Top 12 Books of 2021 – Year in Review (Part 2)

Posted On December 26, 2021

Hi Readers! You can check out my Year in Review (Part 1) here, where I have written about my 21 Things to do in 2021! And, here’s part two! One of the most prioritised goals for me every year is reading. So, welcome to my reading review of the year! I thought a lot about how to structure this post, because there is so much content when it comes to reading. Do I tell you about all the 75 books I read with respect to my 2021 Reading Challenge? Do I tell you how I rated these 75 books? Do I tell you what genres they belonged to, or how many pages they were, or if they were print or digital? Do I tell you my top reads of the year?

Well, the answer is simple. Yes to all! So, this post is divided into 4 parts! First part is the completed 2021 Reading Challenge with all the book names for reference as per the genre. Second part is fun & full of statistics. Third part is the most important for you, which is my top 12 books of 2021 with a template which you can use too! And lastly, my Goodreads Review!

~~PART ONE: 2021 READING CHALLENGE~~

I had set very specific mini challenges in the overall umbrella of my 2021 Reading Challenge. I had a target of reading 50 books, broken down as per genre. And, I also wanted to read at least 20 books published in 2021. I completed the genre-wise challenge! I read 75/50 books! And, I read 18/20 books published in 2021! So, overall I did pretty well, didn’t I? Check them out below. To make them less mundane, below are some graphics split as per genres.

~~PART TWO: READING STATS~~

Doing these statistics was indeed an eye-opener! I had some idea about my reading styles & patterns but looking at them through charts based on pivot tables is pretty final & real. I also calculated the amount of money I spent on books this year. It was a lot, and compared to that I read mostly e-books while more than 30 books sat on my bookshelf unread. I also realised that even though I read the same number of books as last year, I actually read shorter books with a 3000-page difference. Because of these shocking facts, I decided to chalk up next year’s reading challenge a little differently. You will see soon! For now, check out these (shocking for me, but maybe fun for you) charts of my reading in 2021!

~~PART THREE: TOP 12 BOOKS OF 2021~~

From the above graphs, now you know that I read 75 books. And, I have rated 35 books between 4 & 5 stars. So naturally, it was a tough decision to decide on the best books from this big lot. I somehow managed to find my way through it. Some were easy to ignore, but some were especially hard to let go of. But, I think I have selected the most authentic reads which have found their place at the top of my list. Here you go! If you spot any favourites, let me know so we can discuss them!

And, here is the template you can use to collate your own top 12 books of 2021!

~~PART FOUR: GOODREADS REVIEW~~

I know many readers have sworn off Goodreads, and are more active on Storygraph. But, you know me. It takes time for me to change things. And, if I do switch, I will have to rely on Storygraph AI for all the statistics, which I make myself Anyway, check out the shortest & longest books I read, most & least popular books I read along with a grid of all the 75 books!

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So, that is about it. I know this was a long post, but I do hope you enjoyed going over it as much I did while making & writing it & also reading through the entire year! Check out the next post below!

Top Movies & Series of 2021 – Year in Review (Part 3)

Top 12 Posts of 2021 – Year in Review (Part 4)

Until next time,