My Most Anticipated 2021 Releases

 I don't typically do much research about books coming out the following year but the year 2020 was a bumper crop of great new releases. While I primarily want to read books already on my shelves, I've compiled a list of books I'm eagerly anticipating in 2021. This list is probably not complete as I don't know what will be coming out later in the year.

January:

26th- My Brilliant Life by Kim Ae-ran Translated by Chi-Young Kim

This looks interesting because it focuses on a chronic illness.

February:

2nd- The Survivors by Jane Harper

2nd- Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

Both of these books interest me because I've enjoyed the authors' writing before.

March:

 9th- Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert (finishing out the trilogy)

16th- The Memory Collectors by Kim Neville

April:

6th- Broken (In the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson (loved her first two!)

20th- The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers (finishes the series)

May:

4th- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

18th- The Betrayals by Bridget Collins

25th- Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Again, have enjoyed all these authors before.

June:

1st- The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

July:

6th- All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton (gave his first book 5 stars)

6th- The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik (2nd in the trilogy)

13th- A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (yay! a new series by my fave author!)

September:

21st- Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

I "discovered" Klune this year and absolutely love him. Eager to read all his stuff.

December Wrap Up #1

 Well, my slump is still lasting but so far I've read 4 things since I last updated you.

The first was Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger. This is an indigenous story of a young girl who can raise ghosts and owns a ghost dog. She finds out her cousin was murdered and tries to solve the mystery with the help of other supernatural beings. This was really engaging and I read it very quickly. I gave it 4 stars and am keen to pick up other books of hers in the future.

Then my library hold of the graphic memoir Times I Knew I Was Gay by Eleanor Crews came in. This is a simply drawn story about the author realizing she was a lesbian and the multiple times she had to come to that realization. It was enjoyable but I felt it didn't offer any real insight or depth of story and the art was nothing special. I gave it 3 stars.

After that I read a copy of The New York Times Review magazine for the Read Harder Challenge. This had multiple essays in it about culture, books, politics, social justice, and art. I enjoyed a few but many were a slog to get through. I gave it 2 stars.

Lastly, I finished The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline. It was a sad historical fiction about women who were sentenced to "transport" and exiled in Australia as a result of their crime. However, many of these women were guilty of being poor, being different, or being weak. There was also a separate thread of an Aboriginal girl who was taken from her family and the English family who tried to turn her from "savage" to "civilized young woman." These stories were later entwined. Overall, a heartbreaking story but with hope and resiliency. I gave it 4 stars.

Top 12 books of 2020

 My Top 12 books of 2020

I couldn't quite narrow it down to a top 10 list so you get 2 bonus books.

12. Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

11. Cottonmouths by Kelly J. Ford

10. Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

9. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

8. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

7. A Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob

6. Ashes of Roses by Mary Jane Auch

5. Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey

4. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

3. Hollowpox by Jessica Townsend

2. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

and my absolute favorite!!! 1. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Goal Check-In on the 12 Books I wanted to read in 2020

 The 12 Books I want to Read in 2020

1. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent  

I knew this was a slow book and I was never in the mood for it.

2. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara  

I still want to read this but due to it's very depressing story, I didn't feel like I was in the right mental space. This year was tough.

3. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee 

I have heard more negative things about this book and have since lost interest in it.

4. The Five by Hallie Rubenfold

Still want to read but had too many library holds in November when I planned to read it.

5. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Felt daunted by its large size. Still want to give it a try.

6. You Will Be Safe Here by Damien Barr

I read the first chapter when trying to decide what to read next. Didn't really pull me in.

7. The Overstory by Richard Powers

DNF'd after 25 pages.

8. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

I read this and it was alright. I gave it 3 stars.

9. Red Sister by Mark Lawerence

10. Columbine by Dave Cullen

11. Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

I read it and thought it was amazing. 5 stars.

12. Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Another 5 stars. 

Well, I did quite poorly. I read 3 and DNF'd 1.  I still will make this goal one more time and if I find that I don't do well next year, I will probably stop.

Review of 2020 goals

 This year was much different than all other years but let's see how I did on my goals:

1. Complete the 24 reading prompts for Reading Women Challenge.

I did not finish this. I had 2 challenges that I did not get: Read an Afrofuturism book and Read a book about the environment.

2. Complete the 24 reading prompts for Reading Harder Challenge.

I did complete this just under the wire. After looking at the books this list pushed me to read, I realized most were not good or merely tolerable. I plan on attempting the list next year but I'm not going to push myself when I already read quite widely and want to read really enjoyable books.

3. Read at least 5 owned books a month (for a total of 60)

I did not reach this goal. I read 45 owned books. I'm glad I made this goal and might do it again next year.

4. Re-read an average of 1 book a month (not including Harry Potter)

I nearly reached this goal. I re-read 11 books. This was a fun goal and it gave me "permission" to re-read books when I have so many unread books on my shelves.

5. DNF books after 50-100 pages if I'm not enjoying them.

I dnf'd 11 books this year. That is much higher than normal so I feel like I met this goal. 

Mini Slump

 I don't have a second wrap up for November because after that ARC I reviewed, I haven't read anything for about 2 weeks. I've recently started a new book and am hoping to turn around December but I'm doing everything I can to break it. Here are some tips of what works for me:

1. Let yourself not read. Do other things that you enjoy. Watch t.v. or movies, play games, talk with friends, etc.

2. Re-read a favorite. You know you're going to enjoy it and get attached to the characters so there's nothing new to invest.

3. Read a short or easy-to-read book like middle grade, YA, or a graphic novel.

4. Listen to a great audiobook. Something with a great narrator.

5. Read something with a fast-paced plot. Something that makes you not want to put it down. Often best for these are mystery/thrillers but others genres will sometimes work.