Happy 2021 everyone! I hope everyone’s first days of the year have been promising for what is to come. I have some projects in motion that I cannot wait to tell you about, but first I want to reflect on some things from last year.
First up will be my reading list. I had a Goodreads goal of 50 books read in 2020. Well, thanks to the pandemic and Kindle Unlimited, I read a total of 77 books that ranged from non-fiction to young adult to epic fantasy.
- The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
- The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston
- The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Glass Scepter by Bekah Harris
- The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
- Revan by Drew Karpyshyn
- First and Only by Dan Abnett
- The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
- Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston
- The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
- The Great Glowing Coils of the Universe by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
- Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan
- House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
- The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
- Ghostmaker by Dan Abnett
- Warrior of the Altaii by Robert Jordan
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
- Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
- Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
- Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
- Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
- Necropolis by Dan Annette
- Queen of Ice and Snow by Bekah Harris
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- Honor Guard by Dan Annette
- The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks
- Stardust by Neil Gaian
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
- Queen’s Peril by E. K. Johnston
- You are a Badass by Jen Sineco
- Everything is F*cked by Mark Manson
- Attack of the Clones by R. A. Salvatore
- Guns of Tanith by Dan Annette
- The Falconer by Elizabeth May
- Crescent City by Sarah J Maas
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
- Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover
- Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
- The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski
- The Happily Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
- Awkward by Gurpeet Kaur
- A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
- Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger
- Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
- Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J Maas
- Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa
- Cinderella is Dead by Kaylyn Bayron
- Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer
- Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim
- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
- Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters
- Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
- To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
- Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar
- Horrid by Katrina Leno
- The Lost Coven by Bekah Harris
- Seducing Hope by Adaline Winters
- The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
- A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova
- Blood Tithe by Bekah Harris
- The Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky
- Well This Sucks by Carrie Gray
- If It Bleeds by Stephen King
- Jaded by K.M. Robinson
- You Are a Badass Everyday by Jen Sincero
- Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
- Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
- Badass Habits by Jen Sincero
- Tempting Hades by Emma Hamm
- The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by V.E. Schwann
It is very hard to pick my favorite off of this list, so here was my top 5: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, You are a Badass, A Song of Wraith and Ruin, House of Salt and Sorrows, and Legendborn. Each novel had great characters, plots, twists, everything that makes a good book. You are a Badass is the only self-help book on the top five, and I loved it so much that I ended up purchasing the rest of the books in the series (side note: can self-help books be a series?).
I recommend all of Jen Sincero’s books, but other honorable mentions of the year include The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue and Cinderella is Dead. As always, I also loved the books about my favorite Star Wars females. Ahsoka is the best- when she showed up in The Madalorian, I screamed.
There were no bad books on the list, but my least favorite out of the 77 were Jaded, Salem’s Lot, Midnight Sun, and the Warhammer books I read in order to have some idea of what my husband enjoys. They just were not my thing. Also, Edward is major cringe. Team Jasper for life.
My 2021 goal is 75 books. I plan on posting an updated list every 25 books, so keep an eye on the horizon! If you want to see what I am currently reading, follow my bookstagram Mariebee_reads.