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Wednesday, January 5, 2022

2021 Reading Roundup


A new year, a new reading roundup. In 2021 I read 60 books, and while I'm not breaking any records, I'm happy with the accomplishment.

 

Rating

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

3

When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash

2

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

3

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

3

A Guide for the Perplexed by Dara Horn

4

People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present by Dara Horn

4

Better off Dead (Jack Reacher, #26) by Lee Child

2

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

4

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

4

The Missing Piece (Dismas Hardy #19) by John Lescroart

2

Bewilderment by Richard Powers

3

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

3

The Searcher by Tana French

3

The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish

4

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay

3

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

4

Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom

3

The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club, #1) by Richard Osman

3

Every Patient Tells a Story: Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis by Lisa Sanders

3

Before I Met You by Lisa Jewell

3

The Orchard by David Hopen

3

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson

5

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

4

The President's Daughter by James Patterson and Bill Clinton

4

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

3.5

East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity by Philippe Sands

3

Head Case: My Brain and Other Wonders by Cole Cohen

2

The Cellist (Gabriel Allon, #21) by Daniel Silva

4

The Hospital: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town by Brian  Alexander

4

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

2

Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler

3

The Guncle by Steven  Rowley

3

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

3

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

4

Bad Medicine: Catching New York's Deadliest Pill Pusher by Charlotte Bismuth

4

Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper

4

How to Save a Life by Eva Carter

2

 by Sarit Yishai-Leviמלכת היופי של ירושלים

4

Ocean Prey (Lucas Davenport #31) by John Sandford

4

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

4

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

5

One Two Three by Laurie Frankel

4

Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III, #1) by Harlan Coben

3

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

4

Memorial by Bryan Washington

3

Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad

4

The Secret of Magic by Deborah Johnson

3

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

3

This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Medical Resident by Adam Kay

3

Faye, Faraway by Helen  Fisher

3

The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine by Janice P. Nimura

4

Prodigal Son (Orphan X, #6) by Gregg Andrew Hurwitz

4

Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton

4

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

4

The Lost Boys (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus #26) by Faye Kellerman

3

The Law of Innocence (Mickey Haller, #7; Harry Bosch Universe #34) by Michael Connelly

3

Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose by Joe Biden

3

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

3

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

3

2021 wasn't my worst reading year but not one of my best. I'm so easily distracted by Facebook in the evenings and that definitely cuts into my reading time. My yearly average since I've been keeping track is 66 books so I definitely have what to aspire to. 


The breakdown by format shows that I read and listen to almost the same amount of books. I thought my audiobook listening took a hit since during this second pandemic year I continued to work from home at least half the week and while it is down substantially from my high of 46 in 2019, it's comparable to 2015 and 2016. I wish I remembered what was going on in 2017 that I only listened to 11 books.  


In 2021 I read 12,920 pages and listened to 331 hours and 58 minutes of books. The longest book I read was The President's Daughter at 528 pages and the shortest was Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose at 260 pages. Coincidentally, both authored (or at least co-authored) by a U.S. president. The longest book I listened to was The Weight of Ink, 23 hours and 19 minutes and the shortest was This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Medical Resident, 5 hours and 47 minutes.

I read an average of 5 books a month, with a high of 7 in August. 

Twenty one of the books I read were by authors I've previously read, and five were from a series. I'm pretty pleased that almost a quarter of the books I read were non-fiction. Reading non-fiction is challenging for me and audiobooks really opened the world of non-fiction for me. I listened to some great books (more on that below). I read one book in Hebrew (I know I should read more) inspired by my friend P in Arizona who read The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem in English prompting me to pick it up in Hebrew before it became a mini-series on Yes. I really enjoyed it.  I listened to two advance listener's copies which I got from Libro.fm and loved them both. I listened to one young adult novel and loved it as well.


Some of the non-fiction books I really enjoyed and found intriguing were People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present, The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race (fascinating, and a must read for anyone who thinks the Covid vaccine was developed too quickly as you learn that it was based on years of scientific research and the best scientists coming together to share data and information), Bad Medicine: Catching New York's Deadliest Pill Pusher and Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (yes, still on my Opioid epidemic binge). I also liked The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine (useless trivia fact: I was born in the hospital started by Elizabeth Blackwell), This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Medical Resident (finally listened to it), Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted, and Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries (okay, I'm a geek).

The two ALCs I listened to and loved were Mary Jane and One Two Three. I also loved the young adult novel Words on Bathroom Walls. Some of my other favorites in 2021 were Hamnet, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Faye, Faraway, A Guide for the Perplexed, Apples Never Fall, Everyone Brave is Forgiven, The Underground Railroad, and  The Four Winds (I almost abandoned it). You can see my ratings above. 

The Midnight Library got so much hype and everyone loved it. It just did not do it for me. I found it predictable and trite. 

I can't believe I resisted reading The Underground Railroad till now. It was a difficult but satisfying read. 

As always Daniel Silva did a great job with Gabriel Allon in The Cellist, Prodigal Son was a worthy read, and The President's Daughter was  better than the first book Patterson and Clinton wrote together. 

I like this quote from Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave: “In the end I suppose we lay flowers on a grave because we cannot lay ourselves on it.”

I've already got my first book of 2022 finished and I'm almost halfway done with a LONG audiobook which I'm not really loving but I'm committed.

I'm going to end with these fun prompts Life According to Literature 2021 by Annabookbel.

Using only books you have read this year (2021), answer these prompts. Try not to repeat a book title. 

  • Describe yourself: The Searcher
  • How do you feel: Better off Dead
  • I will never be: The President's Daughter
  • You Fear: When Ghosts Come Home

  • Describe Where you currently live: Between Two Kingdoms
  • If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The Midnight Library
  • Your favourite form of transportation: The Four Winds
  • What’s the weather like: Salt Houses
  • Your best friend is: Faye, Faraway
  • You and your friends are: Anxious People
  • My family reunions are: Calling Me Home
  • At a party you’d find me with: The Secret of Magic
  • A happy day includes: A Walk in the Woods
  • What is the best advice you have to give: Have a Little Faith
  • Motto I live by: Everyone Brave is Forgiven
  • Thought for the Day: People Love Dead Jews
  • How would I like to die: One Two Three
  • In my next life, I want to: Win