔️
A book you don't want to admit you're dying to read: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle ✔️
A book with a reputation for being un-put-down-able: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng ✔️
A book in a genre you don't typically read: Dune by Frank Herbert ❌
Other Titles I'd Like to Read
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Emma by Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Lady Susan by Jane Austen
Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia by Steven Stoll
The Family by Naomi Krupitsky*
Read - In Order
Eat a Peach by David Chang
~They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel
~The Good Egg by Jory John
The Ardent Swarm: A Novel by Yamen Manai
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski
The Secret Life of Color by Kassia St. Clair
Outlawed by Anna North
^Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Dear Girls by Ali Wong
What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer
The Big Snow by Berta Hader, Elmer Hader (Illustrator)
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Train Happy: An Intuitive Exercise Plan for Every Body by Tally Rye
How to Sit (Mindfulness Essentials #1) by Thich Nhat Hanh
^Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
How to Eat (Mindfulness Essentials #2) by Thich Nhat Hanh
Floret Farm's Discovering Dahlias: A Guide to Growing and Arranging Magnificent Blooms by Erin Benzakein with Julie Chai, Jill Jorgensen, and photographs by Chris Benzakein
~The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
home body by Rupi Kaur
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
The Weir: A Novel of the Maine Coast by Ruth Moore
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
~The Bad Seed by Jory John
Your Perfect Year by Charlotte Lucas
The Complete Autobiographies of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
~Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans
~The Couch Potato by Jory John
~World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
The Caiman by Maria Eugenia Manrique, Ramon Paris (Illustrator), Amy Brill (Translator)
~The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
Over the Top: My Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness
West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge
The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
~Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
~Forward: A Memoir by Abby Wambach
In Our Time: Stories by Ernest Hemingway
~Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Anonymous
The Puma Years: A Memoir by Laura Coleman
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
~The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together by Erin Lowry
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Practice of Groundedness: A Transformative Path to Success that Feeds - Not Crushes - Your Soul by Brad Stulberg
Naturally Tan by Tan France
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
When Love Sticks Around by Danielle Dayney
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan
~Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before by Tony Horwitz
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
~Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
~Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith
All Are Welcome by Liz Parker
The Collected Poems by Sara Teasdale
Did Not Finish Reading
~A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Dune by Frank Herbert
~Aloha Rodeo: Three Hawaiian Cowboys, the World's Greatest Rodeo, and a Hidden History of the American West by David Wolman and Julian Smith
Key
* Books I am currently actively reading
^ Books from my attic
~ Library books I've borrowed
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